Photo By Staff Sgt. Chris Perkey | Fire team from Battery A, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Armored...... read more read more
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DONA ANA TRAINING COMPLEX, N.M. - If you are a bad guy and on the receiving end of an M777A2 Howitzer, you probably have never seen Sgt. Antonio Hinojosa, a San Diego, Calif., native, and section chief with Battery A, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Armored Division Artillery. But chances are, he has your grid like the bill collectors have your number.
“When a fire mission comes down, I instruct my team to dial into a target,” said Hinojosa. “I have my gunner verify that we are on the right deflection [target]. I give the command to stand by and wait for the order to fire.”
Whether deployed or training on the ranges during Exercise Iron Strike Dec. 1 - 12, Hinojosa’s high tempo battle rhythm is almost flawless.
“One thing my Soldiers know about me that gives them confidence to do their job is that I wouldn’t make them do anything that I wouldn’t do,” said Hinojosa. “I train them to standard. I teach them the right way, every single time.”
“We have the top three scorers in battalion when it comes to section certification,” said Sgt. 1st Class Julian R. Colwell, platoon sergeant, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment. “There are a bunch of different fire missions and tasks that we have to shoot in a certain amount of time.”
Hinojosa heads one of the youngest M777A2 Howitzer teams in the division with great accuracy, speed and motivation.
“When we did our certification emplacing the howitzer, we ended up getting the highest score in battalion,” said Pfc. Jess Luque, 19, gunner for Hinojosa’s team. “Not only did I do my part, but everyone else did theirs. He [Hinohosa] put everyone in the right position.”
“He [Hinojosa] knows a lot about the gun,” said Luque. “I think my chief brings knowledge to the fight. If I had another chief, I do not believe that I would have been afforded the opportunity to be a gunner at this rank.”
“These guys are a bunch of hard working, hard charging Soldiers. They always give it 100 percent,” said Colwell. “It was freezing this morning at 3 a.m. when we woke up. I think it was 31 degrees, but they didn’t let the weather affect them. I am very proud of my Soldiers.”
During Exercise Iron Strike, Hinojosa pushed his young team to quickly collect the debt owed by putting rounds down range to destroy their targets. Hinojosa’s team is now the bill collector for the 1st Armored Division Artillery.
| Date Taken: | 12.09.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 12.16.2014 01:06 |
| Story ID: | 150387 |
| Location: | FORT BLISS, TX, US |
| Hometown: | SAN DIEGO, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 337 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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