Soldiers assigned to 1st Battalion, 17th Field Artillery, 75th Fires Brigade, fine tuned their skills on the M109A6 Paladin during a battalion-level exercise at Fort Sill, Okla., on July 24.
The effectiveness of that training is measured by the Army every six months when gun sections participate in standardized certification test to remain eligible to undergo a live fire gunnery mission.
The paladin certification is a three-part process. It consist of Paladin Table I-IV, which is completed in garrison; Paladin Table V, which consists of dry fire missions normally conducted in the motorpool and Paladin Table VI, which is conducting live fire missions.
To complete the certification, gun sections in 1-17th FAR have to pass the artillery skill test, the gunner's test and the gunner's written test.
The fire direction center also completes a similar evaluation to become certified to fire live rounds. The FDCs evaluation included completing the manual safety test whereby Soldiers were required to score a minimum of 90 percent.
During the evaluation, all sections were assessed on their ability to meet fire mission processing times, have no safety incidents and adhere to the battalion's standard operation procedures.
"Fire mission, fire mission, fire mission," is a radio call well known throughout the field artillery world, which translates to, 'Let's get down to business.'
The fire mission comes first from the observer, to the battalion FDC, then down to the battery FDC before it is transmitted to the gun section. The FDC then inputs the data into its computer system and afterwards transmits it to the paladin section members.
Spc. Robert A. Huey, an AFATDS operator assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1-17th FAR takes great pleasure to be able to work on the Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System and wish that the battalion could shoot more rounds then they do.
An artilleryman's ability to compute and shoot rounds safely on target is not acquired easily. Soldiers must train and hone their skills to be effective at their craft. Training is a continuous process which consists of dry fire exercises throughout the year.
"You can do all the dry fire training in the motorpool all you want but coming out to the field helps you build up the confidence that you can do your job." said Pfc. Evan J. Warnken, a gunner with Alpha Battery 1-17th FAR.
One of the gunner's tasks is to verify that the data from the FDC is correct. If the data is not correct "Check Firing" is announced why the given data is unsafe and the corrective action taken by the gun section.
The paladin section chief is responsible for all operations within his section. The paladin section chief is typically the most experience and senior ranking servicemember assigned to the section.
"I've been on the paladin for 8 years and had a great learning experiment every time," said Sgt. Michael P. Kerkhoff, a section chief with Alpha Battery, 1-17th FAR. "Being a section chief in a paladin unit, you have to be able to handle multiple tasks at one time."
A future training event for 1-17th FAR, is scheduled next month, to provide fires for the 13 Foxtrot Advance Individual Training and the Basic Officers Leaders Course at Ft. Sill.
Related Links:
Official 75th Fires Brigade, 1st Infantry Division Facebook Page
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