1-9FA rain down artillery

Photo By Spc. Wyatt Davis | Artillerymen with Alpha Battery, 1st Battalion, 9th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division Artillery fire a 105mm Howitzer cannon March 10, 2017 at Fort Stewart, Ga. during battalion artillery tables. 1-9FA directly supports 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division by providing artillery fires to ground units. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Wyatt Davis/Released)  

FORT STEWART, GA, UNITED STATES

03.14.2017

Story by Staff Sgt. Candace Mundt 

2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs

FORT STEWART, Ga. -- Artillerymen of 1st Battalion, 9th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division Artillery, tested the organization’s readiness with an all-inclusive artillery table XII battery-level qualification exercise March 6 - 14 at Fort Stewart, Georgia.

“The purpose of this training was to incorporate artillery table XII into a tough and realistic scenario exercising not only the firing platoons but the Battalion Staff and Battery Command structure through a formalized orders process,” said Capt. Nicholas Bowers, battalion fire direction officer with 1-9FA and one of the staff planners for this event.

1-9FA directly supports 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division by providing artillery fires to the brigade's ground units.

In addition to testing their staff’s processes, this exercise also rehearsed special munition fire missions not often fired live.

“This training was unique due to the use of special munition fire missions, including smoke screens and coordinated illumination missions,” Bowers said.

“Unlike most, it also incorporated a tactical scenario intended to immerse the training units in a tough and realistic training environment,” Bowers added. “This included a full tactical orders brief and daily situation updates in the form of a commander's update brief.”

In addition to qualifying with their Howitzers in normal conditions, firing batteries had to maintain security posture and conduct this vital logistics operation at night, as well as complete scenarios for chemical, biological, radiological and neurological attacks.

“Probably the biggest challenge was the incorporation of CS gas on the firing point,” said Bowers. “This forced the Soldiers to don their protective masks in order to continue executing fire missions.”

For their next training event, 1-9FA plans to build on what they learned during table XII and apply it to battery and battalion operations for tables XV and XVIII.

“Many of the new things we worked on and practiced still need refinement and perfection and we will continue to get after those and train to better ourselves in the next training event,” Bowers said.

• Date Taken: 03.14.2017
• Date Posted: 03.21.2017 11:50
• Story ID: 227532
• Location: FORT STEWART, GA, US