Photo By Staff Sgt. Jennifer Spradlin | Staff Sgt. Benjamin Block, a fire support specialist from 1st Battalion, 37th Field...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. - Modern warfare often requires real-time, seamless cooperation among military branches. To ensure effective use of joint combat assets, more than 40 fire support specialists from the 1st Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment are recertifying their joint fires observer status on the Call For Fire Trainer at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
The JFO is qualified to request mortar and artillery fire and provides close air support targeting information to a joint terminal attack controller. JFOs also speak directly to attack-aviation pilots, to practice calling directly for aviation support.
The 1-37th FAS JFOs test on the Call For Fire Trainer, a marriage of computer technology and the same technology used by the JFOs during combat. The evaluator uses computer software to manipulate the mission and to input the information called in by the testing Soldier.
"This technology is a great asset to the Army because it increases the Soldiers’ confidence in their ability to call for fire and that translates directly onto the battlefield," said A.C. Aponte, the lead call-for-fire trainer.
Aponte, a former fire support specialist, retired from the military in 2005 and has worked with this training system since it became available in 2006. He said, in his opinion, it was the "next best thing" to firing rounds during a live-fire exercise. He said the trainer also made it easier to evaluate Soldiers’ performance on a one-on-one basis.
"I put a lot of pressure on them, when it’s time to execute the mission – they need to be focused and ready. I know in combat that they’re going to be under a lot of strain to perform, and we don’t make it easy for them here," Aponte said.
A mistake in calling for fire support can lead to minutes instead of seconds before rounds hit the target, said Staff Sgt. Benjamin Block, a 1-37 FA JFO. And that, he said, is something you never want to happen.
"The goal is to be accurate and quick, but these skills are perishable. I’ve been in the Army for nine years, but I still get a lot out of the training and recertification," Block said.
He said it was important to augment past experience with “constant engagement” with the equipment’s technical manual, time with the trainer and focused training in the field. The trainer represents the “crawl” phase of training and the best place to work out errors.
| Date Taken: | 08.04.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 08.15.2014 13:16 |
| Story ID: | 139459 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 130 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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