2004 state of the Field Artillery

FA Journal, Nov-Dec, 2004 by David P. Valcourt, Robert T. Bray, Tommy A. Williams

The FA is growing as a branch, increasing the number of FA NCOs and enlisted Soldiers. The growth will lead to more opportunities for promotion over the next few years. At every grade from E-5 through E-9, we expect to see FA Soldiers promoted faster than at any time in recent history.

The largest increase will be in 13F Fire Support Specialists as we add more across the formation. In FY05, we will train an additional 900-plus fire support team (FIST) personnel to fill shortages in Army and joint organizations.

We also are making a concerted effort to increase the importance of the FA Master Gunner. In terms of his training and certification, he will be the equivalent of both the Abrams and Bradley Master Gunners. We are in the process of establishing an additional skill identifier (ASI)-producing course to ensure FA master gunners have the training and skills to advise battery, battalion and brigade commanders on all certification, range and resource requirements for all levels of gunnery and coordinate for the same.

Our artillery school is a professional, learning institution of high standards and Army values.

Joint Training. We are in the process of solidifying the FA's role as the Army's joint fires and effects integrator with a number of initiatives.

* Our Joint Fires and Effects Training System (JFETS) at Fort Sill opened its doors to resident training in September. You may recall from previous articles that JFETS is a state-of-the-art simulator that uses emerging technology to train military members from the US Army, Air Force, Marines and Navy to integrate and deliver joint fires and effects for the joint force. Comparing the new JFETS with its embedded call-for-fire-trainer to the guard-unit armory device, full-crew interactive simulation training (GUARDFIST) first fielded in 1994 is like comparing "apples to oranges."

Feedback from our first Redlegs to train on JFETS was overwhelmingly positive--one officer said, "Just lock the door, and let me stay in here and train all night."

* The 3d Infantry Division (Mechanized) out of Fort Stewart, Georgia; Fort Sill; and the Air Ground Operations School (AGOS) at Nellis AFB, Nevada, continue to make great progress toward training and certifying Army fire supporters in the application of joint close air support (JCAS). Just recently, the Air Force's Air Combat Command, Langley AFB, Virginia, concurred with the Army G3's request to formalize CAS training being conducted at Nellis AFB.

To date, 19 13Fs from the 3d Division have successfully completed CAS training. Graduates have mastered the skills of providing targeting information and terminal guidance of Types 2 and 3 CAS. (Type 1 CAS is when the risk of fratricide requires the controller visually acquire the attacking aircraft and the target. Type 2 is when visually acquiring the attacking aircraft or the target is not possible. Type 3 CAS is when the attacking aircraft imposes a low risk of fratricide.)

The near-term goal is to formalize the Army's participation in the Air Force CAS training program. Given the Army requirement to terminally control JCAS at the company level, we jointly must determine the JCAS training throughput at AGOS and the appropriate number of Army seats.