GRAFENWOEHR TRAINING AREA, Germany - A team of Soldiers assigned to 1st Battalion, 7th Field Artillery Regiment trained with 2nd Battalion, 70th Armor Regiment, during a live-fire training exercise Feb. 2, 2018, at Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany.
The goal for the units, both a part of the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, was to gain confidence in their ability to work together.
"The objective for my battalion in this 'walk and shoot' is to provide fires for 2-70th maneuvers - to give those company commanders and young forward support officers in that battalion the confidence to rely on field artillery to provide fires for them," said Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Deatherage, 1st Battalion, 7th Field Artillery Regiment.
Training like this gives junior leaders a chance to develop and enhance offensive, defensive and stability tasks.
1st Lt. Dylan Hatch, a platoon leader assigned to 1-7 FA, believes the greatest opportunity from the training was the ability to work with 2-70's forward observers for a synergistic effort.
When 2-70 AR forward observers relay information on enemy activity in a 'call for fire' to Soldiers like Hatch, it becomes his and his team of cannon artillery crewmembers' responsibility to act with speed and precision.
The call for fire activates a rapid response from 1-7 FA's M109A6 Paladin self-propelled howitzer, firing 155mm rounds accurately within minutes. This complex task requires the utmost in proficiency and teamwork by every Soldier.
Each artillery crew member has a separate and specific task when a call for fire comes in, such as moving the vehicle into a firing position, computing the target's data in the gun settings, loading the ammunition and firing on the target.
Pfc. Brian Mulcay, a native of Suwanee, Georgia, and a cannon crewmember assigned to 1st Battalion, 7th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd ABCT said, "My job as the number one man (a crew position) is to make sure all the ammunition in the vehicle is sorted properly, fuse the ammunition for firing, load the 95-pound rounds and fire the 155mm high-explosive ammunition."
The 1-7 FA network of operators and systems can provide joint fires, fire support, and counter-fire by its demonstrated ability to shoot, move and communicate within an assigned area.
While all this may sound easy and simple on paper, the on-the-ground conditions in which the Soldiers and their equipment must work in can be grueling. Understanding the limits of their equipment and how to care for it is of great importance to the Soldiers of 1-7 FA and 2-70 AR. This isn't lost upon the leadership.
"These Soldiers are doing an outstanding job at keeping our operational readiness rate at a peak throughout this operation," said Deatherage. "Our equipment has been exercised to the max and I am very impressed with our ability to keep our 18 guns in the fight."
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