...to the future Army will be driving trucks, becoming military police (MP) and serving as operating base mayors, as some Field Artillerymen are doing in the Central Command (CENTCOM) theater today. While these jobs are important in Army operations, they are not what the FA's job has been since 1775--providing fires for the ground force commander. The same misinformed people who only see the downsizing believe the FA no longer will play a critical role in joint and combined arms warfare.

Nothing could be further from the truth. The FA is alive and well--in fact, thriving. When the modular reconfiguration is complete, the active Army will have more FA weapons systems and more FA battalions in direct support (DS) of brigade combat teams (BCTs) than it had in Force XXI. In addition, the majority of Field Artillery units in the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) are providing FA fires for their BCTs while, simultaneously serving as motorized infantry units with the same duties and responsibilities as their Infantry and Armor brethren. (1)

This article provides five major reasons why the King of Battle is alive and well and dispels rumors about the demise of the FA. These reasons are (1) The FA in the active force BCTs actually is growing; (2) New technology is giving our branch unprecedented capabilities for the joint and combined arms fight; (3) US joint force operations require a balance of fire support from the ground and the air; (4) The FA is leading the Army in developing "Pentathletes;" and (5) The Army will continue to conduct full-spectrum operations in the future--requiring FA fires.

1. The FA in the active force BCTs is growing. With the increase in the number of modular BCTs, there will be more FA battalions than in Force XXI. With the expansion of BCTs from 33 to 42, the growth of fires battalions in the BCTs will provide more battalions to fill the previous DS role performed by battalions under the division artillery (Div Arty) organization. Before this transformation effort, the typical organization was three to four Artillery battalions in each of the 10 Div Artys. The modular design's implementation calls for each of the BCTs to have an organic cannon-equipped fires battalion. This reorganization to make the battalions organic to the BCTs translates into 42 fires battalions, some with 155-mm weapons and some with 105-mm weapons. This is a net increase of seven battalions over the Force XXI construct. (2)

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The active modular force also will have six fires brigades, each with at least two Artillery battalions and most with three battalions, all with a mix of rocket/missile capabilities fired from the M270A1 multiple-launch rocket system (MLRS) launcher or high-mobility artillery rocket system (HIMARS) along with 155-mm Paladin or lightweight M777 howitzers.

It seems that some thought the "sky was falling" on the FA when the Army decided to have fewer FA weapons per battalion (12 vice 18) and fewer firing batteries per fires battalion (two vice three) in the heavy BCTs (HBCTs) and infantry BCTs (IBCTs). And if the sky is falling on the FA, it also is falling on Infantry and Armor because the modular redesign calls for fewer Infantry and Armor weapons per company and fewer companies per combined arms battalions in the HBCTs and IBCTs.

At the same time, the FA is moving from...

NOTE: All illustrations and photos have been removed from this article.



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