veteran’s corner

Tom Krabbenhoft

Thanks for the feedback on these articles. All suggestions are welcome.

Ideally, artillery should be incorporated in any good offensive or defensive action. Artillery assets are organic to many military units, right down to battalion strength.

Artillery – both air and the conventional we all know – is broken down into batteries instead of companies. Composition depends on the size of the gun, but it’s loosely like this: A platoon will man three to five guns. A battery is made up of three to five platoons. A battalion is three to five batteries. You get the basic idea.

When the guns are deployed, they are set in some loose geometrical pattern. In Vietnam, they were often deployed on hilltops (fire bases) throughout the country. They communicate with a FDC (Fire Direction Center). The FDC, which receives its information from the Forward Observer (FO), processes information it receives into fire missions.

If you recall, last week I referenced artillery as a “symphony of destruction.” The FO is the conductor of that symphony. The FO is often out in front of maneuver elements, attached to front line elements or stealthily hidden in the high ground. The FO will find a target and call it in, requesting a fire mission. They will call in the coordinates and type of threat.

The FDC computes the mission; then the guns will load requested rounds and propellant. The first few shots are from a single gun, the one most centered in the geometrical pattern. This gun is used to aim the rest of the guns.

Using this single round, the FO will “adjust fire” by adding or dropping distance or adjusting left or right. This can take several rounds. Once the round is optimized for placement, a “fire for effect” order is given. All guns fire – the effect of which is like having a shotgun with explosive rounds fired down directly down on you. If there is anything left, a “repeat” order can be given, in which all guns will engage again. If a target or targets flee, the FO can swing fire as they run.

If the targets are hiding in a thick treeline, the FO can call for fire with VT (Variable Fuses). These can be made to detonate at a set point above the ground. The treetops can be blown off to expose the targets.

If the target is troops with light-skinned vehicles, ICMs (Improved Counter Munitions) can be used. ICMs are rounds with antipersonnel and high-explosive bomblets in round, furthering destructive capabilities.

If the targets are dug in, a delayed fuse can be used. This will allow the rounds’ kinetic energy to penetrate the ground fully and then detonate.

These are just a few of the examples of the versatility and lethality of artillery. It can truly be a “symphony of destruction.” The nickname King of Battle is rightfully earned. 

Veteran of the Week

Our Veteran of the week is Kelli McKenna, formerly Eidem, from Moorhead.

She has been in the Air National Guard Security Forces, since 2007, with deployments in Iraq, Afghanistan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Currently she is deployed to Okinawa from her home base in Virginia.

That’s quite a impressive deployment resume, Kelli! Thanks for your service.

To submit a veteran or a story idea, email me: 11btwk@gmail.com