Photo By Sgt. Michael Purcell | Georgia Guardsmen from Battery A, 1st Battalion, 118th Field Artillery Regiment run to...... read more read more
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GEORGIA GARRISON TRAINING CENTER, FORT STEWART, Ga. – The power of a battery is amplified by the sheer force of a small, but well trained group of Soldiers in the Georgia Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 118th Field Artillery Regiment.
A cannon crew is comprised of seven skilled and adaptive armament professionals who can, “squash a gnat on a sunflower if the wind’s just right,” according to Spc. Kamani R. Henry, an ammunition specialist from Hampton, Georgia, assigned to Battery A, 1-118th FA.
Henry is the team scribe, responsible to his crew chief for maintaining accurate records by logging quadrant, deflection and displacement adjustments. He validates the call to fire the four-ton artillery pieces known as “Ladies of the Battlefield” with names like “Black Widow” and “La Populaire.”
“Somebody has to keep track of the mission,” Henry says of his role. “If something goes wrong they’re coming back to the paperwork to see the numbers.”
At the end of the day there is nothing dainty about the propulsion power released from the cannon. Being a 13 Bravo, cannon crew member, involves grit and patience, it’s not for the faint of heart.
The fire that the howitzer pushes forward is deadly and instantaneous.
The crews, performing separate yet succinct orchestrated actions, are almost of one mind using a skill that has been forged with consistency and experience.
To reinforce those numbers the Georgia Army National Guard’s 1-118th FA looks to recruit and maintain the best Soldiers by offering growth, opportunity and camaraderie.
The opportunity to work with new equipment presented by the stand-up of a third battery was a game changer for Sgt. Kelly D. McClendon. When his enlistment term was nearing an end, he knew exactly how he wanted to reenlist.
As UH-60 Black Hawks from the 1st Air Assault Battalion, 185th Aviation Regiment, descended for an air assault artillery raid and crews prepared the guns for aerial relocation to another firing point (a process known as sling loading), McClendon raised his hand to extend his enlistment in the Georgia Army National Guard.
When asked about his motivation, he said the choice was not difficult.
“I like the idea that you never know what to expect when you’re out here,” McClendon said of his decision to extend. “There’s no such thing as a perfect scenario in the field and we live for those moments.”
Those moments are exactly what Sgt. Marcus D. Clark looks forward to in Battery B, 1-118th FA.
His recruiter gave him many options based on his high military entry scores and, mentioned the possibility of becoming a 13 Bravo.
“He told me the earliest school date was for a 13 Bravo, cannon crewmember,” Clark recalled.
The obvious question was what do they do? Clark sheepishly grins, his face and uniform covered with debris from the Black Hawks’ departure.
“Well he said ‘you get to blow stuff up,’” recalled Clark. “I said, ‘send me!’”
| Date Taken: | 03.07.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 03.10.2015 14:20 |
| Story ID: | 156524 |
| Location: | FORT STEWART, GA, US |
| Hometown: | SAVANNAH, GA, US |
| Web Views: | 83 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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