How Army artillery soldiers train to fire $4.3 million howitzers — the 'king of battle'
We traveled to the US Army Field Artillery School in Fort Sill, Oklahoma, to see what soldiers go through in their advanced individual training.
Located 90 miles southwest of Oklahoma City, Fort Sill is one of the 20 largest military installations in the world. It covers over 93,000 acres, and over 13,000 active-duty personnel are stationed at the base.
Field artillery soldiers are assigned to one of five military occupational specialties: fire control specialist (13J), cannon crew member (13B), fire support specialist (13F), firefinder radar operator (13R), and multiple launch rocket system crew member (13M).
During our four-day visit, we followed future field artillery soldiers in each specialty and learned how they work together to provide field artillery support in battle.
Located 90 miles southwest of Oklahoma City, Fort Sill is one of the 20 largest military installations in the world. It covers over 93,000 acres, and over 13,000 active-duty personnel are stationed at the base.
Field artillery soldiers are assigned to one of five military occupational specialties: fire control specialist (13J), cannon crew member (13B), fire support specialist (13F), firefinder radar operator (13R), and multiple launch rocket system crew member (13M).
During our four-day visit, we followed future field artillery soldiers in each specialty and learned how they work together to provide field artillery support in battle.
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FunTranscript
00:00Stand by.
00:01Fire.
00:0480,000 rounds are fired onto these hills
00:08in Oklahoma every year.
00:10Fire.
00:12It has devastating effects
00:14when you're using the King of Battle
00:16anywhere at any time.
00:20With each round weighing around 100 pounds,
00:24these soldiers face the dual challenge
00:27of both carrying and firing them.
00:33First used in the 17th century,
00:36howitzers are the most common field artillery weapon today.
00:40The cannons have been critical to Ukraine's army
00:43as it battles Russian forces.
00:45It's just professional courtesy
00:47for two opposing artillery forces to shoot at each other.
00:49You know, why step on the field of battle
00:51if you can't play the game?
00:52These cannons can strike from up to 20 miles away
00:56and cause serious damage to their targets.
00:59Hit!
01:01But what about the soldiers who fire them?
01:04According to the Department of Defense,
01:07the firing blast puts them at risk of traumatic brain injury.
01:14We spent four days inside the Army's field artillery school...
01:18Fire mission!
01:19Fire mission!
01:21...observing five different companies
01:23during the various stages of training.
01:26Fire!
01:28Training happens here at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
01:32Located 90 miles from Oklahoma City,
01:35it's a more than 93,000-acre installation
01:40where field artillery soldiers have trained
01:42for over a century.
01:47About 10,000 soldiers graduate from Fort Sill every year
01:52before being stationed at posts all over the U.S.
01:56and around the world.
01:58The eyes, the brain, and the brawn.
02:03If we can reach out and touch the enemy
02:05without them touching us, then, you know,
02:08everyone goes back home.
02:17You ready?
02:19Yes, sir.
02:20As soon as you touch that first round, your time will start.
02:24These cannon crew members, known as 13 Bravos,
02:28are in their fourth week of training.
02:30Being in the field artillery, every day is a PT event.
02:34We start with hands-on, where they get to essentially
02:38feel the weight of the rounds, practice fusing rounds.
02:42A 155-millimeter round is 96 pounds.
02:45A 105 round is slightly less.
02:47That's a lot of weight.
02:48And we do that in as minimum gear as possible.
02:52And as we continue the course, we kind of escalate
02:55how much equipment they're wearing
02:57in addition to doing their jobs.
03:00Speed is critical when carrying and moving rounds,
03:04with crews often firing at a rate of two rounds a minute.
03:09When I first got here, I was like, oh, my gosh,
03:11what did I sign myself up for?
03:13I'm not going to be able to pick this up.
03:14I'm not going to be able to move this.
03:17But if you have that mentality that you can do it,
03:20oh, I can move this, oh, I can do it,
03:22then you'll be very successful in your career
03:25doing being the 13th Army.
03:30We're going to inspect the muzzle brake key for damage.
03:34Cannon crew members have five weeks
03:37to learn how to operate and fire
03:39one of the Army's three types of howitzers.
03:43The Mike 119 or Alpha 3,
03:46that is the lightest piece we have.
03:49The Mike 777 Alpha 2.
03:52The M777 howitzer costs about $3.7 million.
03:58It was first deployed during the war in Afghanistan
04:02and is used today in the war in Ukraine.
