Training Soldiers for Field Artillery Operations and Challenges

Soldiers at Fort Sill master howitzer operations, facing physical and mental challenges while ensuring safety and precision in artillery training.

### Inside the US Army's Field Artillery School: Training Soldiers to Fire Howitzers
* 🏫  Fort Sill, Oklahoma, is a more-than-93,000-acre installation where field artillery soldiers have trained for over a century, with about **10,000 soldiers graduating from Fort Sill every year**.
* 🔫  Soldiers in the field artillery, known as 13 Bravos, face the challenge of carrying and firing **100-pound rounds**, often firing at a rate of **two rounds per minute**.
* 🧠  The firing blast puts soldiers at risk of traumatic brain injury, with research showing evidence of **brain scarring that could lead to neurological disorders**.
* 👁️  The fire support specialists, known as forward observers, act as the **eyes of field artillery**, collecting intelligence and providing **targeting data** to artillery units.
* 👩‍🚀  The Army still lags behind other branches in gender integration, with only about **15% of active-duty soldiers being female**, but the percentage has **increased slightly since 2005**.
* 🎯  Known as 13 Juliets, fire control specialists are responsible for **generating targets and directing artillery fire**, and are considered the **"brains of the field artillery."**
* 💰  The Army offers enlistment bonuses of **up to $50,000**, with fire control specialists eligible for a job-signing bonus of **up to $25,000**.
* 🎖️  Graduating soldiers are celebrated for completing their training, with one trainee saying, "**After doing this, completing everything, like, this is where I'm supposed to be**."

Stand by! Fire! Narrator: 80,000 rounds are fired onto these hills in Oklahoma every year. Trainee: Fire! It is devastating effects when you're using the king of battle anywhere at any time. Narrator: With each round weighing around 100 pounds, these soldiers face the dual challenge of both carrying and firing them. First used in the 17th century, howitzers are the most common field artillery weapon today. The cannons have been critical to Ukraine's army as it battles Russian forces. It's just professional courtesy for two opposing artillery forces to shoot at each other. Why step on the field of battle if you can't play the game? Narrator: These cannons can strike up to 20 miles away and cause serious damage to their targets. But what about the soldiers who fire them? According to the Department of Defense, the firing blast puts them at risk of traumatic brain injury. We spent four days inside the Army's Field Artillery School ...

Fire mission! Fire mission! Narrator: ... observing five different companies during the various stages of training. Fire! Narrator: Training happens here, at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Located 90 miles from Oklahoma City, it's a more-than-93,000-acre installation where field artillery soldiers have trained for over a century. About 10,000 soldiers graduate from Fort Sill every year before being stationed at posts all over the US and around the world. James Castaneda: The eyes, the brain, and the brawn. If we can reach out and touch the enemy without them touching us, then everyone goes back home. Instructor: You ready? Yes, boss. Instructor: As soon as you touch that first round, your time will start. Narrator: These cannon crew members, known as 13 Bravos, are in their fourth week of training. Being in the field artillery, every day is a PT event.

Domenico Misceo: We start with hands-on, where they get to essentially feel the weight of the rounds, practice fusing rounds. Baird: A 155-millimeter round is 96 pounds, a 105 round slightly less. That's a lot of weight. Misceo: And we do that in as minimum gear as possible, and as we continue the course, we kind of escalate how much equipment they're wearing in addition to doing their jobs. Narrator: Speed is critical when carrying and moving rounds, with crews often firing at a rate of two rounds a minute. Amisha Boozer: When I first got here, I was like, Oh, my gosh, what did I sign myself up for? I'm not going to be able to pick this up. I'm not going to be able to move this. But if you have that mentality that you can do it, or, I can move this or, I can do it,

then you'll be very successful in your career being a 13 Bravo. Instructor: We're going to inspect the muzzle brake key for damage. Narrator: Cannon crew members have five weeks to learn how to operate and fire one of the Army's three types of howitzers. The M119A3, that is the lightest piece we have. The M777A2. Narrator: The M777 howitzer costs about $3.7 million. It was first deployed during the war in Afghanistan and is used today in the war in Ukraine. Since Russia's invasion in 2022, the US Army has supplied over 300 howitzers to the Ukrainian military. Misceo: Both those two pieces are towed artillery, and our final piece is the Paladin, the M109A6 or A7 variation. And they're completely self-propelled, so they do not require other equipment to tow them.

