Photo By Sgt. Ricardo Hurtado | 1st Lieutenant Davin Heaton, Fire Support Team leader and a weapons platoon commander...... read more read more
MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. - When going into combat, ground troops are frequently aided by fire support elements. These assets are often based on artillery and air fire support. The combination of these fire assets gives the maneuver element the lead it needs when closing with the enemy.
A Fire Support Team is the maestro conducting the combined arms orchestra that softens the enemy upon encounter with the Marine Corps maneuver element.
Marines with the Fire support Team for Company A, 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade, conducted combined arms training in support of Large Scale Exercise 2014 aboard Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif., Aug. 9-10.
LSE-14 is a bilateral training exercise being conducted by 1st MEB to build U.S. and Canadian forces’ joint capabilities through live, simulated, and constructive military training activities from Aug. 8-14, 2014.
As one of the company commander’s assets, the FiST is designed to bring indirect fire suppression to the enemy.
“The purpose of the Fire Support Team is to integrate all the different fire-support assets that the Marine Corps has to offer,” said 1st Lt. Jeffrey Wood, an artillery officer with 1st Bn, 1st Marines. “It serves as the coordination center at the company level to integrate those fire assets.”
A FiST is normally made up of four-to-six Marines depending on the individual company.
Wood said that a team usually features an artillery forward observer, who is responsible for all artillery fire; a forward air controller, who makes and observes all calls regarding air fire; and a radio operator, all working under the guidance of the FiST leader.
“We work with artillery and air agencies, both fixed-wing and rotary, to provide fires that are not organic to the companies,” said 1st Lt. Davin Heaton, the FiST leader and a weapons platoon commander for Company A, 1st Bn, 1st Marines. “We get a ground scheme of maneuver from the company commander and his intent, and we translate that into effects on the target.”
The FiST ultimately shapes the battlefield and weakens foes giving the friendly maneuver element the upper hand as they close with the enemy, Heaton said.
The Marines set up communication with the command operations center as soon as they arrived at the location from which they would direct fires. Throughout the drill, the six-man team provided fire support for a notional ground maneuver element.
The Marines of 1/1 utilized artillery, M252 81 mm mortars, and fixed and rotary-wing aircraft to complete the combined arms mission.
Computerized systems fed the COC with a battle-trace based on the calls made by the team of forward observers.
“We conducted [fire support] operations for our own development, but in the grand scheme of things, it was worked up to the MEB,” said Wood. “The COC was battle tracking our positions, using it as a battle-trace for LSE-14.”
Inside the 1st MEB Combat Operation Center, a combination of live-fed data from Marines training, plus virtual and simulated battlefield information — meshed to create a realistic training environment for MEB staff on a scale larger than might be otherwise possible.
1st MEB continues to sharpen up its command element through LSE-14. Capabilities like combined arms allow the MEB to remain ready to respond to crises around the globe in a quick and efficient manner.
| Date Taken: | 08.09.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 08.11.2014 15:50 |
| Story ID: | 138997 |
| Location: | TWENTYNINE PALMS, CA, US |
| Hometown: | LUBBOCK, TX, US |
| Hometown: | NEW YORK, NY, US |
| Web Views: | 189 |
| Downloads: | 5 |
This work, 1/1 Marines Call for Fire during Large Scale Exercise 2014, by Sgt Ricardo Hurtado, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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