04:06Since Russia's invasion in 2022,
04:09the U.S. Army has supplied over 300 howitzers
04:13to the Ukrainian military.
04:15Both those two pieces are towed artillery,
04:17and our final piece is the Paladin,
04:19the Mike 109 Alpha 6 or Alpha 7 variation,
04:23and they're completely self-propelled,
04:25so they do not require other equipment to tow them.
04:28Basically, infantry get in trouble, they call for fire.
04:31It is our job to be able to do it quickly and safely
04:33to provide accurate time-on-target effects for them.
04:38Stand by.
04:41Each cannon crew operates from the same position
04:43on each howitzer.
04:45Four cars here on fire.
04:46Charlie Chief, UDD, charge two.
04:48Would it be verified?
04:49The section chiefs oversee the fire missions.
04:53They're responsible for making sure everything is done,
04:55A, safely, and B, accurately.
04:59The ammunition team chief ensures that all ammunition
05:03is fused and properly handled.
05:05Charlie Chief! Charlie Chief!
05:06Lock Charlie! Lock Charlie!
05:08Charge two!
05:09And then you have your cannoneers,
05:10one through five, depending on what howitzer you are.
05:14Their jobs is operating the howitzer,
05:16so they would be the ones running ammunition,
05:18loading the rounds, running propellants,
05:20putting down the firing platform,
05:22throwing down your spades, all the tedious tasks,
05:25and chief would be responsible for ensuring
05:27they're performing their jobs properly.
05:32There's a lot of, like, pressure, honestly.
05:34Like, I can even feel it from the 777.
05:37Some of it's just that it's almost like a gust of air
05:39kind of pushing you back.
05:41This sudden pressure wave after an explosion
05:44is called blast overexposure.
05:48It happens when firing heavy artillery weapons
05:50like howitzers.
05:53The Defense Health Agency funded research published in 2016
05:58that examined the effects of blast overpressure
06:00on service members.
06:02It found evidence of brain scarring
06:04that could lead to neurological disorders
06:06such as insomnia, anxiety, and depression.
06:10It also found evidence of anxiety, memory impairment,
06:14depression, seizures, and chronic pain.
06:18Task condition standards.
06:20And if we're not doing it, stop, freeze, get everything ready,
06:23make sure we've got the right equipment,
06:26we're in the right position, we're doing these things right.
06:28And that's all part of the training aspect.
06:32So, while we're firing, we will be wearing a helmet
06:35called our ACH.
06:37That is going to protect us from head injuries.
06:40How much protection does the ACH actually guarantee?
06:45Paul Scharr, a former Army Ranger
06:48and now the executive vice president
06:50of the Center for a New American Security,
06:52says the military can do more.
06:55Military helmets date back to antiquity.
06:58And the type of helmet design has evolved
07:02over the course of millennia based on the threats
07:05that soldiers on the battlefield face.
07:07So, helmets today are not designed to stop against
07:11an arrow or a glancing blow from a sword.
07:13They're designed to stop against bullets
07:15and to protect from impact injuries.
07:18So, a service member might knock their head
07:21when riding in a vehicle or if they fall down.
07:24What we don't have right now are helmets
07:27that are designed specifically
07:28to protect against blast exposure,
07:31even though we know that that is a type of injury
07:34that service members are facing.
07:37So, everybody pay attention.
07:38Everybody put eyes in the Scoprion Ridge.
07:42Everybody have eyes in the Scoprion Ridge?
07:44Right, the two targets silhouetted in the top
07:46of the Scoprion Ridge.
07:47You guys see them?
07:48The fire support specialists, known as forward observers,
07:52act as the eyes of field artillery.
07:55They're responsible for supervising the terrain,
07:58collecting intelligence, and providing targeting data
08:02to artillery units and maneuver brigades.
08:07Hey, remember, today is test day, right?
08:09This afternoon, we are testing this for real.
08:12This morning is gonna be the last practice you get
08:14before we actually go into testing.
08:16They're identifying their target.
08:18They're pulling a direction, a distance,
08:20and what we call a vertical shift,
08:22which is a difference in elevation
08:23between their current location and where the target is.
08:27They pass that as targeting data to the FDC
08:30so the guns can shoot it.
08:31And then they provide a detailed target description
08:34of what it is they're shooting.
08:35So they can engage the target properly.
08:39We're the eyes of the artillery.
08:41It's great to have artillery,
08:42but when they're just launching rounds everywhere,
08:45it's not as effective.