Basically, infantry get in trouble, they call for fire. It is our job to be able to do it quickly and safely to provide accurate time-on-target effects for them. Stand by! Fire! Narrator: Each cannon crew operates from the same position on each howitzer. Chief, three SPD, charge two. Would it be verified? Narrator: The section chiefs oversee the fire missions. Misceo: They're responsible for making sure everything is done, A, safely and, B, accurately. Narrator: The ammunition team chief ensures that all ammunition is fused and properly handled. Instructor: Charlie chief! Trainees: Charlie chief! Instructor: Hot Charlie! Trainees: Hot Charlie! Instructor: Charge two! Misceo: And then you have your cannoneers, one through five, depending on what howitzer you are. Their jobs is operating the howitzer, so they would be the ones running ammunition,

loading the rounds, running propellants, putting down the firing platform, throwing down your spades, all the tedious tasks, and chief would be responsible for ensuring they're performing their jobs properly. Alexa Bowyer: There's a lot of pressure, honestly. Like, I can even feel it from the 777. It's almost like a gust of air kind of pushing you back. Narrator: This sudden pressure wave after an explosion is called blast overexposure. It happens when firing heavy artillery weapons like howitzers. The Defense Health Agency funded research published in 2016 that examined the effects of blast overpressure on service members. It found evidence of brain scarring that could lead to neurological disorders such as insomnia, anxiety, memory impairment, depression, seizures, and chronic pain. Task condition standards. And if we're not doing it, stop, freeze, get everything ready, make sure we've got the right equipment,

we're in the right position. We're doing these things right. And that's all part of the training aspect. Stand by. Fire! Misceo: So, while we're firing, we will be wearing a helmet called our ACH. That is going to protect us from head injuries. Section chief: Fire! Narrator: But how much protection does the ACH actually guarantee? Paul Scharre, a former Army Ranger and now the executive vice president of the Center for a New American Security, says the military can do more. Military helmets date back to antiquity, and the type of helmet design has evolved over the course of millennia based on the threats that soldiers on the battlefield face. So helmets today are not designed to stop against an arrow or a glancing blow from a sword. They're designed to stop against bullets and to protect from impact injuries. So a service member might knock their head when riding in a vehicle or if they fall down.

What we don't have right now are helmets that are designed specifically to protect against blast exposure, even though we know that that is a type of injury that service members are facing. Instructor: Everybody pay attention. Everybody put eyes on Scorpion Ridge. Everybody have eyes on Scorpion Ridge? Right, the two targets silhouetted in the top of Scorpion Ridge, do you guys see them? Narrator: The fire support specialists, known as forward observers, act as the eyes of field artillery. They are responsible for supervising the terrain, collecting intelligence, and providing targeting data to artillery units and maneuver brigades. Justin Birchenough: Hey, remember, today is test day, right? This afternoon, we are testing this for real. This morning is going to be the last practice you get before we actually go into testing. They're identifying their target; they're pulling a direction, a distance, and what we call a vertical shift,

which is a difference in elevation between their current location and where the target is. They pass that as targeting data to the FDC, so the guns can shoot it, and then they provide a detailed target description of what it is they're shooting at so they can engage the target properly. Jerrick Anthony: We are the eyes of the artillery. It's great to have artillery, but when they're just launching rounds everywhere, it's not as effective. So we're there to make sure that these rounds are landing on target, on time, when we need them. Narrator: Back in the field, they move to their final test at the observation post, or OP, for a live call-for-fire mission, using live rounds. 1.3 is the one right there across the field. Melissa Schuck: I serve on the front lines at home as a domestic-violence detective, and I wanted to serve on the front lines here.

