Field Artillery: 'Deadliest Weapons System'

Courtesy Photo | U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Eric D. Williams, the Master Gunner of the 1st Battalion, 6th Field Artillery, Task Force Centaur, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Task Force Duke, poses in front of an M119A2 Howitzer on Forward Operating Base Salerno. As the battalion Master Gunner, Williams is responsible for all the gun platoons in TF Duke’s area of operations.  

KHOWST, AFGHANISTAN

07.28.2011

Courtesy Story

3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division

KHOWST, Afghanistan - In the U.S. Army, the field artillery is known as the “King of Battle.” In Task Force Centaur, one of the battle experts is U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Eric D. Williams, a Los Angeles native and artilleryman assigned to1st Battalion, 6th Field Artillery Regiment, Task Force Centaur, 3rd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, TF Duke.

Williams holds the title of Master Gunner, a multifaceted occupation requiring the practitioner to be the expert on training, safety, ammunition resupply, and maintenance operations for all artillery platoons within the 1st Bn., 6th FA’s footprint. He is the chief trainer and certifying authority of howitzer crews as well as the subject matter expert of all artillery systems currently being used in the battalion.

“Field artillery is the deadliest weapons system in the United States Army,” said Williams. “We make it rain steel on any and all enemies that dare to fire on us or our allies. We are a major deterrent to others that want to cause us harm simply because of our superiority in weaponry and expertise in deadly accuracy.”

Williams is accountable for the proficiency of four M119A2 Howitzer platoons, made up of more than 100 personnel spread across TF Duke’s area of operations, which covers nearly 11,000 square kilometers. With TF Centaur’s soldiers spread across the vast area, Williams relies heavily on the Howitzer Section Chiefs in the field to provide accurate battlefield information.

“It’s a great challenge for me to personally not be able to be at the locations all the time, although I do visit the sites frequently,” he said.

The standards and directives that Williams expects soldiers to carry out have materialized in several successes on the battlefield, including one June incident where the soldiers of TF Centaur aided an infantry unit pinned down by insurgents.

When the distressed unit called for support fire, the artillerymen launched a heavy barrage of fire resulting in the safe return of the infantry soldiers and leaving “severe battle damage” in its wake.

Though the desire for new experiences will lead Williams to a new unit after this deployment, he’s already looking back with an eye on his future.

“I can move forward and focus on what I’ll need to do in my next assignment with whatever new unit I join. I look forward to coming back [to Afghanistan] and seeing the results of all the work we are doing now.”

• Date Taken: 07.28.2011
• Date Posted: 07.28.2011 14:16
• Story ID: 74473
• Location: KHOWST, AF