FORT SILL, Okla. -- With the constant 'in lieu of' missions that many units are performing these days, maintaining the skills of one's military occupational speciality requires good leadership and diligence to make it happen.
Lt. Col. Thomas Roe, 3rd Battalion, 13th Field Artillery commander, and his Soldiers, a Multiple Launch Rocket System unit in the 75th Fires Brigade, headed to the training area this week.
For those who live east of Interstate 44, they immediately knew training had commenced because the sound barrier breaking as rockets leave their launchers is a hard thing to miss. Firing multiple missions for certification, the Soldiers of 3-13th FA put timely and accurate fire, safely on their targets in the South Arbuckle Impact Area.
It's not just as easy as taking a few days to go to the training area, firing your missions and then heading back home. The tireless efforts of the leadership from 3-13th FA and their extensive work with the Fort Sill Fire Department and Range Control were instrumental in making this exercise go off without a hitch, said Roe.
"In the last five to six weeks we have noticed a considerable turn over rate in our crews and that is exactly why we are out here," he added. "We need to get all our our crews certified and ready for Operation Diamond Fury next week."
This time of year many units see a huge change in their personnel numbers. Many Soldiers make the summer move to different posts, some get out of the service and some simply move up in the ranks to make way for future leaders. Therefore, what a unit ends up with is a lot of uncertified crews who need to be ready to deploy at any time. That was one of the main purposes of this week's mission.
The extremely hot and dry summer put a few limits on the unit which is why over the past few weeks the crews have been through numerous training events to prepare them to put steel on targets. Leaders trained crews on the proper functioning of the launchers, safety and the knowledge-based tests needed to certify crews to send a rocket 800 mph downrange.
Although the big show of MLRS is the launchers firing and their maneuverability, a piece that rarely gets seen is the forward support company.
The 66th FSC supports the 3-13th FA in every aspect. Food, ammunition, fuel and maintenance are just a few things that keep the battalion running like clockwork. This is where the true work of any battalion begins. The Soldiers of the 66th FSC are a tireless crew that works around the clock to keep all the cogs of this machine running smoothly, said 3-13th FA leaders.
"Not only have we had outstanding support from the 66th FSC, but the 100th Brigade Support Battalion came out this morning to lay down 15,000 gallons of water in conjunction with the Fort Sill Fire Department to ensure that there would be no fires on the firing point," said Roe. "So it really is a multi-faceted logistics operation, and I couldn't be happier with the support we received."
With Operation Diamond Fury, the 75th Fires Brigade exercise, coming up next week the 3-13th FA "Red Dragons" look to be more than ready to handle any mission the brigade may have for them.
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