Keeping hot guns firing-Artillery mechanics tackle new systems to keep mission going, more

Photo By Staff Sgt. Jerome Bishop | Spc. Byron Hayes, a Conneaut, Ohio, native who serves as an artillery repairman with B...... read more read more

Photo By Staff Sgt. Jerome Bishop | Spc. Byron Hayes, a Conneaut, Ohio, native who serves as an artillery repairman with B Company, Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division-Baghdad wipes the old grease from a M-777 Howitzer Feb. 27 at the 2nd Battalion, 11th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd SBCT weapons repair shop at Camp Taji before applying a fresh coat during the weapon's annual servicing.  see less | View Image Page

TAJI, IRAQ

02.28.2008

Courtesy Story

2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division

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By Sgt. Jerome Bishop
2nd Stryker Brigrade Combat Team Public Affairs Office, 25th Infantry Division

CAMP TAJI, Iraq - Multi-National Division - Baghdad soldiers rely on multiple factors out in the field, ranging from air support by attack helicopter crews to fire support from artillery crews.

The task of keeping the big guns shooting, however, falls on the shoulders of three soldiers from Company B, 225th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team "Warrior," 25th Infantry Division, MND-B.

The maintenance shop, run by Sgt. Vincent Dulude, a Zanesville, Ohio, native, who serves as a fire control repairman with Co. B, takes on repair missions ranging from the Army's newest piece of artillery – the M-777 Howitzer – to some of its oldest weapons, like the M-2 .50-caliber machine gun.

The shop performs repair missions quarterly, conducts annual services on artillery pieces and fixes small arms as they come in, said Dulude.

"Right now, we're working on the M-777; we're doing the annual service on it," Dulude said. "Annual repair is just going over the weapon to make sure it's functioning correctly. Every annual service, we have to pull the tube out and pull the feed tray and the collar off; we have to lube it up, put new grease on it, put it back together and make sure it functions correctly."

It is actually a long process, he added, but is also pretty easy, usually taking approximately six to eight hours. Other services, in comparison, are much quicker and require less attention, which is good news for the soldiers on the firing line.

"Quarterly, we just check it over," said Spc. Byron Hayes, a Conneaut, Ohio, native, who serves as an artillery repairman with Co. B. "We don't take the barrel out; we just take the muzzle break off and go over the hoses and make sure there's no leaks."

Being one of the newest weapons in the Army's arsenal, the M-777 presents a rare opportunity to soldiers like Dulude and Hayes since they're among the first repairmen to work with the system.

"It's really interesting," Dulude said. "It's a lot different from what a lot of the other armament sections are doing since we have the new M-777 Howitzer, which is both digital and hardware, so it's a lot of fun to work on. We're pretty much trying to get all the troubleshooting done and get all the kinks worked out."

The majority of the work that flows into the hands of the Co. B repair shop pertains to the M-777, which they work hard to get through the repair process and back on the line.

"Every week we have at least one new gun in there and we work around our schedule, Dulude said. "We usually start in the morning and by the afternoon we're usually done, unless there are some major issues."

Dulude said the shop has yet to run into major issues.

"For now, they'll go back to the motor pool; but in about a month, it's going to be firing with Battery A (2nd Battalion, 11th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd SBCT, 25th Inf. Div., MND-B) out there on the gun line since they'll be replacing Battery B (2nd Bn. 11th FA Regt.) on 'hot gun,' so they'll actually be doing missions," he added.

While the shop juggles the constant flow of big guns into the shop for services, they also tackle small-arms repair. Repair jobs between artillery and small arms is divided up evenly between the three soldiers of the shop, said Sgt. Robert Hillius, a Vanhorne, Iowa, native, who serves as a small arms and artillery repairman with the Co. B.

Despite the constant work flow and the obstacles of learning the maintenance procedures for a new weapon, Dulude, Hillius and Hayes continue to push on with their mission, so the MND-B soldiers in the field know their six is covered by the well-kept guns of the 2-11th FA Regt.