Photo By Tech. Sgt. Linda Burger | Jessica Feldmann (center) is pinned by her parents, Susan Horihan (left), and retired...... read more read more
By Master Sgt. Duff E. McFadden
There’s an interesting dichotomy in beginning your military career saving lives as a combat medic, and then switching over to leading a field artillery unit dedicated to placing rounds down range.
Where combat medics save lives by providing emergency medical treatment to battlefield wounded, the field artillery officer, expert in tactics, techniques and the employment of fire support systems, neutralizes enemy forces by cannon, rocket and missile fire.
However, the “King of Battle,” has generated an exciting new career path for 2nd Lt. Jessica Feldmann, who now serves as the Fire Direction Officer for the Iowa Army National Guard’s Battery B, 1st Battalion, 194th Field Artillery, based at the Camp Dodge Joint Maneuver Training Center, Johnston, Iowa. This Cedar Rapids, Iowa resident now holds the unique distinction of being the first female officer in the Iowa Army National Guard to become combat arms-qualified.
It all began in November 2008, when Feldmann joined the Iowa National Guard during her senior year at Anamosa (Iowa) High School.
“I joke about how kids say they want to do what their dad did, or what their mom did,” said Feldmann. “My mom was a nurse and my dad was in the military, so I became a medic in the Iowa National Guard.”
Since she was about 11 years old, she remembers her dad, retired Command Sgt. Major Bill Feldmann, serving in the Guard. The elder Feldmann served from 1980 – 2002, with the Iowa Army National Guard’s 234th Signal Battalion and 109th Medical Battalion.
“I grew up thinking fondly of the Guard,” she said. “I can remember him going to annual training and packing his stuff. It seemed like a lot of fun. I knew how it worked and it was a big part of my life.
“So, I knew what I wanted to do – join the Army as a medic so I could start my way in the medical field. I got my Emergency Medical Technician certification through the combat medic specialist course and joined an ambulance crew. Dad wanted me to wait and get a commission through ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps), but I told him I wanted to do this first,” she said.
Actually, it was her cousin, Adam Feldmann, who recruited her into the Iowa National Guard, “I once counted, and I have about 18 cousins in the military, mostly in the National Guard. Dad’s family is very large,” she said with a smile.
Feldmann was perfectly content serving as a traditional Guard Soldier. However, there would be a series of events in 2016 that would soon solidify her role in the history of the Iowa National Guard.
The first came in June, when she took a full-time position with the Iowa National Guard as an administrative assistant in the Camp Dodge Joint Maneuver Training Center’s Maintenance Office. The second came Sept. 25, 2016, when she was commissioned as a second lieutenant after graduating from Officer Candidate School, Class 61-16, at the 185th Regional Training Institute on Camp Dodge.
The third involved Maj. George Mosby, the executive officer for the 1st Battalion, 194th Field Artillery, Iowa Army National Guard, headquartered in Fort Dodge, Iowa.
“I met Maj. George Mosby at our branch brief and I was the only female in the class,” Feldmann said. “I had never considered field artillery, but he showed me a graphical sight tool and talked about the importance of calculations and the scientific part of gunnery. I came from the BSTB (Brigade Special Troops Battalion), so this was something completely different.”
“Anyone who knows me knows I’m extremely passionate about the field artillery, said Mosby. “When I met her at the branch briefs, she said she hadn’t made a decision yet. She told me about her enlisted experience and I mentioned I also enlisted as a medic, so I completely understood her feelings about medical proficiency and where she’d been.
“I went through the medical course and enjoyed it. But,” Mosby smiled, “I discovered artillery and found this great, wonderful new passion. It kind of helped start the ball rolling with her.”
After a couple of months had passed, he called Feldmann to check on how her branch decision was moving along.
“She asked me about career progression and I told her this was a great time to be part of the field artillery. She had a great opportunity for career progression and had the opportunity to be the first female field artillery officer in the Iowa National Guard. I told her that would really be something, a historical first. I think that excited her and helped bring her to this decision,” said Mosby.
While it “definitely piqued my interest,” Feldmann said, it was the visit to an artillery unit in Algona, Iowa that finally convinced her.
“I offered her to come to Bravo Battery to see what she thought about field artillery,” said Mosby. “I truly believe that whoever comes to train with one of our artillery batteries instantly falls in love. They fall in love with the way we run our organization and with the way we train.
“There’s also the power that’s in the artillery pieces, the feel of the guns,” he added. “It’s very addictive.”
“When I visited the Algona armory, I spoke to the Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs) of Battery B about how things operated there and that sealed the deal for me. I was very impressed with the NCOs and their strong professionalism, as well as the command climate displayed there. The Soldiers cared, the NCOs cared and I just liked the professionalism of the unit.”
Feldmann enrolled in the Field Artillery Basic Officer Leaders Course (BOLC) at Fort Sill, Okla., and graduated on March 29 with 96 other Soldiers. There were 14 females in the class, with six in her platoon, alone.
“The active duty women in our class had a lot of mentors from their first female class,” Feldmann said. “My support network was phenomenal, and the military support was phenomenal. The mentorship I received from the 194th company commander, from Command Sgt. Maj. Rachel Fails and other senior second lieutenants in my unit was great. I spoke with them frequently about school, exams, and issues. If I needed help, I wasn’t afraid to ask them.
“Field Artillery is definitely much different than anything I’ve ever done in the Army. Gunnery is a very precise, numerical process,” she said. “There are calculations on how to fire, including direction and distance. You try to meld Fire Support and the integration of fire and maneuver elements.
“Fire support is all about how fires fits into the grand scheme of battle. Fire support in general is less abstract, while gunnery is more of the scientific portion. It definitely helps having every Soldier trained in infantry tactics, as well as officers with infantry squad lanes, so it’s not as abstract, or hard a concept to grasp,” she said.
According to Feldmann, the most fun she had at BOLC was actually firing the 119A3 howitzers, an upgrade that will soon find its way into the Iowa National Guard arsenal.
“Essentially, the students worked with the permanent party. With two permanent party members on each gun, the officers got to fire the howitzer. It was a lot of fun. It was a great opportunity to apply a lot of that knowledge we received through classroom learning,” she said.
Feldmann tasted her first exposure to combat arms during medical training on the combat engineer range at Fort McCoy, Wisc., which later guided her military career choices. “I felt the medical route wasn’t necessarily where I wanted to go anymore. I wanted to expand my horizons. I was always learning something as a medic and I feel it’s very important to learn something new every day.”
While Feldmann continues to lead the way as Iowa’s first combat arms-qualified female officer, she points out there’s plenty of combat arms opportunities for today’s female Soldiers.
“Being new isn’t necessarily bad,” she said. “This isn’t something you’ll do alone; it’s definitely a team thing. You’ll run into other females in training. You need to network and work with them and your active duty counterparts.”
Following in her father’s footsteps may have started Feldmann down her own career path, but it’s natural to want to leave your own footprints.
“You need to be part of the change, be part of the drive forward and do your own thing,” she advised.
| Date Taken: | 03.31.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 03.31.2017 18:02 |
| Story ID: | 228831 |
| Location: | JOHNSTON, IOWA, US |
| Hometown: | ANAMOSA, IOWA, US |
| Hometown: | CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA, US |
| Web Views: | 2,076 |
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