Photo By Staff Sgt. LaShic Patterson | U.S. Army Soldier with the 1st Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division stands...... read more read more
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VILSECK, Germany – Soldiers from the Field Artillery Squadron, 2d Cavalry Regiment completed their howitzer training vital to the support of the annual U.S. Army Europe Dynamic Front exercise and their artillery air raid in Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, March 6 & 12, 2019.
On March 12, Soldiers from the FA Squadron participated in the artillery air raid as part of their Table XVIII certifications. The advanced party personnel were led by Sgt. 1st Class James Storozuk, who prepared the firing point for the arrival of six howitzers.
“It’s a culminating event for our Table XVIII exercise,” said Storozuk, cannon crewmember and platoon sergeant, Cobra Battery, FA Squadron, 2CR. “What that is going to consist of is Black Hawks, UH-60s, come in and Chinooks, CH-47s. They’re going to pick up the howitzers, and they’re going to move them to a different firing point.”
Also a part of the advanced party personnel was Sgt. 1st Class Carlos Mont, cannon
crewmember and platoon sergeant, Cobra Battery, FA Squadron, 2CR.
“We’re establishing security at our new PAA [Position Areas for Artillery] to set up pre-determined positions, so when the howitzers do arrive, the aircraft [will] have a general idea of where we want them to place the howitzers,” explained Mont.
According to Maj. Michael R. Podojil, fire support officer, FA Squadron, 2CR, this year marked the first time that a rotational CAB unit, 1st Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division based in Fort Riley, Kan., and an U.S. Army Europe unit, 2CR, would work together to conduct an artillery air raid.
“The RCO [regimental commander] wants to have the capability to move our cannons deeper, more toward the front lines to do a farther shot against an enemy that is farther away,” said Podojil. “He sees the FA Squadron as being a key stake holder in air assault operations for the regiment.”
With FA Squadron’s supporting 1st CAB’s capabilities in less than a month after their arrival to the European Theater, this joint effort enabled 2CR’s ability to conduct the air assault mission to hit enemy targets deep in the battlefield.
“It's the first time we've been able to pick up all six howitzers at once without us making multiple turns,” said Podojil on FA Squadron's aircraft asset capabilities to move an entire battery's fire power.
Leading up to the air raid, the FA Squadron participated in the 7th Army Training Command joint multinational training exercise, Dynamic Front 2019.
With the focus of readiness and interoperability, approximately 3,200 service members from 27 nations participated in the Dynamic Front exercise March 2-9, 2019 to ensure unit lethality, the U.S. Army mission for the global modernization strategy.
“The mission for the week for the Dynamic Front is we’re here supporting NATO by providing indirect fires and bettering our work abilities,” said Storozuk.
The FA Squadron received fire missions in support of allied and partner countries to include Germany, Canada, Lithuania, France, Poland and Sweden.
“I’d definitely say we’re seeing our allies a lot more than last year,” said Spc. Alexander Ten Haff, who participated in 2018’s Dynamic Front exercise.
“When we were doing our R3SP [rearm, refuel, resupply and survey point], they [U.S. Army Europe] had a few other nations there watching and seeing how we draw our ammo [and] how fast we do it. They would come up and check out the gun and check out our ammunition.”
Haff, cannon crewmember and assistant gunner, Cobra Battery, FA Squadron, 2CR, believes the exercise to be a learning experience not only for the participating nations but also for the U.S. Army and local media who visited to see the crew execute a dry run of their firing drills utilizing the M777 Howitzer.
“I really like this mission,” said Haff. “This is my favorite just because not only are we out here doing our job [and] shooting rounds, but we’re also practicing [and] working with our NATO allies.”
A typical fire mission is executed with support from the fire direction center section and the field
artillery fire finder radar operator.
“We have a CSD, a chief section display,” said Haff. “That’s where we receive our fire missions, our deflection, quadrant, what kind of round, what setting the fuse is on, whether it’s point detonation or time.”
During the demonstration, the crew swabbed the howitzer to prevent powder from setting off the charge prematurely. Weighing around 100 pounds, the 155mm artillery shell is loaded into the M1156 Precision Guidance Kit, turning the rounds into smart weapons and allowing the howitzer to hit at a range of 30,000km to 32,000km.
“When we’re loading them [rounds] into the truck, we each take turns,” said Haff. “As far as missions go, we have just one guy, and he loads it on to the tray every time we get a fire mission.”
Maintaining a ready and forward presence in Europe, the FA Squadron successfully executed the artillery air raid mission and Dynamic Front training, preparing 2CR for future multinational exercises to come.
In the upcoming summer training exercise, Saber Guardian 2019, 2CR will continue to receive air support from both 1st CAB and the 12th Combat Aviation Brigade based in Ansbach, Germany based to continue enhancing speed and tactical capabilities together.
| Date Taken: | 03.22.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 03.25.2019 16:36 |
| Story ID: | 315297 |
| Location: | VILSECK, BAYERN, DE |
| Web Views: | 498 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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