FORT POLK, La. - One hundred New York Army National Guard Soldiers from Battery B, 1st Battalion, 258th Field Artillery, based in Bronx, N.Y., deployed their cannons and munitions from New York to the fight at the Army's Joint Readiness Training Center in Louisiana, July 27, 2016.
"There's nothing like feeling the power of the howitzer - your adrenaline is up and you can feel it vibrate through your whole body" exclaimed Spc. Jose Cordero, a radio operator, or radio telephone operator (RTO) for "Bravo" Battery's Gun 8. "You know you have to respect it."
As the RTO, Cordero communicates with the battalion command or fire direction and transmits the target lists, and fire plans to the observer.
"The highlight of the training here was the live fire," Cordero enthused.
The artillery battery joined more than 200 Soldiers of the 1-258th Field Artillery from Jamaica and Newburgh, N.Y. as part of JRTC rotation 16-08, supporting the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, based in Syracuse, N.Y., leading Task Force Hunter. The Soldiers, who refer to themselves as the Bronx Boys, are battling the environment, the summer heat and a trained opposing force in an exercise that brings as much realism as possible to troops.
The battery came with M119 lightweight towed howitzers that provide direct and indirect fire support to the brigade elements deployed here for training in combined arms operations.
According to Sgt. Erik Paredes, a M119 gunner assigned to Bravo Battery, Gun 8, the M119 fires 105mm ammunition that includes high explosive rounds, high explosive rocket assisted shells, illuminating star shells and white phosphorous smoke cartridges.
The M119 fires on high trajectories at low velocities and can be easily moved and rapidly deployed in the field to deliver optimum fire power with less combat weight. With a lower silhouette it is primarily towed by a Humvee or air dropped by parachute and also sling carried under a CH-47 Chinook or UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter, Paredes explained.
The Joint Training Center affords combat training in a realistic environment which features a well-trained opposing force, civilian role-players on the battlefield, high-tech systems which monitor the action and effects of all weapons and observer-controllers to evaluate unit actions.
Paredes noted the challenges when faced with an aggressive opposing force, knowing that the artillery batteries are a valued target.
"They've kept us on the move here - we keep moving our position, digging in and setting up camouflage netting to stay concealed from the enemy, it's the only way to keep alive," Paredes said.
"We are running 24-hour operations, so most of us are awake at night because that's when you're vulnerable to attack. We use rest cycles to make sure we've functional when needed," explained Paredes. "Bottom line is we support the front line infantry, we need to tough it out and be ready when they call for fires."
When Gun 8 isn't on the move, setting up or providing fire support they are focusing on team building.
"This is great because we get to apply our training and use the skills we learned over the years, but even more so is sharing with each other. There is no boundaries on knowledge," Paredes exclaimed.
Team building is more than a benefit for the artillery crews, it is a necessity. All the forces at JRTC wear a laser harness for the force on force training. With the force on force training, any number of artillery Soldiers can become casualties and removed from the fight.
"We are cross training all of our team positions. No one is limited to just their own job, each Soldier is learning the skills at the next level to build proficiency and confidence. Anyone of us could be taken out or thrown into taking on additional responsibilities, if something happens to one of our team. It's our job as leaders to make sure each one of us is prepared if that happens, Paredes enthused.
"JRTC gives a realism to the fight - a sense of urgency - and seeing helicopters, cavalry and infantry all in the same place really sets the mindset of battle. You see how things come together, especially what we bring to the fight," explained 1st Lt. Vadim Yegorov, a fire direction officer for Bravo Battery.
"We're learning a lot. It takes a lot of multi-tasking to stay in front of the enemy and be able to attack, especially with the challenges of the hot weather, working around the clock, lack of showers, food and sleep," Yegorov said. "We're making do by being creative and adapting and taking it one day at a time."
A significant part of the exercise is the professional observers and trainers who watch over the training to identify shortfalls and provide feedback and guidance.
"These guys have come a long way since they've been here. They went from setting up the first time in an unfamiliar terrain in 10 hours to 30 minutes. It's all about repetition which isn't something they can do with only 39 days of training a year in the National Guard," explained Sgt. 1st Class James Howard, an observer-controller/trainer assigned to Task Force Fires, JRTC Operations Group.
The goal of the entire exercise is to make the unit better, Howard said, and to bring back lessons to help the batteries plan for future training. Gun 8 and Bravo Battery have been doing that throughout, he said.
"They are listening to guidance and suggestions and you can see that their taking in what they learn from the Fire Direction Center," Howard said.
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