FORT SILL, Oklahoma (Aug. 9, 2018) -- As we continue to celebrate 2018 as The Year of the Fires Warrant Officer on Fort Sill, we wish our field artillery technician warrant officers a happy birthday.
On Aug. 10, 1955, Military Occupational Specialty 1121, Artillery Electronic Fire Control Assistant was first established. Today's modern-day FA technicians (MOS 131A) trace their lineage back to MOS 1121.
Artillery electronic fire control assistants were trained to supervise the employment and maintenance of the AN/MPQ-10 and AN/MPQ-4 counter-mortar radar systems, as well as the AN/TPS-25 ground surveillance radar. In July 1962, MOS 1121 was recoded to MOS 211A and the specialty renamed as Field Artillery Radar Technician.
As the Vietnam War escalated, field artillery radar technicians assumed responsibilities as radar section leaders replacing lieutenants and captains. 211As were responsible for the tactical employment and maintenance of the AN/MPQ-4 and AN/TPS-25 radar systems, the AN/MPQ-10 having since been retired. FA radar technicians in charge of the AN/MPQ-4 aided in the force protection of supported maneuver elements, base camps, and other fixed installations in Vietnam.
As combat operations in Vietnam came to a close, the Army downsized, forcing field artillery to reduce the number of its radar technicians.
At the end of the 1970s, the AN/MPQ-4 and AN/TPS-25 radars were replaced by the AN/TPQ-36 and AN/TPQ-37 Firefinder radar systems. The AN/TPQ-36 detected and located mortar firings, while the AN/TPQ-37 located artillery units.
In 1981, the Field Artillery Radar Technician specialty was renamed Target Acquisition Radar Technician and in 1989, MOS 211A was officially changed to MOS 131A. Throughout the 1980s, target acquisition radar technicians stood ready, around the globe, to counter Warsaw Pact aggression.
In August 1990, Operation Desert Shield commenced, followed by Operation Desert Storm, in January 1991. Target acquisition radar technicians deployed with their radar sections and played a critical role in silencing Iraqi artillery, rendering those systems combat ineffective, for fear of being targeted.
In 1993, the Target Acquisition Radar Technician specialty was renamed Target Acquisition Technician and officially took over roles of counterfire officer, FA intelligence officer, and targeting officer, from battery through corps echelons. As targeting officer, the 131A helped manage the targeting process, in support of the combined arms commander.
After the terrorist attacks of 9/11, target acquisition technicians deployed in their traditional roles, as well as a myriad of nonstandard positions during operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Radar section leaders and counter-fire officers played key roles in the counter-fire fight, and provided early warning detection of rockets and mortars on forward operating bases. Field artillery intelligence officers and targeting officers transitioned to counterinsurgency targeting, focusing their efforts on high value individuals in terrorist networks.
Renaming the specialty to Field Artillery Targeting Technician in 2006, and then Field Artillery Technician in 2018, field artillery warrant officers can be found today from the platoon to combatant command levels, serving as integral members of conventional, special operations, and cyber units worldwide.
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