A Message from the Chief of the Field Artillery

By BG Shane P. Morgan, Chief of the Field Artillery

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“There has never been a more exciting nor more relevant time to be a Redleg!”

Greetings from Blockhouse Signal Mountain and Fort Sill-

The Field Artillery Branch’s priorities remain aligned with the Chief of Staff of the Army’s four focus areas: Warfighting, Delivering Combat Power, Continuous Transformation, and Strengthening the Profession.

WARFIGHTING: We recognize the Field Artillery’s pivotal role for the Joint Force and the critical role that you, the fire supporter, perform in Large-Scale Combat Operations from within a Multi-Domain Environment. To meet our future challenges, we must continue to embrace change, adapt, and transform in contact. Our solemn duty as Redlegs is to ensure our Soldiers never fight a fair fight. Massed-concentrated Field Artillery Fires matter – Cannons, Rockets, and Missiles is what we deliver.

DELIVERING COMBAT READY FORMATIONS: While the Field Artillery Branch and the Army continue to transform, we must remain laser focused on the fundamentals of Fire Support and fielded force equipment. The fielded force will maintain our M119A3, M777A2, and M109A6/A7 PIM for our current fight, and thus, we must maintain and sustain our cannon fleets to the highest levels of operational readiness. To provide timely and accurate fires for our maneuver formations we will continue to provide trained, proficient, and lethal howitzer sections, fire direction centers, and fire support teams. From the close fight to the deep fight and from mortar teams to missiles, we destroy, neutralize, and suppress by cannon, rocket, and missile fires. The Field Artillery will never walk away from the close fight! New technology will prove disruptive, but it’s you, the Fire Supporter, who fights with lethal fires at echelon, who will always be decisive.

CONTINUOUS TRANSFORMATION: Exciting developments in our Redleg arsenal signal significant progress in precision, lethality, mobility, and increased range capabilities. The Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) is a game changing asset, replacing the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) and doubling the volume of fire with two missiles per pod. The Mid-Range Capability (MRC) offers a dual-missile system expanding engagement ranges past 1,000 kilometers, seamlessly aligning with joint missions. The Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW), delivered to the 5th Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment, introduces a strategic deep strike capability with ranges exceeding 2,500 kilometers and speeds surpassing 6,000 kilometers per hour.

STRENGTHENING THE PROFESSION: Professional writing is the cornerstone of the Army Profession. The Field Artillery Professional Bulletin and Field Artillery Journal facilitate professional dialogue and is where we share conceptual ideas and professional discourse. We encourage all Redlegs from our young Soldiers to seasoned leaders, Commanders, CSMs, and our Veterans to write. Be a part of the solution – drive relevant change!

We are hosting our inaugural GEN Raymond T. Odierno Best Redleg Competition from 10-14 May, testing 13B Cannon Crew members, 13F Joint Fire Support Specialists, and 13J Fire Control Specialists. Named after the 38th Chief of Staff of the Army and an incredibly proud Redleg, no one loved team competitions more than “GEN O.” This May, the best Field Artillery units from our numbered divisions will travel to the ancestral home of the Field Artillery to compete in a five-day competition to identify the best … of the best… by test…in our Army!

“There has never been a more exciting nor more relevant time to be a Redleg!”
BG Shane P. Morgan, Chief of the Field Artillery