I'm 38, so I am running circles around some of these 19-year-old kids, and I'm not going to stop. Narrator: Among this platoon of fire support specialist trainees, there's only one female soldier. I really wanted to inspire young women, particularly my daughter and her generations that follow, to come into the military as a soldier in a combat MOS and not be afraid to fight, to be strong women, and believe in themselves that they're just as good as their male counterparts. All right, go ahead and get yourself situated. Narrator: In 2016, the Army opened all combat roles to women. You know, for all the females that want to do it, they definitely can do it, because I'm here now, and I didn't think I could do it. But with me being this little and with me being a female, anything is really possible. It's your mindset that's going to set you up

for failure or success. Narrator: In 2022, more than 15% of active-duty soldiers in the branch were female. That's an increase of only about a single percentage point from 2005. Bowyer: This is definitely a male-populated field, but just working with the guys are extremely helpful. So as long as everybody can work together, everything goes clear. Narrator: The Army still lags behind the Navy, Air Force, and Space Force in gender integration, surpassing only the Marine Corps, which is less than 10% female. Castaneda: To understand exactly where you are at is the basis of learning where the target is at. You must first locate yourself before you can locate the target. And now they're locating the target in a live scenario, and now they're adjusting live rounds and correcting them until they get effects on a target. Instructor: All right, once you get situated

and they're ready. Let me know, and I will talk you onto your target. That hunk of metal on the top of Tower Four Ridge is a BMP-1. I say again, that hunk of metal on the top of Tower Four Ridge is a BMP-1. Do you identify? All right, your time starts now. One Alpha, one gun, three rounds. Target number AA1005, out. Radio: Direction 4720, distance 2900, out. Narrator: After adjusting live rounds to successfully fire onto her designated target, Schuck passes the live call-for-fire mission. You really need to make sure that the information that you're giving is accurate because it could be the difference between a school and the enemy combatant. Message to observer, one Alpha, one gun, three rounds. Target number 1003. Out. Castaneda: We typically get embedded into maneuver elements such as the infantry, the cavalry, and tanks.

and our job is to be the liaison, to get their requests, their needs, and support it with artillery and mortars. 13 Foxes, once we call, we give our fire mission, our call for fire, it is sent over to the Juliets. Juliets, they kind of tell us where we gotta lay everything number-wise. 13 Juliets: I serve the people of the United States and live the Army values. I will always place the mission first. I will never accept defeat. Narrator: Known as 13 Juliets, fire control specialists are responsible for generating targets and directing artillery fire. Matthew McShane: All the Juliets you'll meet are a bunch of nerds in their own way, shape, or form. Whether they're computer gurus, math wizards, they're just nerds all the way around. How many of y'all think you're math studs? We gonna find out. It's one of the biggest challenges that these students have

whenever they come through here, is learning how to do the new, what we call artillery math. So, I have 23.5. Is that my final answer, though? We're known as the brains of the field artillery. So, we get all the firing data from the forward observers. They look for the enemy. They tell us where the enemy is. Instructor: Everybody understand how to do this? Trainees: Yes, sir. Instructor: Pretty simple? Trainees: Yes, sir. Instructor: When I generate the fire mission, AFATDS will show me where that round is going to land, and it creates a circle to see if there's anything out there that I don't want to destroy. Maybe my friendly units. Maybe it's a hospital, a church, a playground, something like that. Yeah, I chose this one because, well, it had a bonus. Narrator: The Army incentivizes recruits

with enlistment bonuses of up to $50,000. Fire control specialists are eligible for a job-signing bonus of up to $25,000. After failing to meet its recruitment goals for the past couple of years, the Army is nearing 100% recruitment this year, with over 24,000 new service members. So if you're on those systems and that was your responsibility, just yell, Generator grounded until they're grounded. Narrator: Working alongside the fire support specialists, the firefinder radar operators, known as 13 Romeos, utilize radar systems to gather information on enemy artillery locations. Nellie Iverson: Price, what's the first thing you gotta do? Ground the generator. The radar is the eyes of the battlefield. Close the switch. Iverson: We're going to go from off to prime and run. What we have behind us is the AN/TPQ-53 radar. It is used to detect artillery, rockets, and mortars.

