View Full Version : Question about being a Field Artillery Officer in the Marine Corps
hey, im planning on becoming an officer in the United States Marine Corps. I want to get into infantry mostly but a second option would be to be in field artillery. I know all about the Marine and the process of becoming a Marine. I am just curious about a couple things.
1. What is it like to be an Artillery officer
2. Are you glad you picked field artillery.
3. Is it difficult to get into field artillery (i can take a challenge)
4. How physically demanding is it?
5. What is the daily life as an artillery officer
6. do you go on patrols
7.Is there anything similar that artillery has with the infantry mos?
Artillery really just has always seemed like a cool thing to me. If you could, please give me some additional info and i will give a best answer if you can describe with a lot of detail on this MOS along with Pros and Cons of being in Artillery. Thanks!
SGT7477
01-13-11, 07:50 PM
The only thing I can tell I was in artillery and us enlisted Marines done all the hard work,lol, Semper Fidelis.
josephd
01-13-11, 08:15 PM
Only question I can really answer for you is #3. You really don't get to pick your MOS as an officer, you get a wish list and then be $hit hot at TBS and hope to get one of your choices.
Limited reply, based upon my experience, which is somewhat limited with artillery.
1. As an artillery officer second lieutenant you will most likely end up with a gun platoon - that's one 155mm howitzer. You will be responsible for the crew and the employment of the gun as a part of the battery (company level artillery unit). If this is where you end up, listen to your gun chief (your Staff NCO -- hell, regardless of your MOS, listen to your SNCO!)
2. The majority of the artillery lieutenants that I interacted with were Forward Observers attached to my unit. As an FO, you will travel with an infantry company and do damn near everything that they do - except that your primary weapon is your radio operator. You will support your infantry unit by being a) an advisor on the employment of artillery fires, and b) manage artillery fire missions with regards to call for fire, recommendation of fires, and adjustment of fires, etc.
As an FO, you will usually travel with a rifle company headquarters or possibly with a rifle platoon (or occasionally a squad - but that'd be fairly rare). When I say a company HQ, don't think that it's "cushy" - you're walking with the grunts and sleeping on the ground - not back in some GP tent or riding with the Fire Support Coordination Center.
As an FO, you could be assigned to any kind of maneuver unit - infantry, LAV / LARB, tanks, etc.
I'll defer to someone else to describe life in an artillery battery for a lieutenant.
BUT - as noted above, officers don't go in with a guaranteed MOS. While you can list your "primary choices", MOSs are assigned based upon 1) the needs of the Marine Corps, 2) your standing in your TBS company (academic scores, PT scores, leadership scores, etc), 3) your TBS staff's evaluation of your potential (they have veto authority, and 4) the needs of the Marine Corps. As I've said many times before, as an officer your profession is as "An Officer of Marines" and your "job" is your MOS (which will really only apply on your fleet tours - in between fleet tours, you'll be assigned a "B" billet, which could be recruiting, MCRD, or any number of things where your MOS is only marginally relevant and your profession is forefront).
Hope this helps. :flag:
SgtThrasher
01-13-11, 09:42 PM
The only thing I can tell I was in artillery and us enlisted Marines done all the hard work,lol, Semper Fidelis.
Roger that !
GunRock0811
01-14-11, 03:13 AM
I was 0811 for four years and have no real clue what our officers did. The only time we saw the Gun's platoon commander was during formations sometimes, and once in awhile during a field op. I'm kind of curious now too....
2. I liked being artillery. Your experience will be different from mine though since I was enlisted.
4. Its pretty physically demanding if you're enlisted. Nothing on a howitzer is light. The rounds you shoot are not light. I've never witnessed an officer hump rounds, do a speed shift, emplace, or march order...so I don't think it will be as bad for you. We would go on humps once in awhile as well.
6/7 Artillery gets tasked to do all different kinds of things. You might go on patrols or you might not. If you're just doing a normal field op you usually won't. While I was in Iraq, artillery was doing some patrols. The situation will dictate. The only thing I feel artillery has in common with grunts is the large amount of time spent in the field or deployed. Yes, we go on patrols occasionally....but trust me, artillery isn't nearly as effective at patrolling as a platoon of grunts.
Limited reply, based upon my experience, which is somewhat limited with artillery.
1. As an artillery officer second lieutenant you will most likely end up with a gun platoon - that's one 155mm howitzer. You will be responsible for the crew and the employment of the gun as a part of the battery (company level artillery unit). If this is where you end up, listen to your gun chief (your Staff NCO -- hell, regardless of your MOS, listen to your SNCO!)
