The first step in the Army’s revamped artillery organization — one that will look familiar to some senior officers — took place Wednesday at Fort Bliss, Texas, when the 212th Fires Brigade re-flagged to become the 1st Armored Division Artillery.Read the whole story but to me this is a no brainer.
The Army has been without such units, called DIVARTYs, since 2004, when a move toward modularity included a redeployment of artillery assets within the command chain for much of the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
It also led to some units going extended periods without sharpening some of their artillery skills. The new setup is designed to build those skills back up — fast.
If you're going to be relying on smaller, dispersed units then you better have some Ninja's working your supporting fires. Additionally you better have enough cannons or tubes to make a difference.
Bringing back Division Artillery does all that and more. Even better. Tribal knowledge is restored. Your career path is clear (if you're a cannon cocker) and expertise should be certain (if selection boards get it right).
Tribal knowledge and career path, I get. But how does switching back to DIVARTY make the difference? Thanks.
ReplyDeletelayman talking here and USMC802 and American Mercenary can hit the particulars to a "t" but from the article....
DeleteThis new setup “puts the entire artillery system of systems under the watchful eye of an artilleryman,” Hutson said, allowing soldiers to quickly re-master “core competencies that we’ve lost in 12 years of war.”
It will also allow the creation of a single standard throughout a division, making it easier for soldiers to move from battalion to battalion without relearning their jobs. The structure also creates more flexibility for junior officers, allowing them to round out their skill set by taking on different tasks.
http://www.npr.org/documents/2008/may/artillerywhitepaper.pdf
DeleteThis sums up well a lot of problems that followed the change to the Brigade Combat Team Structure.
Centralization. Got it.
DeleteI had a longer reply but that was ate by the internet. Damn it.
ReplyDeleteread thru to the end of the article/
ReplyDelete"But the return to a previous naming convention won’t change everything, Hutson said.
'We’re not going back to the DIVARTYs of old,' he said. 'The field artillery battalions remain organic to the brigade combat teams. They’re attached to me for training and readiness.'"
This is just a cannonknocker training unit, not a combat unit
Translation:
ReplyDeleteSomeone just noticed that our next prospective enemy(ies) may have more on call fires than small mortars, and having cannibalized a lot of tube units to become ad hoc infantry hasn't done much for their core skills.
It's a healthy sign that they're noticing.
the USMC better get on the same sheet of music. i know of more than a few artillery guys that got used as infantry in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
DeleteKeeping the fingers crossed that they are waking up
DeleteI just noticed that the Division CG is one of the author's of that paper that I posted.
ReplyDelete