08:46So we're there to make sure that these rounds
08:49are landing on target on time when we need them.
08:56Back in the field, they move to their final test
08:59at the observation post, or OP,
09:03for a live call-for-fire mission using live rounds.
09:071.3 is the one right there across the field.
09:11I serve on the front lines at home
09:13as a domestic violence detective,
09:15and I wanted to serve on the front lines here.
09:18I'm 38, so I am running circles
09:21around some of these 19-year-old kids,
09:23and I'm not gonna stop.
09:26Among this platoon of fire support specialist trainees,
09:29there's only one female soldier.
09:32I really wanted to inspire young women,
09:34particularly my daughter and her generations that follow,
09:37to come into the military as a soldier in a combat MOS
09:41and not be afraid to fight, to be strong women,
09:45and, you know, believe in themselves
09:48that they are just as good as their male counterparts.
09:51All right, go ahead and get yourself situated.
09:54In 2016, the Army opened all combat roles to women.
09:59You know, for all the females that want to do it,
10:01they definitely can't do it because I'm here now,
10:03and I didn't think I could do it,
10:04but with me being this little and with me being a female,
10:07anything is really possible.
10:09It's your mindset that's gonna set you up
10:10for failure or success.
10:13In 2022, more than 15% of active-duty soldiers
10:17in the branch were female.
10:20That's an increase of only about a single percentage point
10:23from 2005.
10:26This is definitely a male-populated field,
10:28but just working with the guys are extremely helpful,
10:31so as long as everybody can work together,
10:34everything goes clear.
10:35The Army still lags behind the Navy, Air Force,
10:38and Space Force in gender integration,
10:41surpassing only the Marine Corps,
10:43which is less than 10% female.
10:49To understand exactly where you are at
10:51is the basis of learning where the target is at.
10:54You must first locate yourself
10:55before you can locate the target,
10:57and now they're locating the target in a live scenario,
10:59and now they're adjusting live rounds
11:01and correcting them until they get effects on a target.
11:05All right, once you get situated and they're ready,
11:07let me know, and I will talk you on to your target.
11:10That hunk of metal on the top of Tower 4 Ridge is a BMP-1.
11:14I say again, that hunk of metal on the top of Tower 4 Ridge
11:17is a BMP-1.
11:19Do you identify?
11:21All right, your time starts now.
11:24Next is over 1-Alpha, one's on three rounds,
11:26target number Alpha-Alpha-1-0-0-5-Alpha.
11:31Direction 4-7-2-0, distance 2-9-100-Alpha.
11:36After adjusting live rounds
11:38to successfully fire onto her designated target,
11:41Shuck passes the live call for fire mission.
11:45You really need to make sure that the information
11:48that you're giving is accurate
11:51because it could be the difference between a school
11:54and the enemy combatants.
11:56Message to observer, 1-Alpha, one gun,
11:58three rounds, target number 1-0-0-3, out.
12:03We typically get embedded into maneuver elements
12:05such as the infantry, the cavalry, and tanks.
12:08And our job is to be the liaison,
12:11to get their requests, their needs,
12:14and support it with artillery and mortars.
12:1713 Foxes, once we call, we give our fire mission,
12:20our call for fire, it is sent over to the Juliettes.
12:23Juliettes, they kind of tell us
12:26where we got to lay everything, number-wise.
12:33I serve the people of the United States
12:35and live the Army values.
12:37I will always place a mission first.
12:39I will never accept defeat.
12:41Known as 13 Juliettes, fire control specialists,
12:46are responsible for generating targets
12:49and directing artillery fire.
12:54All the Juliettes you'll meet are a bunch of nerds
12:56in their own way, shape, or form.
12:58Whether they're computer gurus, math wizards,
13:00they're just nerds all the way around.
13:03How many of y'all think you're math studs?
13:06We gonna find out.
13:08It's one of the biggest challenges
13:09that these students have whenever they come through here
13:11is learning how to do the new, what we call artillery math.
13:15So, I have two 3.5, is that my final answer, though?
13:19We're known as the brains of the field artillery,
13:22so we get all the firing data from forward observers.
13:25They look for the enemy, they tell us where the enemy is.
13:29Everybody understand how to do this?
13:30Yes, sir.
13:31Pretty simple.
13:32Yes, sir.
13:34When I generate the fire mission,
13:36FATAS will show me where that round is gonna land,
13:39and it creates a circle to see if there's anything out there
13:43that I don't want to destroy.
