'King of Battle' rules over enemy in Fallujah

Marine Link ^ | August 21, 2004 | Sgt. Jose E. Guillen

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

'King of Battle' rules over enemy in Fallujah
Submitted by: 1st Marine Division
Story Identification #: 200482154027
Story by Sgt. Jose E. Guillen



CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Aug. 20, 2004) -- A deep, rolling boom echoed across the desert, quickly followed by another. This was no mortar or rocket attack, though. It was the calling card of the King of Battle: the 16,000-pound combat workhorse called artillery.

The artillerymen of the 1st Marine Division continued to shoot and communicate here recently, shielding their brothers-in-arms on the front lines near Fallujah.

"We're here to support all of our infantry units, but we support anyone who needs artillery out there," said Sgt. Felix A. Rocha, an operations chief for Battery A, 1st Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment. "Most of our missions have been from Marines near Fallujah."

Army infantry units also called for Marine artillery in March.

"They still had people out there. They needed fire support and we shot it," said Sgt. Andrew S. Hecker, a 28-year-old section chief from Miami, Fla.

Marines in Battery A are routinely committed to bringing down "the rain of pain" as their motto states, and they often get that chance when "fire mission!" is shouted. The result is like clockwork, according to the Marines.

"We make sure each fire mission is taken with speed and intensity because those grunts need arty - they need our help," said Lance Cpl. Joseph K. Arthur, an artilleryman from New York City.

A battle damage assessment of the effects the artillery rounds had on the target is collected after each fire mission. The BDA is relayed to commanders by forward observers or the unit closest to the target.

"We don't normally get BDAs, but we received one that we destroyed an enemy mortar platoon and Iraqis with RPGs," said Rocha, a 26-year-old from Hart, Texas. "We're pretty accurate."

Although the battery is not engaging the enemy as frequently as they did last year, their presence has been felt throughout the province and proven critical.

"Artillery has always been extremely vital because of their quick response to counter battery fire," explained Lt. Col. Sparky Renforth, operations officer for Regimental Combat Team 1, from Wheeling, W.V.

"Their fire support for offensive units maneuvering onto the enemy is also vital," Renforth said. "They've been timely, responsive and accurate. We can use artillery when we want to."

A lot of coordination goes into executing artillery missions.

"It takes time to have aircraft on station, as with artillery - it's just a faster means of returning fire to the enemy," said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Thomas D. Kircher, senior watch officer for the regiment's combat operations center.

"The battery is connected to every battalion. That allows them to directly communicate with each other," added Kircher, 34, of Swanville, Minn.

One way the regiment keeps the enemy on their heels is tracking the enemy's system of fighting, according to Kircher.

"There's a consistency of enemy," Kircher said. "We have points of origin - or places we're now firing back on."

Precision weapons like hellfire missiles fired from fixed wing aircraft and armed predator drones are often used to destroy confirmed threats when use of artillery is not ideal, according to Renforth.

"We don't want to shoot artillery into the city - that's stupid," explained Renforth. "It's so much harder to clear rubble than to clear buildings that are already standing."

-30-

 

Photos included with story:

	Lance Cpl. Joseph K. Arthur, an artilleryman with Battery A, 1st Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, turns a wheel to ensure total balance of a howitzer in preparation for a fire mission directed at targets near Fallujah, Aug. 18. (USMC Photo by Sgt. Jose E. Guillen) Photo by: Sgt. Jose E. Guillen
	Lance Cpl. Richard Escobar, an artilleryman with Battery A, 1st Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, aligns 95-plus pound artillery shells for a fire mission directed at targets near Fallujah, Aug. 18. (USMC Photo by Sgt. Jose E. Guillen) Photo by: Sgt. Jose E. Guillen
	Lance Cpl. Jeremiah S. Adkins, an artilleryman with Battery A, 1st Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, positions 95-plus pound artillery shells closer to a M198 howitzer in preparation for a fire mission directed at targets near Fallujah, Aug. 18. (USMC Photo by Sgt. Jose E. Guillen) Photo by: Sgt. Jose E. Guillen
	Lance Cpl. Joseph K. Arthur, an artilleryman with Battery A, 1st Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, manually pumps the howitzer off the ground to shift the direction of the gun in preparation for a fire mission directed at targets near Fallujah, Aug. 18. (USMC Photo by Sgt. Jose E. Guillen) Photo by: Sgt. Jose E. Guillen
	Cpl. Sajjad R. Naqvi, an assistant section chief with Battery A, 1st Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment measures for accurate gun-direction through a scope in preparation for a fire mission at targets near Fallujah, Aug. 18. (USMC Photo by Sgt. Jose E. Guillen) Photo by: Sgt. Jose E. Guillen
	Marines with Battery A, 1st Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, rotate the 16,000-pound M198 howitzer to a new direction in preparation for a fire mission directed at targets near Fallujah, Aug. 18. (USMC Photo by Sgt. Jose E. Guillen) Photo by: Sgt. Jose E. Guillen

	Marines with Battery A, 1st Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, wait for the order to begin a fire mission directed at targets near Fallujah, Aug. 18. (USMC Photo by Sgt. Jose E. Guillen) Photo by: Sgt. Jose E. Guillen

[coconutt2000]

name it Bun Bun jr.

[Ros42]

Could you picture sKerry operating this thing??? He couldn't even handle a grenade! ha Seriously though, I am very proud of our troops, they are doing a great job!!

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

        1st Marine Division

             

 

    ~* 1st Battalion - First In Excellence

                                                                                                    

 

    Bad news for the Fallujah bad guys, bang!

