Remembering their roots: Artillerymen stay connected to traditions in a very different combat environment

Photo By Sgt. Benjamin Kibbey | Capt. Chris Purtell, manager, Commander's Emergency Relief Program, 34th Infantry Division, fits Spc. Cody Broyels, 2nd Battalion, 150th Field Artillery Fires Regiment, with an array of safety gear prior to "firing" the first "check round" of Artillery Punch at the St. Barbara's Day observance at Contingency Operating Base Basra, Iraq, Dec. 18. As the most junior artilleryman present, Broyles was picked for the honor of testing the brew.  

BASRA, IRAQ

12.18.2009

Story by Sgt. Benjamin Kibbey 

34th Red Bull Infantry Division

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE BASRA, Iraq — The traditional St. Barbara's Day banquet is a time to both come together and celebrate the roots of the artillery and honor her most outstanding members through induction into the Order of St. Barbara.

Though the punch served Dec. 18 during the observance at Contingency Operating Base Basra was missing the "spirits" it would normally contain, the spirits of the artillerymen and guests were by no means dampened.

Capt. Chris Purtell, manager of the Commander's Emergency Relief Program, 34th Infantry Division, oversaw the creation of the punch, with the additions of several other symbolic ingredients.

In a lively and humorous display, and with the assistance of the most junior member present, Spc. Cody Broyels, 2nd Battalion, 150th Field Artillery Fires Regiment. Purtell finished the making of the punch with a "check round" sent into the specialist's "breach."

With that, and the declaring of the punch as "fit for human consumption" by Brig. Gen. David J. Elicerio, deputy commanding general of operations, 34th Inf. Div., the toasts and awards followed.

Prior to the induction of several new members into the Order of St. Barbara, Lt. Col. Thomas Sonnen, deputy in charge of information operations, 34th Inf. Div., read aloud a history of the "Oozle Finch," a mascot of sorts for artillerymen, yet another punctuation of humor into what, given the location, was otherwise a very dry affair.

He ended the short story with mention of two officers about to be awarded the Honorable Order of St. Barbara: Maj. Terry Jacobson, deputy Air Mobile Defense officer, United States Division-South, and Maj. Brian Smith, officer in charge of AMD, USD-S.

Capt. Paul Ives, Economics Team lead, civil-military operations, USD-S, and Lt. Col. James Swanson, Key Leader Engagement branch chief, USD-S, also received the Honorable Order of St. Barbara.

Yet, nothing bought focus to the changed duties of the modern artillery quite as much as the speech by Lt. Col. Steven L. Bullimore, commander, 17th Fires Brigade.

Bullimore said he had been to a conference where some attendees had claimed that the leadership of the artillery was suffering because they weren't doing the traditional mission of artillery.

He said while he would buy that rustiness in artillery-specific skills could result from the lack of actual "fire missions," Bullimore could not agree with the idea that the demands placed on the artillery in current deployments hurt the abilities of the leadership to lead.

He harkened back to his deployment during Operation Desert Storm, when his men were trained and capable and able to respond to missions with little direction.

"The hardest thing I had to do was stay awake," he said of following behind the tank units in the first days of liberating Kuwait.

"If nothing else," he said, "the leadership has gotten stronger, and it's gotten better. We require them to make tougher decisions on a daily basis. I'm asking them to do things that are a lot tougher than I ever dreamed of when I was their age."

Still, he said, he felt no group was more capable of taking on those challenges than the artillery, and he listed off the roles his Soldiers from 17th FB are fulfilling, from route clearance and infantry duties to radar defense against indirect fire.

"Field artillerymen everywhere," he concluded, "hold your head high, we'll shoot again. Though it may just be [in training], we will shoot again; or, when your country asks for 'big steel on target.'"

• Date Taken: 12.18.2009
• Date Posted: 01.12.2010 11:50
• Story ID: 43719
• Location: BASRA, IQ