2. The majority of the artillery lieutenants that I interacted with were Forward Observers attached to my unit. As an FO, you will travel with an infantry company and do damn near everything that they do - except that your primary weapon is your radio operator. You will support your infantry unit by being a) an advisor on the employment of artillery fires, and b) manage artillery fire missions with regards to call for fire, recommendation of fires, and adjustment of fires, etc.
As an FO, you will usually travel with a rifle company headquarters or possibly with a rifle platoon (or occasionally a squad - but that'd be fairly rare). When I say a company HQ, don't think that it's "cushy" - you're walking with the grunts and sleeping on the ground - not back in some GP tent or riding with the Fire Support Coordination Center.
As an FO, you could be assigned to any kind of maneuver unit - infantry, LAV / LARB, tanks, etc.
I'll defer to someone else to describe life in an artillery battery for a lieutenant.
BUT - as noted above, officers don't go in with a guaranteed MOS. While you can list your "primary choices", MOSs are assigned based upon 1) the needs of the Marine Corps, 2) your standing in your TBS company (academic scores, PT scores, leadership scores, etc), 3) your TBS staff's evaluation of your potential (they have veto authority, and 4) the needs of the Marine Corps. As I've said many times before, as an officer your profession is as "An Officer of Marines" and your "job" is your MOS (which will really only apply on your fleet tours - in between fleet tours, you'll be assigned a "B" billet, which could be recruiting, MCRD, or any number of things where your MOS is only marginally relevant and your profession is forefront).
Hope this helps. :flag:
Thanks that helped a lot. Some one recently told me that forward obsevers is only an enlisted MOS. Were the 2nd lieutenants forward observers or Fire Support Officers? Sorry if im wrong, just trying to figure out whos facts were correct.
ggyoung
01-16-11, 12:09 PM
I was 0811 for four years and have no real clue what our officers did. The only time we saw the Gun's platoon commander was during formations sometimes, and once in awhile during a field op. I'm kind of curious now too....
2. I liked being artillery. Your experience will be different from mine though since I was enlisted.
4. Its pretty physically demanding if you're enlisted. Nothing on a howitzer is light. The rounds you shoot are not light. I've never witnessed an officer hump rounds, do a speed shift, emplace, or march order...so I don't think it will be as bad for you. We would go on humps once in awhile as well.
6/7 Artillery gets tasked to do all different kinds of things. You might go on patrols or you might not. If you're just doing a normal field op you usually won't. While I was in Iraq, artillery was doing some patrols. The situation will dictate. The only thing I feel artillery has in common with grunts is the large amount of time spent in the field or deployed. Yes, we go on patrols occasionally....but trust me, artillery isn't nearly as effective at patrolling as a platoon of grunts.
My how things have changed science Vietnam. I have been in 4.2 mortars to 8 inch howitzers. I was never on any guns like 155-175 mm. You say you never witnessed an officer hump rounds? I have seen Majors humping 8 inch rounds when you are firring a ring of steel around a force recon team in deep s!!t all night long or fired illumination all night long at one round every 15 seconds for hour's on end. When grunts are in trouble every body humps rounds. That is your job and you are damn proud that you have them stay alive. BTW a 8inch round weighs in at 204 lbs
GunRock0811
01-18-11, 02:41 AM
My how things have changed science Vietnam. I have been in 4.2 mortars to 8 inch howitzers. I was never on any guns like 155-175 mm. You say you never witnessed an officer hump rounds? I have seen Majors humping 8 inch rounds when you are firring a ring of steel around a force recon team in deep s!!t all night long or fired illumination all night long at one round every 15 seconds for hour's on end. When grunts are in trouble every body humps rounds. That is your job and you are damn proud that you have them stay alive. BTW a 8inch round weighs in at 204 lbs
I wasn't even a thought yet during Vietnam. I didn't mean any disrespect to those who were their and the sacrafices made. Obviously when **** hits the fan, every able bodied person is going to do what they can. I was explaining merely from a field op prespective. I did not see it happen in Iraq either, but the situations were not as dire as the ones you described. Sorry for the misunderstanding, hope this clears things up.
ggyoung
01-18-11, 11:04 AM
gunrock0811=====Every thing is fine. I just wanted you to know what happens when the s!!t hits the fan. Most think that arrty is a sit on your butt and never do anything but they are wrong. One other thing when you are getting mortars, rockets and enemy on your pod and the grunts are in the trench line arrty is on the guns firring counter fire.
Thank you for all the answers! God Bless all of you and thank you for your self less service to make this country possible. I cant wait to join the band of brothers where i will serve among some of the finest men this nation has to offer.