The 13 Romeos and the Juliets work really close, hand in hand, so all of the data that we collect, we actually send that to the 13 Juliets, and they compute all of that information, and they set up fire missions for the launchers and the howitzers to fire. Ready? Trainees: Ready! I was actually a forklift operator at Home Depot. I really like radars. I think they're very awesome. Being able to track rounds is just phenomenal to me. Make sure the pins are always on the outside, and then just do great. Octavia Newton: I'm from a lot of places. I'm a military brat, so I've traveled the world a lot. My grandpa was in field artillery, and he said, Choose something smart, so I chose something that seemed smart. Iverson: So, the emplacement time for this is five minutes. Narrator: Once the radar systems are emplaced

and enemy artillery locations are gathered. The data is transferred to the fire support specialists, who process fire missions to the cannons and rocket systems. These vehicles are called MLRSs, or multiple launch rocket systems. The soldiers employing them, MLRS operators, are also known as 13 Mikes. Once you see the rockets, that's kind of what you want to do. It seems, you know, more of like a boom. I like the boom. Allen: The purpose of the 13 Mike is to provide distance with our rockets and missiles. We cover that gap that's missing, so we're able to shoot anything kind of long-range, whereas the cannons will take some of the short-range stuff. Narrator: MLRS operators begin their training on the M270A2, which costs over $7 million. Its predecessor, the M270, was first used in combat during the Gulf War. Known as the mechanics of field artillery,

MLRS crew members begin every week by inspecting their vehicles and conducting PMCS, preventive maintenance checks and services. Richard Essex: It's very attention to detail and just making sure that everything is up to par, or else things could go wrong, and nobody wants that, so. I'll go around and I'll look just to make sure that there's nothing wrong with the oil or the treads or anything like that, and if there is, I will either mark it as a fault or a, just to make sure that it's up to standard. Allen: A lot of the things that are really challenging for the students is, believe it or not, the PMCS, their maintenance stuff, because they've never dealt with the computer systems that we have here that they utilize, and they've never done anything like that. So, this computer here, we'll use it during the PMCS. Every bit of the vehicle that needs to be inspected,

it gives me a list and a rundown of everything that I will need to check and roll through. Allen: When they get to their field training exercise, they are doing it in reps, one after another. They're doing it until they feel extremely comfortable with that piece of equipment. Instructor: Yep, you're good! Sienna Irizarry: What we were doing is called a forward breast resupply. So we're bringing down all four pods. We always start with the trailer first if the trailer is connected. And then my other two colleagues over there are bringing down the ones on the actual vehicle. The information comes quick, and it's such a short amount of time because we're only here for six weeks. Sometimes it seems hard, but when we actually got hands-on, everything really clicked into our heads. Allen: You throw this big truck at them, and then they're expected to download these 5,000-pound pods,

and it's really daunting to some of them sometimes. Irizarry: Just because I'm a little bit smaller, and I feel like to move the pods was a bit of a struggle at first, but after a while, we got the hang of it, and I'm able to do it a lot more confidently now. Narrator: Before graduating from advanced individual training, this platoon of cannon crew members must complete their culminating training event, where they fire live rounds. This is week five of their advanced individual training. And here, they demonstrate that they have the basic knowledge of how to fire this howitzer. Bore clear! One round fire! Ready, drop! Trainee: Hold tight! We all wear the ear protection, so we really can't hear, so you gotta be very, very vocal, very loud. Sir, deflection 3463, ready! Stand by! Look up! Fire! Parfitt: The rounds can range from 40, 50 pounds

all the way up to about 110 pounds. And they shoot about 88 rounds here in a span of two days, so moving that much weight is the biggest challenge that they face. Baird: You gotta be able to do that over and over and over again. Trainee: Fire! Trainee: AG, come up a little bit. Parfitt: So, a lot of them come in here, and it beats them up a little bit. But then that most of the time just drives them to want to get better. Baird: Can you maintain that physical stress? Do you have the mental ability, the perseverance to do that? I feel like I've noticed a lot change in myself and more developed as a soldier now, I guess you can say. My dad actually does field artillery, so being around it growing up, I was kind of like, OK, well, this is something that I do want to do.

