Photo By Staff Sgt. James Hunter | (Far Left) Sgt. James Bartoszek with Battery B, 1st Battalion, 320th Field Artillery...... read more read more
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FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — For generations, Soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, have provided direct fire support to battlefields all across the world. Today, just like the men of old, they continue on a tradition vital in defeating, neutralizing and suppressing the enemy with their fire superiority on the battlefield.
"[Field artillerymen] play a tremendous role. They wish that they could be on this end of their trajectory so they could see the devastation of what their fires are bringing," said Lt. Col. David Flynn, commander, 1st Bn., 320th FA Regt. "From their perspective, they are trying to be as fast as they can be and as accurate as they can be."
Currently, the battalion is supporting the brigade's combined arms Walk and Shoot exercise, which incorporates situational vignettes in order to prepare rifle companies and cavalry troops to integrate fire support assets into future combat operations.
While moving forward toward an objective, infantry and cavalry scout leaders engaged targets with their rifles, called for fire, utilized their mortar assets and called in aviation fire support onto a set enemy objective. This allowed leaders to grasp the concept of how they can incorporate field artillery, mortar and aviation assets into their combat operations.
During the exercise, the field artillery Soldiers were able to bring a very lethal and accurate capability to the fight utilizing their M119A2 105 mm towed Howitzer's, which is a lightweight towed weapon that provides direct fire support to light, airborne and air assault forces.
"[The exercise] gives the company, troop and battery leadership in the brigade the confidence to employ artillery and mortar systems when they are conducting their operations," said Capt. Elijah Ward, commander, Battery B, 1st Bn., 320th FA Regt. "It's re-building a skill set that is very perishable."
While moving toward their objective, forward observer's on the ground called for fire on known enemy locations they needed to neutralize. The information was passed from the forward observer to the Fire Direction Center where they computed the firing data. From there, information was sent to the "gun line" where they received the order to fire on the specified target.
With the gunner's precision and the speed to quickly toss "lead" on an enemy location, they remain "absolutely essential because when our maneuver brothers are under fire they need fires as rapidly as can be delivered," said Flynn.
For 19-year-old Pfc. Mitchelle Sullivan, being behind a gun is something he never dreamed of, but he understands the importance of his job.
"Once we hit the target, it's a success," Sullivan said.
Hitting the target is exactly what they did. During a two-hour period during the exercise, the artillerymen fired off more than 140 rounds to help the maneuver element on the ground seize their objective.
"We are essential to the infantry. We prep the objective with fires. If you have enemy set in to the objective you are assaulting we'll give them a shell shock," said 1st Lt. Andrew Mark, a platoon leader with Battery B, 1st Bn., 320th FA Regt. "We'll do whatever the infantry needs us to do to get the enemy's head down while they advance. While they are advancing, if they have any targets of opportunity, anything that's in there way that they need to be moved, we'll move it. We'll have it destroyed, neutralized or suppressed."
Sgt. James Bartoszek, chief of section with Battery B, believes artillerymen are the most important asset when it comes to moving Soldiers forward.
"We are here to support them, that's why we are here," he said. "We can't work without them and they can't work without us. They are walking and we are shooting for them, ensuring we can fire rounds quickly enough so they can advance."
"[Field Artillery] remains vitally important as long as there is an enemy out there," said Ward. "We can provide another asset for a maneuver commander to utilize; help him with the day out there."
At the end of the exercise, the artillerymen, who are confident in their abilities and can deploy anywhere to provide fires close to the infantryman on the ground, hope they've shown the maneuver elements leaders what they bring to the fight.
"This is a service we can provide to you in the combined arms fight," said Mark. "We are a force multiplier" who can destroy, neutralize or suppress a given enemy.
| Date Taken: | 10.05.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 10.06.2009 18:53 |
| Story ID: | 39752 |
| Location: | FORT CAMPBELL, US |
| Web Views: | 673 |
| Downloads: | 602 |
This work, Field Artillery troops bring "boom" to Walk and Shoot exercise, by SSG James Hunter, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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