Rubuta ci gaba ga wannan sakin layi - Tantawy, wanda asalinsa na Nubian ne, ya shiga makarantar soja ta Masar a 1952 kuma ya sami mukaminsa a matsayin jami'in soja a ranar 1 ga Afrilu 1955 a cikin sojan. A shekara mai zuwa ya shiga cikin yakin Suez.
(ko Tripartite Aggression kamar yadda aka fi sani da shi a Misira) a matsayin kwamandan kwamandan soja. An daukaka shi zuwa Manjo a shekarar 1961 kuma ya umurci wani kamfani na sojoji a Yemen a lokacin yakin basasa na Arewacin Yemen. Daga baya a cikin aikinsa ya shiga cikin Yakin Rana shida na 1967 a matsayin kwamandan bataliya, Yakin Yakin 1967-1970, da Oktoba ko "Yom Kippur" War na 1973. A lokacin Yaƙin Yom Kippur ya kasance Laftanar Kanar da ke jagorantar rundunar bindiga ta 16 da aka kera. Ya rike mukamai daban-daban na umarni da na ma'aikata ciki har da Shugaban Ma'aikata sannan kuma Kwamandan Rundunar Sojoji ta Biyu tsakanin 1986 da 1989. Bugu da kari ya yi aiki a matsayin mai ba da shawara na soja a Pakistan tsakanin 1983 da 1985, muhimmiyar rawa da aka ba da alaƙar siyasa da ta soja tsakanin ƙasashen biyu. Tantawy ya yi aiki a matsayin Kwamandan Sojojin Tsaro na Jamhuriyar tsakanin 1989 da 1991, kuma daga baya ya zama Shugaban Hukumar Kula da Ayyuka na Sojojin. A shekarar 1991, ya kuma umurci rundunar sojojin Masar a cikin Yakin Gulf da Amurka ta jagoranta kan Iraqi don tilasta wa Iraqi janyewa daga Kuwait, wanda ya mamaye a shekarar 1990.