PFAR trains to be mission ready

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Christopher Gross
  • JBER PAO
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska --  Dirt and debris flew everywhere, thrown into the air by the rapid rotating blades of a UH-60 Black Hawk as it hovered to the ground carrying a M119 105 mm howitzer cannon.

The Black Hawk released the howitzer and it settled to the ground as Soldiers made a quick exit and ducked for cover until the chopper took off.

From that point it was a form of organized chaos. The section knew exactly what needed to get done to set up and engage targets with the howitzer. Coordination went back and forth between the sections and the spotters to get the precise location of the target so their shot would be effective.

Once simulating shooting and defeating their targets was completed, they called in for pickup, and prepared the howitzer to be rigged back to the Black Hawk.

The telltale chop of rotating blades filled the air as the chopper landed and the crew rushed back into the Black Hawk and lifted from the ground, hovering right over the howitzer which was rigged back up so the crew could head off to their next mission.

This was the scenario as A Battery 2nd Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment, participated in during mission-ready training Oct. 5.

Being proficient in air-assault operations, knowing how to sling load a howitzer, come off and do a quick raid and get back is very important for artillery, said Capt. Derek Reeves, A Battery 2-377th PFAR commander.

Capt. Reeves said, training simulated a two-gun raid, with two Black Hawks sling loaded with howitzers. They lower the howitzers and detach it, once it's on the ground the Black Hawk then lowers to the ground and the crew rushes out. Once the copter is gone, the crew sets up the howitzer and begins to engage their target.

There's a proper way to rig up the howitzer and fly it safely. It weighs nearly 4,000, pounds so it's crucial everything goes smooth, the captain said.

"Getting time in the (Black Hawk) and hooking up and making sure it's all possible is certainly good," he said. "You can talk (about) how to rig a howitzer (all day, but) it's different doing it for real, when a helicopter is flying above someone's head and they have to rig it up. When you have to do it for real it just changes things a little bit."

Staff Sgt. Christopher Tizzino, 1st sections team chief said, he thought the training was successful because they've never done it like this before. He said it was good to get a feel for entering and exiting the helicopter.