[Cannoneer No. 4]

Field Artillery & Mortar Ping List

1stFreedom; Redleg Duke; SAMWolf; archy; I got the rope; 300winmag; cavtrooper21; American in Israel; Darksheare; sd-joe; Colonel_Flagg; Travis McGee; neverdem; SICSEMPERTYRANNUS; U S Army EOD; RedlegCPT; T-Bird45; where's_the_Outrage?; CatoRenasci; Rose in Rose Bear; snippy_about_it; fourdeuce82d; Chuckster; xone; Poodlebrain; Bethbg79; MoJo2001; The Sailor; gilliam; Cannoneer;

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

Bang.

[Cannoneer No. 4]

ping

[Alamo-Girl]

Bump!

[sauropod]

Field Artillery = King of Battle

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

Quickdraw! (^:

[Future Snake Eater]

Adjust fire polar, over.
Direction, 2400; Distance, 400, over.
20 terrorist scumbags in the open, danger close,over.
BOOM!

[T-Bird45]

"It takes time to have aircraft on station, as with artillery - it's just a faster means of returning fire to the enemy," said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Thomas D. Kircher, senior watch officer for the regiment's combat operations center.

Well, here it is from somebody on the line. Quick reaction fire support in all conditions -- who would have thought that had value with all the PGM available? /sarcasm FAMPL bttt -- thanks, Ragtime Cowgirl.

[SAMWolf]

Artillery bump

[Cannoneer No. 4]

Arty 'runs-n-guns' in Iraqi training

Submitted by:	1st Marine Division
Story by:	Computed Name: Cpl. Macario P. Mora Jr.
Story Identification #:	20046163812

CAMP AL ASAD, Iraq(June 9, 2004) -- The lieutenant bared a wide, Texas grin that would make his hometown of Winters proud. This was the sort of mission he trained for and when the call came in he braced himself for action.

1st Lt. Charles L. Brown, executive officer with 2nd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment's Battery E searched for a flat area to set up four of the biggest cannons he could tow. This wasn't a bunch of good-old boys running around in pick-up trucks with shotguns back in the town located in almost the dead center of the Lone Star State.

Brown and his Marines packed 18,000-pound, M-198 howitzers on an exercise in the empty deserts of Iraq. There's no "plinking" tin targets here. Instead, they disappear in a thunderous roar and cloud of smoke.

It's called a hip shoot to the artillery Marines, when they jerk the seven-ton trucks off the side of the road and set up their giant cannons within minutes of getting a call-for-fire. It's the sort if mission the cannon-cockers practiced June 9, to be ready to respond to Marines in need.

"Basically a hip shoot is when you're traveling from Point A to Point B, and in the middle of the convoy you're on. Someone needs instant assistance," Brown explained. "So we drop what we're doing and get fire down range as quick as possible, though accuracy is always more important than speed."

Hip shoots test the artillerymen for their speed and accuracy in launching a barrage of fire toward enemy forces. It was the sort of mission they were called upon to repeat time and again during the invasion of Iraq last year. It's a skill they continue to practice to be sharp.

Cpl. Alex S. Vargas, a section leader from Sunnyside, Wash., was a member of a battery that performed such a mission last year and knows how important the skill is to infantry under fire.

"We did a hip shoot a few times last year," Vargas said. "It was very effective and accurate. I know some of those guys from 5th Marines really like us."

The battery went through two days of dry fire exercises to prepare for their live-fire routine.

Lance Cpl. Harold C. Lett, a motor transportation driver from Mobile, Ala., said the Marines race each other to see which gun crew can be ready first.

"These guys are really competitive," Lett said. "Each gun wants to be the best."

Friendly competition was evident while gun chiefs and their crews vied for the chance to fire their guns first. Every Marine that was part of the seven-man gun crews had a designated task, performing loading and firing techniques.

The day began with a dry fire run before letting rounds go downrange. Unlike runs they practice in the United States, there weren't restrictions on firing in the empty Iraqi deserts and the Marines let the howitzers belch their payload.

"This is what we live for," Vargas said. "We only do this twice a month, but this is what we like. We're artillery. We're not happy unless things go boom."

Running through various scenarios, the battery traveled an unpaved road and waited to receive instructions from an advanced party sent to observe the impacts.

"It's good getting the Marines out here," Brown said. "These guys are some of the best there are. This stuff is second nature to us."

According to Vargas, Marines don't get the full experience unless you see something being blown up in the distance.

"When you see those clouds of smoke, you know someone isn't feeling good," Vargas said. "But we are. It lets us know if everything is going correctly - from the moment the gun is loaded to the impact."

The day ended as all four guns unleashed 24 rounds, all hitting one after another in a range miles away.

"When you have that many rounds hit in one spot the cloud can get pretty big, making it seem as though the rounds are getting closer," Lett explained. "These howitzers can hit you from 18 miles away with great accuracy."

-30-

More pics here.

[MEG33]

Bang!

[McGavin999]

yep, now that Najef is starting to settle back down, we can expect the creeps at Fallujah to start back up again.

[doodad]

Can anybody who has done this for a living enlighten me as to how the call for artillery is accurately placed? I am a geologist by degree so you can speak in map terms, I understand. But, how are the grid coordinates placed down to the unit level and what is the accepted accuracy?

[MEG33]

Probably so...sigh..If they would stop this fighting and bombing, reconstruction could provide jobs....and security is needed for the jobs to begin.

[Cannoneer No. 4]

When are they going to quit dragging them and start driving them?

[Cannoneer No. 4]