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...myriad of nonstandard missions, highlighting the versatility of our branch.
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Future conflicts will be won by versatile and competent warriors, who the Chief of Staff of the Army calls, "Pentathletes." To that end, the FA is developing Soldiers and NCOs who can leverage capabilities for full-spectrum military operations--future Redlegs with multiple skills allowing them to make the most of advanced technologies and compatible platforms and systems to provide both lethal and nonlethal effects.
Many centuries ago, the Greeks created an all-around test--the pentathlon--for ancient Olympic Games. The competitors in this grueling event were called Pentathletes. The ancient pentathlon consisted of five events: long jump, discus throw, javelin throw, sprint and ended with a wrestling match. The winner of these events was proclaimed to be the best all-around athlete in the world.
The FA will create the best all-around Field Artillerymen by applying this multi-capable concept to developing the future force of enlisted Soldiers and NC[O.sub.8]. The NCO Pentathlete embodies five core competencies: critical and creative thinker, warrior leader, leader developer, ambassador and resource manager.
Our Soldiers and leaders must be able to plan, allocate and deliver FA fires; plan and coordinate joint fires; and still have the ability to transition to stability operations outside the US and civil-military support for homeland defense. This broad view of required skill sets calls for the transformation of our career management field (CMF) 13 to create and maintain multi-faceted FA Soldiers, leaders and statesmen.
The FA is launching initiatives across many fronts as it transforms and redesigns the enlisted CMF 13 to meet the Army's needs for the 21st century. These initiatives include consolidating military occupational specialties (MOS), revising instruction in CMF 13 schools and education, and leveraging new technologies and weaponry. This article discusses those general initiatives and their impact on CMF 13 Soldiers and NCOs.
Consolidating MOS. MOS consolidation is a core strategy to meet future needs. As our technology moves forward and systems become more prognostic than diagnostic, crew sizes will decrease. This, in part, is due to the smaller, more capable force needed to support transformation against the backdrop of technological advances.
While some MOS, such as 13M Multiple-Launch Rocket System (MLRS) Crewmember, 13P MLRS Fire Direction Specialist, 13S FA Surveyor and 13W FA Meteorological Crewmember, will lose force structure with these changes, others, such as 13B Cannon Crewmember, 13D FA Tactical Data Systems Specialist, 13F Fire Support Specialist and 13R FA Firefinder Radar Operator, are seeing rapid growth.
Overall, by 2011, there will be more FA Soldiers and NCOs in the Army than in FY04 (pre-transformational).
Although many different systems exist in the inventory today to accomplish similar tasks, future combat system (FCS) platforms will consist of compatible hard ware and software that allow us to merge some MOS. Core competencies will begin to change from technical to tactical tasks, allowing Soldiers to move seamlessly from system to system, reducing dependence on technical skills and creating NCOs with a focus on tactical applications.
In the FA campaign plan for the future, the FA MOS...
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