13:45Maybe my friendly units, maybe it's a hospital,
13:49a church, a playground, something like that.
13:53Yeah, I chose this one because it had a bonus.
13:58The Army incentivizes recruits
14:00with enlistment bonuses of up to $50,000.
14:03Fire control specialists are eligible
14:06for a job signing bonus of up to $25,000.
14:10After failing to meet its recruitment goals
14:12for the past couple of years,
14:13the Army is nearing 100% recruitment this year,
14:18with over 24,000 new service members.
14:21So, if you're on those systems
14:23and that was your responsibility,
14:25just y'all generator grounded, antenna grounded.
14:29Working alongside the fire support specialists,
14:32the firefighter radar operators, known as 13 Romeos,
14:36utilize radar systems to gather information
14:40on enemy artillery locations.
14:43Price, what's the first thing you gotta do?
14:46Ground the generator.
14:47The radar is the eyes of the battlefield.
14:49Close the switch.
14:50We're gonna go from off to prime and run.
14:59What we have behind us is the ANTPQ-53 radar.
15:03It is used to detect artillery, rockets, and mortars.
15:08The 13 Romeos and the Juliettes
15:09work really close hand-in-hand.
15:11So, all of the data that we collect,
15:13we actually send that to the 13 Juliettes
15:17and they compute all of that information
15:19and they set up fire missions for the launchers
15:22and the howitzers to fire.
15:26I was actually a forklift operator at Home Depot.
15:30I really like radars.
15:32I think they're very awesome,
15:35being able to track rounds is just phenomenal to me.
15:40Make sure the pins are always on the outside
15:42and then just do great.
15:45I'm from a lot of places.
15:45I'm a military brat, so I've traveled a lot.
15:49My grandpa was in field artillery
15:52and he said, choose something smart.
15:54So, I chose something that seemed smart.
15:58So, the emplacement time for this is five minutes.
16:02Once the radar systems are in place,
16:04and enemy artillery locations are gathered,
16:07the data is transferred to the fire support specialists
16:11who process fire missions to the cannons
16:13and rocket systems.
16:17Boom!
16:19Boom!
16:24These vehicles are called MLRSs,
16:28or Multiple Launch Rocket Systems.
16:31The soldiers employing them, MLRS operators,
16:36are also known as 13 mics.
16:40Once you see the rockets, that's kinda what you wanna do.
16:42It seems more of like a boom.
16:45I like the boom.
16:47The purpose of the 13 mic is to provide distance
16:51with our rockets and missiles.
16:55We cover that gap that's missing.
16:58Boom!
16:59So, we're able to shoot anything kinda long-range,
17:01whereas the cannons will take that,
17:03some of the short-range stuff.
17:06MLRS operators begin their training
17:08on the M270A2, which costs over $7 million.
17:15Its predecessor, the M270,
17:19was first used in combat during the Gulf War.
17:23Known as the mechanics of field artillery,
17:27MLRS crew members begin every week
17:30by inspecting their vehicles
17:32and conducting PMCS,
17:34Preventive Maintenance Checks and Services.
17:38It's very attention to detail,
17:39just making sure that everything is up to par,
17:42or else things could go wrong,
17:44and nobody wants that.
17:45I'll go around and I'll look just to make sure
17:47that there's nothing wrong with the,
17:49the oil or the treads or anything like that.
17:51And if there is, I will either mark it as a fault
17:55or a, just to make sure that it's up to standard.
17:58One of the things that kinda really challenges
18:00for the students is, believe it or not, the PMCS.
18:04Their maintenance stuff,
18:05because they've never dealt with the computer systems
18:07that we have here that they utilize,
18:09and they've never done anything like that.
18:12So, this computer here,
18:14we'll use it during PMCS.
18:17Every bit of the vehicle that needs to be inspected,
18:19it gives me a list and a rundown of everything
18:21that I will need to check and roll through.
18:26When they get to their field training exercise,
18:29they are doing it in reps, one after another.
18:32They're doing it until they feel extremely comfortable
18:35with that piece of equipment.
18:39Yep, you're good.
18:42What we were doing is called a forward roll.
18:45What we were doing is called a forward breast resupply.
18:48So, we're bringing down all four pods.
18:50We always start with the trailer first,
18:52if the trailer is connected.
18:53And then, my other two colleagues over there
18:55are bringing down the ones on the actual vehicle.
18:59The information comes quick,
19:00and it's such a short amount of time,
19:02because we're only here for six weeks.
