What is it like being a Field Artillery Officer?

2020-05-19T17:58:55-04:00

I'm about to enter my MS4 year in Army ROTC and soon we will select our branch preferences. I have some that I still have questions about and am seeking insight. If there are any Field Artillery Officers or experienced NCOs that wouldn't mind to answer some of the questions below it would be appreciated!

What is the day to day life of an Artillery Officer? What are some assignments/opportunities that an Artillery Officer may have from 2LT up? What are some attributes and competencies that make a Field Artillery Officer Successful?

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made May 19 at 2020 6:25 PM

2020-05-19T18:25:05-04:00

BOOM BOOM BOOM POW, Loss of hearing

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made May 19 at 2020 7:00 PM

2020-05-19T19:00:25-04:00

Well it depends on you're job. I was a BN assistant Fire support officer, a company fire support office, a paladin platoon leader, and now in a BN S3 in TRADOC. If you go heavy unfortunately our BN did not get many army school opportunities. You'll get UMO and Hazmat though (lol). Skills that helped me. Asking questions about anything you don't understand. Be humble, anyone can teach you something from the driver of a paladin, to the number one man, especially your gunny and smoke. At least skim through doctrine instead of trying to make up the solution. Garrison life is sometimes boring. Firing in the field always makes up for it

Response by LTC John Mohor made May 20 at 2020 12:20 AM

2020-05-20T00:20:20-04:00

Saul,
I was an Artillery Officer for most of my LT Days. What I learned most is how to understand the bigger picture how you’re supporting the infantry, armor and even aviation branches. It’s best to have a good grasp of math and Astronomy(learned to lay guns by the stars). I used a heck of a lot of what I learned throughout school working in the Artillery. Active Duty wise remember in the back of your mind “ Artillery eats it’s own” at least among the Officer ranks you need less captains, less Majors and less Colonels as you move up in the ranks. To last an entire reserve career I ended up branch transferring to Ordnance then Logistics( increased opportunity for promotion in the field grade Officer billets). From Fire Support to being FDO at the Battery/ Platoon Level I received a great education in how both the branch and the Army work. I was in during the infancy of the Paladin coming on line ended up in a nuclear capable M109 A3 Direct Support BN near the end of the Cold War thru the end of Desert Storm. I have no regrets having that as my first Officer Branch. Others have provided some good advice. With the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan Artillery units were called on to do MP missions as well as Infantry type house clearing so you can learn a lot as an FA Officer. Good luck at Camp and next year! Be a good follower when not in a leadership roll. Best advise I ever received was from a former 19 year old 2LT PL in Vietnam. “ If your not busy or engaged help fill sand bags with your troops, improve your defensive position etc. BLUF be a servant leader never think of yourself as better than your fellow Soldiers. Always be willing to do what you have to ask others to do as a leader. Listen to your NCOs. Don’t be the LT that can’t read a map or disassemble his weapon! Good Luck and Thanks for serving and asking!

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made May 20 at 2020 9:29 PM

2020-05-20T21:29:20-04:00

Feel free to give me a call at [login to see] . Currently a PL, and have served as a FSO and FDO in airborne artillery in combat and garrison.

Response by LTC Reginald Brown made May 20 at 2020 11:51 PM

2020-05-20T23:51:46-04:00

What is the day to day life of an Artillery Officer? --Remember any officer's job is assessing the mission or tasks for the day, planning how to accomplish the tasks, ensuring the resources are available for your soldiers to do the tasks, supervising for efficiency, safety and performance measures as they do the tasks, evaluating that the tasks are done to standard and reporting completion to your chain of command. During your MS years your professors should have prepared you for planning, supervising, executing and evaluating, those skills do not disappear on duty as an officer in any branch.

What are some assignments/opportunities that an Artillery Officer may have from 2LT up? Fire Support Officer, fire direction officer, platoon leader, battery executive officer, battalion ammunition officer (one of my favorite jobs, 1985 in Germany), headquarters battery executive officer (integral to ensure the function of the battalion: assessing and resourcing). XO, BAO, HXO are usually for senior 1LTs who have performed well and understand what is needed at the firing platoon and battery level. Look at FM 6-20 Fire Support; 6-30 Observed Fire; 6-40 Gunnery Fire Direction; 6-50 Cannon Battery; FM 3-09.21 (6-20-30) FA Battalion Operations. I think some might have been renumbered. Also tables of organization and equipment (TOE) or Modified (MTOE) shows officer positions in battalion.

What are some attributes and competencies that make a Field Artillery Officer Successful? Ability to calculate data and translate it to functional use. You must be able to analyze an Infantry or Armor maneuver plan and translate it for the field artillery battery to support the maneuver. Ability to understand logistics and supply chains. Remember when you had to determine how much ammunition is needed for the range, how many vans or buses are needed to transport cadets and how much food is needed. Ability to understand that even the smallest data point plays a significant role in hitting a target several miles away. For example, the rotation of the earth must be taken into account as the projectile travels from one spot to another several miles away. It is similar to tracking a moving elk when hunting. Today, you have a software to make many calculations, but as with everything, the human brain does not need to be plugged in, the battery will not die and does not depend on an internet connection. I selected Field Artillery, because like you, we had an information day where every branch was explained and I liked that FA officers were in charge of the eyes (Fire Support), the brains (Fire Direction) and the muscle (Firing Battery). I liked that we are expected to learn, understand and live with maneuver: Infantry, Armor and in some cases Aviation and Engineers.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made May 21 at 2020 9:43 AM

2020-05-21T09:43:59-04:00

My biased answer is that Field Artillery positions are the best in the Army. Regardless of your position as an Officer, your job is to learn and become a expert in Field Artillery operations. Constantly read doctrine, FA Journal articles, and take your BOLC very seriously. You learn your foundation there. Once you get to you unit, observe and see how they do it. See where is does or doesn't line up to doctrine. You learn the science of FA Ops in school and develop the art with your team. A challenge many new Officers face is remaining human. Know what you know and ask for help if you need it.

Response by MAJ Vic Artiga made May 21 at 2020 12:09 PM

2020-05-21T12:09:29-04:00

I loved being a company fire support officer. The rest of my time was a monumental loss of two years of my life. It can be a good field if you like working with technical things. This is why many FA officers have strong backgrounds in math and engineering. Also, it gave me a solid understanding of supporting a maneuver commander. This served me extremely well as a J2. FA is a very demanding field and it’s dog eat dog. I would not do it again. Oh, and another important point, when I left the army and went to job interviews NOBODY, and I mean NOBODY knew what the FA was or were impressed by my being a field artillery officer. During ACAP someone said FA has a crossover into engineering, which is a stupid thing to say. Try going to Bechtel and telling them you know how to calculate manual cannon gunnery.

Response by SPC Kenneth James made Aug 1 at 2020 7:41 AM

2020-08-01T07:41:15-04:00

Well as a future officer of the good old bang bang get your respect sir by listening and hearing what your first sergeant and his troops have to say we had a great 1st louie he was a ok just try it sir and congratulations

Response by MAJ Ronnie Reams made May 19 at 2022 12:29 PM

2022-05-19T12:29:15-04:00

Not know about now, but FA was my original branch out of ROTC. 2LTs were mostly FOs with the Infantry. LT, NCO and RTO made up the FO team. Even though the Infantry tried to keep you okie dokie, high casualty rate.