Publication: FA Journal
Publication Date: 01-JAN-07
Delivery: Immediate Online Access
Author: Cabrey, Richard M. ; Thomas, Douglas M.
Article Excerpt
Lately, much has been written in professional military magazines about the exploits of units in Operations Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Enduring Freedom (OEF). As is the case for direct support (DS) FA battalions supporting the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), now called the War on Terrorism (WOT), the 1st Battalion, 5th Field Artillery (1-5 FA), 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, proved its versatility while executing a maneuver and fires mission in OIF.
This article not only discusses 1-5 FA's three-part mission in OIF, but also the battery rotation cycle and the live-fire training range the battalion instituted in theater to maintain the Soldiers' FA core competencies while deployed.
1-5 FA had fewer than six weeks' notice for deployment in support of OIF II. Exceptional staff work, flexible junior leaders and disciplined Soldiers ensured the battalion deployed, executed full-spectrum operations and redeployed, proving to be a combat multiplier for the brigade.
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The 1st Brigade from Fort Riley, Kansas, was notified of its impending deployment in support of OIF in August 2003. Because the ground war was complete, the brigade's mission was to support post-hostilities operations. These operations had not been performed on such a large scale since World War II, and reports coming from units in theater indicated that the tasks would be similar to those of the Kosovo Force (KFOR) and Stabilization Force (SFOR) (Bosnia) missions with some additional warfighting tasks.
In addition, the brigade was in the process of becoming an integrated light and heavy brigade. It was headed for a light-heavy rotation at the National Training Center (NTC), Fort Irwin, California.
1-5 FA's Mission. When looking ahead to his mission in Iraq, the brigade commander realized his area of operations (AO) would require more maneuver elements than he had available. Therefore, he assigned 1-5 FA its own AO. 1-5 FA's task organization for OIF II is shown in Figure 1 on Page 16.
The battalion conducted a mission analysis using the military decision-making process (MDMP) outlined in FM 101-5 Staff Organization and Operations and redefined its task and purpose to support the brigade. The battalion mission became "1-5 FA attacks to defeat anti-Iraqi forces, conducts base defense and secures Camp Junction City in Ramadi while conducting CMO [civil-military operations] to establish a safe and secure environment throughout the brigade's AO to facilitate Iraq's transition to a self-governing democratic state." Although long, this mission statement was necessary to describe the multitude of key tasks assigned.
One of the things we learned in pre-deployment and while in Iraq is that the MDMP works; it facilitates the planning process when followed and is a common reference for problem solving, regardless of the mission.
Based on the mission statement, 1-5 FA defined new tasks to train before deploying and tasks to train once it arrived in theater. The FA battalion had to perform many unconventional tasks, such as conduct base defense and offensive infantry operations to kill or capture anti-Iraqi forces.
Before deploying from Fort Riley, all three firing batteries conducted a Table VII Light Cavalry Gunnery under the coaching of...
NOTE: All illustrations and photos have been removed from this article.
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