Javier Hernandez: He's matured a lot more. Hopefully, that maturity will continue to grow. I see that he's becoming a strong young man. Baird: It's a team of really great individuals, physically, mentally, spiritually fit, that can execute the things that we want them to do in high-stress environments. Section chief: Stand by. Fire! There's a lot that the military can do right now to reduce service members' exposure to potentially harmful blast overpressure when firing their own weapons. Baird: People are a commodity. It's not like the movies. It's not like a video game. There are real repercussions. We adhere to our standards, and so over the next few months, we're continuing through that data push, continue to look at what technology we can integrate and make ourselves better. Scharre: In training, establishing firing limits for how many times a service member can fire a weapon.

During one day, or a period of, say, 72 or 96 hours over the course of several weeks. And the military has firing limits now, but they're not always enforced. And the firing limits probably need to be revised and continually revised based on the latest science. So if we're finding, for example, that military service members are going out and they're shooting these weapons, and then we can measure that their cognitive performance on tests is decreasing after they're shooting these weapons, that's suggesting that the limits are not in the right place, and we should revise these limits downward to reduce the amount of times they're exposed to this type of harmful blast overpressure, so it's not causing these negative cognitive effects. Today marks a special occasion in your lives as you gather here to celebrate the successful completion of your respective advanced individual training. After doing this, completing everything, like, this is where I'm supposed to be.

Coolest part was just shooting that. I've done a lot of stuff now that I would not have done week one. It was like an adrenaline rush. It was like, Oh, my gosh, we got it. I want to do it again. I want to do it again. Baird: Our soldiers coming out of here, they're ready. They push where they think their boundary is and raise that bar again. Every time you hit that next personal record, you can see it in a soldier's face, and it's amazing. And we see it every day here.

How Army Artillery Soldiers Train To Fire $4.3 Million Howitzers — The "King Of Battle" | Boot Camp

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The Role of Howitzers in Military Training

Howitzers, weighing around 100 pounds each, are the most common field artillery weapon and have been critical to Ukraine's army in its battle against Russian forces.

The Army's Field Artillery School in Fort Sill, Oklahoma, trains about 10,000 soldiers annually, with cannon crew members, known as 13 Bravos, facing the dual challenge of carrying and firing the heavy rounds.

7 million, has been supplied to the Ukrainian military by the US Army since Russia's invasion in 2022.

Artillery crews play a crucial role in providing timely and accurate fire support for infantry in trouble.

Each crew member has specific responsibilities, from the section chiefs overseeing missions to cannoneers operating the howitzers.

The sudden blast overpressure from heavy artillery can lead to serious neurological disorders, highlighting the need for better protective measures, such as helmets designed to combat blast exposure.

The Role of Fire Support Specialists in the Army

Fire support specialists provide targeting data to artillery, ensuring accurate and timely engagement with live rounds.

The platoon includes one female soldier, aiming to inspire young women to join the military in combat roles.

Despite the Army's slow progress in gender integration, female representation has increased to over 15% by 2022.

The Role of Fire Control Specialists in the Army

Fire control specialists, known as 13 Juliets, are responsible for generating targets and directing artillery fire.

They use artillery math to calculate firing data from forward observers and work closely with firefinder radar operators, 13 Romeos, to gather information on enemy artillery locations.

The Army is incentivizing recruitment with bonuses, and they are nearing 100% recruitment this year with over 24,000 new service members.

MLRS operators, also known as 13 Mikes, are responsible for providing long-range fire support with rockets and missiles.

They begin their training on the M270A2, a $7 million vehicle, and focus on preventive maintenance checks to ensure everything is in optimal condition.

The training includes hands-on exercises and culminates in a live-fire event to demonstrate their ability to operate the howitzer.

The Challenges and Growth of Military Trainees

Military trainees face the challenge of moving heavy weights and shooting numerous rounds in a short period.

The physical and mental stress of training drives them to improve and mature as individuals.

The military is working to reduce service members' exposure to harmful blast overpressure from firing weapons by establishing and enforcing firing limits.