Home | Business News | Browse by Publication | F | FA Journal

The FA Master Gunner and reset of the redeployed FA battalion.

Article Excerpt
Never before in the history of the United States Army have Field Artillery units been called upon to perform as many diverse missions as they are today. As one of the most powerful branches in our Army, the FA is capable of dealing more precision destruction than at anytime in our history--FA units are executing these missions in the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), now called War on Terrorism (WOT).

At the same time, the FA community has demonstrated its flexibility to perform almost any mission in WOT. FA units conduct humanitarian, military police, transportation and infantry missions, just to name a few, and conduct them with outstanding results. However, conducting these nonstandard missions in counterinsurgency operations in a cycle of unit deployment, reset and redeployment comes at a price to traditional FA core competencies.

As the training and management heart of our Artillery skill sets, FA NCOs will reset a unit with quality certification programs as mission and time allows--given the right support. The Master Gunner Division at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, has several initiatives to help our talented NCOs improve or reestablish FA certification programs in resetting units.

FA Master Gunner Division Initiatives. Our NCOs and unit master gunners and digital masters are more critical now than ever to reset a unit. A master gunner who is empowered by his battalion commander and CSM can build on or reestablish his unit's certification-qualification programs quickly if he has the knowledge and experience and has kept current on ongoing changes in the branch. The FA Master Gunner Division has a number of initiatives to help master gunners reset their units.

FA Certification and Qualification. The FA Master Gunner Division helps units develop and implement FA certification and qualification programs using a coach-teach-mentor methodology. As an FA unit transitions from nonstandard missions to the skill sets needed for its primary Field Artillery role, recertification is a key component.

Currently, the division helps units reestablish their certification programs during unit visits. Units needing assistance contact the division's operations sergeant to coordinate...

View this article FREE - Now for a Limited Time, try Goliath Business News
Free for 3 Days!