No U dont have to be in a vehicle...
I have a 40 minutes MP game,10 v 10,both sides have a MBT(M1/T80)
The MBT respawns,when destroyed,after 180 seconds.
This script should give the Officer of both sides (E1-W1) the option to check the status of his MBT anytime,either he/someone is in this/any vehicle or not.Practically it lets U know (well if all works fine)if your MBT is back for batlle,without having someone looking for it.
It works fine,it shows the xx percent of dammage your MBT has,untill he is totally destroyed.
The value reaches then 100%,constant for 180 seconds,and then goes back to 0%.(Means the vehicle is respawned by the vehiclerespawn script.)
From here the value allways stays 0 %,no matter what the real dammage of your MBT is.
The script runs on the officer,but I tried it also on the T80,no difference...