Washington Guard field artillery pops smoke for Rangers

Photo By Sgt. Lisa Laughlin | Sgt. Brendan Beckley (left) C Battery, 2nd Battalion, 146th Field Artillery Regiment, Washington Army National Guard, reads a call for fire, Staff Sgt. Richard K. Vanvolkinburg (center) waits to add the charge as Spc. Brandon L. Harris (right) loads the 98-pound round into the 155 mm howitzer on an M109A6 Paladin July 21, 2015, at a training range on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Lisa Laughlin, 122nd Public Affairs Operations Center)  

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WA, UNITED STATES

07.21.2015

Story by Sgt. Lisa Laughlin 

122nd Theater Public Affairs Support Element

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. - Soldiers with the Washington National Guard’s C Battery, 2nd Battalion, 146th Field Artillery Regiment, provided fire support for 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment July 17-24 during a training mission on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington.

Capt. Lance N. Cromwell, commander of C Battery, 2-146 FA, said his unit was tasked to augment a dismounted group from 2-75 Ranger Regiment in several training lanes, a mission that provided both units with some good training.

“2-146 Field Artillery’s task is to provide fire support to 2-75 Ranger, out of JBLM, in support of their fire support coordination exercise (FSCX). What we are doing is enabling them to better coordinate and integrate assets to include air, indirect and direct weapons systems to achieve mass effects on the battlefield,” said Cromwell.

Cromwell said the mission was a great training opportunity for his Soldiers.

“This was actually the first time the 2-146 Field Artillery has been able to partner with an active duty component as part of the Army’s total force policy, and what makes this even more special is that it’s not just a conventional unit we are supporting, it is an Army special operations command unit,” said Cromwell.

Staff Sgt. Shane L. Carney, a section chief with C Battery, 2-146 FA, has the job of verifying and assuring that all shots down range are safe for our Soldiers and assets. Carney said one of the services his team provided was smoke rounds with electronic time fuses for ground cover.

“We use electronic time fuses for smoke rounds. The round will go over the target and the timer will allow it to explode in the air and the white phosphorous will come out of the bottom, base-ejecting, and provide smoke cover for the Rangers,” said Carney.

Private 1st Class Brandon S. Ousley, a driver for C Battery, 2-146 FA, drove and maintained the Paladin that is nicknamed “#Carnage” during the training mission and was tasked with keeping inventory of the fired rounds. Ousley said the mission was a rewarding and educational experience for him.

“As a field artilleryman, any time you get to shoot a round is a good day, and today we got to fire off a good few. We have done fire missions that are usually outside of our scope of training because we are working with multiple units in concert, so we are getting to do some pretty exciting things outside of our usual training regimen,” said Ousley.

• Date Taken: 07.21.2015
• Date Posted: 07.23.2015 13:05
• Story ID: 170882
• Location: JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WA, US