FORT SILL, Okla., March 3, 2016 -- Soldiers from A Battery, 1st Battalion, 14th Field Artillery, "The Apocalypse Battery," conducted a week's worth of preparation Feb. 17-20 for High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) raid operations with support from the 301st Air Lift Squadron (ALS) from Travis Air Force Base, Calif.
The intent of a HIMARS raid operation is to be mission ready for rapid deployment anywhere in the world, to provide precision artillery fires and load back onto an aircraft within a short time and fly to another destination.
To prepare for the mission A Battery Soldiers started off the week doing readiness processing, followed by a joint inspection in collaboration with Airmen from Altus Air Base, then creating a flight manifest at the unit movement office. Behind the scenes work like this prepared the battery for loading onto a C-17 Globemaster III cargo jet flown by 301st ALS pilots at the end of the week.
Feb. 19, battery Soldiers did cold-load training at Henry Post Army Airfield here working with the 301st ALS and their C-17. The day provided A Battery Soldiers ample practice loading and unloading a HIMARS launcher and two reload supply vehicles. They also refreshed their understanding and use of tie-down procedures to secure their vehicles for flight.
A Battery Soldiers initiated the HIMARS raid operation Feb. 20. Returning to Henry Post Army Airfield, the battery immediately loaded HIMARS launchers onto the jet, secured the launchers, and verified everything was right and ready for the 40-minute flight ahead.
Both the 1st and 2nd Firing platoons used the flight to gain rapid deployment experience.
Arriving at their destination, Soldiers quickly unchained their vehicles and off-loaded them from the C-17 to complete the rest of the raid mission. A short drive later, they were at a training area where they fired their rockets.
Once finished, A Battery Soldiers were on the move again, leaving as quickly as they arrived.
Staff Sgt. Bradley Close recently stepped up from a HIMARS section chief to the 2nd Fire Platoon sergeant.
"Even though this is my first time in this role, I couldn't be happier with the execution. All our preparation as a battery has paid off. The launcher crews did an excellent job and had a great understanding of what needed to be done," he said.
The battery's Soldiers worked alongside 301st ALS load masters and crew members to perfect and showcase HIMARS' ability to use Air Force global reach to provide rapid, precision, long-range artillery fires anywhere in the world.
301st ALS's Senior Master Sgt. Dean Canada enjoyed the cross training with the 1-14th FA.
"As an aircrew, we prep, load and fly cargo and equipment worldwide. It's a unique experience to witness the integration of the crew and launch systems in an operational state," he said.
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