In Country Artillery Soldiers Bring Firepower

Sgt Albert Cook runs out of a M109A6 Paladin, a Self-Propelled Howitzer, to retrieve canisters for indirect fire missions at Forward Operating Base Warhorse, in the Diyala Province of Iraq. The artillery Soldier is a member of A Battery, 2nd Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division.

Artillery Soldiers bring more than firepower to fight in new deployment
Wednesday, 17 January 2007
By Staff Sgt. Samantha M. Stryker
5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
BAQUBAH — If any one knows what it means to adjust fire, it is the Soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division. Instead of sending rounds down range, these Fort Hood Soldiers served as infantrymen, and even called for fire support during their previous deployment to Iraq.
Those missions included security escorts, presence patrols, and conducting raids aimed at capturing suspected insurgents and confiscating prohibited weapons and bomb-making material used against coalition forces.
This time around, the Soldiers are doing the job they know best; sending 155mm rounds down range in support of on-going operations in the Diyala Province for 3rd BCT.

“We have trained for years and finally we get the opportunity to fire. We are energized by that,” said 1st Lt. Sean O’Keefe, A Battery, 2nd platoon leader.

“We are here to support units with the type of mission needed, whether its illumination or high explosives, we will support them within minutes,” O’Keefe added.

Along with their mission to provide indirect fire support for the brigade and attached units, O’Keefe said the 2-82 FA also supports fire missions requested by Iraqi Security Forces working with Military Transition Teams.

“Some MiTT teams have the capability to talk to the battery,” he said.

Fire Support Officer, 2nd Lt. Jeremy Duplechin, B Company, 1st Battalion, 12th Combined Arms Battalion, stressed the importance of the experience by the 2-82 FA Soldiers and how it has made them better.
The young artillery officer is attached to an infantry company as an artillery advisor to coordinate artillery support during any type of mission.

“These artillery Soldiers have a new perspective on their mission and how forward operating units work in conjunction with indirect fire,” said Duplechin.

“I bet they have a better appreciation and understanding of how important their job is after they have been on the ground,” he added.

Knowing what the Soldiers who are forward in the fight see and experience when rounds strike their targets is valuable knowledge, but time and accuracy are even more crucial. This is how artillery Soldiers prove themselves in battle.

“We learned more about both sides and how each of them are needed and work together to accomplish any mission,” said Spc. Efren Ordaz, A Battery, 2-82 FA, referring back to their last deployment.

“When patrols need artillery support, we understand firsthand…how fast they need it,” he said.

This unit is divided between two bases in the Diyala province, with each battery providing indirect fire support for current and future operations.
Providing support for units forward in the battle is not the only mission for these artillerymen. They also provide protection for the Soldiers on those bases.

“The less we shoot, the more we get mortared,” said Sgt. 1st Class Eric Andersen, acting first sergeant for A Battery, 2-82 FA.

The battery’s top enlisted member, often called ‘Smoke,’ offers this explanation for the loud booming sounds of artillery leaving Forward Operating Base Warhorse, leaving trembling buildings in its wake.

“It is ‘piece of mind’ what service members hear as the roaring thunder of artillery rounds leave the gun tube of a howitzer,” Andersen said.

“Here is a reality check,” he said with a grin, “The artillery guys shoot at and remove a positively identified target or threat that is either firing at us or some one innocent.”