19:05Sometimes it seems hard,
19:06but when we actually got hands-on,
19:08everything really clicked into our heads.
19:12You throw this big truck at them,
19:13and then you're expected to download
19:15these 5,000-pound pods,
19:17and it's really daunting to some of them sometimes.
19:20Just because I'm a little bit smaller,
19:22and I feel like to move the pods
19:25was a bit of a struggle at first.
19:27But after a while, we got the hang of it,
19:29and I'm able to do it a lot more confidently now.
19:33Before graduating from Advanced Individual Training,
19:36this platoon of cannon crew members
19:39must complete their culminating training event,
19:41where they fire live rounds.
19:44This is week five of their Advanced Individual Training.
19:48And here, they demonstrate that they have
19:50the basic knowledge of how to fire this howitzer.
19:53Four clear, one round fired!
19:56Ready, drop!
19:56On track!
19:59We all wear the ear protection,
20:01so we really can't hear.
20:02So you gotta be very, very vocal, very loud.
20:04Three hands on click!
20:05On track!
20:06On track!
20:07Ready, watch the line!
20:07Sir, deflection!
20:08Three, four, six, three, ready!
20:10Stand by!
20:11One on one!
20:12Hooked up!
20:13Fire!
20:15Detecting!
20:18One!
20:19Two!
20:20The rounds can range from 40, 50 pounds,
20:23all the way up to about 110 pounds.
20:26And they shoot about 88 rounds here in a span of two days.
20:30So moving that much weight
20:31is the biggest challenge that they face.
20:34Air pod!
20:34You gotta be able to do that
20:36over and over and over again.
20:39Fire!
20:41AG, come up a little bit.
20:43So a lot of them come in here
20:44and it beats them up a little bit.
20:50But then that, most of the time,
20:51just drives them to want to get better.
20:53Can you maintain that physical stress?
20:55Do you have the mental ability,
20:57the perseverance to do that?
21:04I feel like I've noticed a lot change in myself
21:07and more developed as a soldier,
21:10now I guess you can say.
21:13My dad actually does field artillery.
21:14So being around it growing up,
21:16I was kind of like,
21:17okay, well this is something that I do want to do.
21:20He's matured a lot more.
21:22Hopefully that maturity will continue to grow.
21:25I see that he's becoming a strong young man.
21:28He's a team of really great individuals,
21:30physically, mentally, spiritually fit,
21:32that can execute the things that we want them to do
21:34in high stress environments.
21:36Stand by, fire!
21:39There's a lot that the military can do right now
21:43to reduce service members' exposure
21:45to potentially harmful blast overpressure
21:47when firing their own weapons.
21:51People are a commodity.
21:53It's not like the movies.
21:55It's not like a video game.
21:56There are real repercussions.
22:00We adhere to our standards.
22:02And so over the next few months,
22:04we're continuing through that data push,
22:07continuing to look at what technology we can integrate
22:08and make ourselves better.
22:15In training, establishing firing limits
22:18for how many times a service member can fire a weapon
22:22during one day or a period of say 72 or 96 hours
22:28over the course of several weeks.
22:31And the military has firing limits now,
22:33but they're not always enforced.
22:36The firing limits probably need to be revised
22:39and continually revised based on the latest science.
22:44So if we're finding, for example,
22:45that military service members are going out
22:48and they're shooting these weapons,
22:49and then we can measure that their cognitive performance
22:53on tests is decreasing after they're shooting these weapons,
22:57that's suggesting that the limits
22:59are not in the right place.
23:01And we should revise these limits downward
23:03to reduce the amount of times
23:04that we're exposed to this type
23:06of harmful blast overpressure.
23:08So it's not causing these negative cognitive effects.
23:19Today marks a special occasion in your lives
23:22as you gather here to celebrate the successful completion
23:25of your respective advanced nuclear program.
23:30After doing this, completing everything,
23:31like this is where I'm supposed to be.
23:34Coolest part was just shooting that.
23:36Done a lot of stuff now
23:37that I would not have done week one.
23:40It was like an adrenaline rush.
23:41It was like, oh my gosh, we got it.
23:42I want to do it again.
23:43I want to do it again.
23:45Our soldiers coming out of here, they're ready.
23:47They push where they think their boundary is
23:49and raise that bar again.
23:51Every time you hit that next personal record,
23:53you can see it in a soldier's face.
23:55And it's amazing.
23:56And we see it every day here.