Going to Field Artillery BOLC, what should I expect?

Very challenging course. Very, very long days that end around midnight. You will have homework most nights, along with redoing the homework from the previous night. Fire Support and JFO is the fun part and the loads are not so bad.You will hate your life and the Army as a whole during manual gunnery.

I was in class 3-15 and graduated in July. A lot of changes were made to subsequent classes- for one, they took out most of if not all manual gunnery which was the real headache for my class. They also removed the hotel exams which were practical, graded events (also a struggle for many). Your standard should be 70% to pass. All exams are open note which makes fire support a snap. As long as you put the effort into your gunnery homework and tab out your FM 6-40 like crazy, you will do just fine. I can't stress the importance of study groups enough- you will get a lot more sleep. None of the concepts are very difficult but expect to be blasted with information constantly. It really is attention to detail that gets people. Pay attention to rounding/artillery expression and make notes on your homework and the example problems you do in class as to where to find things. ALSO, do NOT blow off the CAD classes. There is very little emphasis placed on them, yet we still had a couple of people recycle because of those silly classes. Staying on top of the work load and keeping everything organized is critical.

Statistically, the second hardest BOLC behind Aviation, when I went three years ago there like 23 graded assessments total, not counting homework. It has changed some from what I am hearing, and not in your favor. Early days that end late and regular, if not nightly HW. You will actually fire howitzers a lot less than you would think. Like 5-10% will recycle or drop each class, no options of picking up with the class behind you, you start all over in common core...fire hose all day, but I also saw some "rocks" squeak it out. Good luck!

Take the course seriously. Plan out your assignments and stay organized. Take good notes, and join study groups. There is time to have fun, but you need to stay focused. Best of luck.

Be ready for a lot of attention to detail and for long classroom days. It's a very difficult course but it's based on whatever effort you want to put in.

Your ears to ring. Make sure you wear your hearing protection?

Fort Sill, eh? Check if the on-post club, the "Impact Zone," still does their own micro-brews. They were pretty wicked when I was there for BOLC 2 (back when they still had a separate course for Phase 2).

I recall a lot of students that were challenged by the technical aspects of the course. So if you are weak in math/geometry/etc it may be tough. Myself, I loved the course and had great fun there. Even managed to work on my private pilots license there in my free time.

Email me and I will help you get going. Since the Sill page is down I can't give you a run down of how to access class material.

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Expect to be academically challenged. The FA BOLC is a no-joke course. Artillery professionals pride themselves on accuracy. Gunnery and safety will be your hardest challenges, but also the most fun. So learning your craft is key to your success. Learn what the maneuver branches need and expect from their Artillery in terms of effects and capabilities....not just the weapon you are assigned to in your first MTOE unit. You will become the FA expert for your Company CDR. Your advise and recommendations will play a big role in the company's success on the ground. Learn land navigation...not just how to use the various GPS enabling tech, but how to use a map, compass, and terrain association...on foot. The rest is just physical. Show up in shape and you'll do fine.