2nd Battalion, 147th Field Artillery (MLRS)
The South Dakota Army National Guard's 2nd Battalion, 147th Field Artillery made history once again at Camp Ripley, Minnesota's premier 53,000 acre National Guard Training Center, on 25 June 2001. The battalion also fired the rockets at night, including 14 from three launchers continuously, on June 25. For the first time the battalion from Redfield, SD, fired its Multiple Lauch Rocket Systems (MLRS). It also was the first time the weapons were fired at the camp. The battalion also was the first and last battalion to fire the 207-millimeter howitzers at the camp. They first fired these eight-inch guns in 1973.
The camp was chosen because of its close proximity. Last year, the battalion trained at Fort Sill, OK. The launchers were provided by the fort. The closer they could get an AT (Annual Training) the better. The camp overall provided excellent support from its resources and staff. This battalion's training mission also helps the camp attract more MLRS units in both the Guard and active Army.
It also was more than just a training mission for the battalion. The crews were being evaluated by Training Support Battalion (TSB) soldiers from Fort Riley, KS. The crews were undergoing their final phase of live-fire table certifications. They were firing training rounds. Once they are certified, the battalion will be validated as a MLRS Battalion. With this validation the battalion advanced from a new-field MLRS battalion to a more heightened level of readiness.
The computer-controlled launchers are like "night and day" compared to the howitzers. The launchers, mounted on stretched Bradley Fighting Vehicle chassis, have a computerized fire control system and are self-loading and aiming. A single soldier can load and unload the launcher. A launcher also can fire up to 12 rockets in less than a minute. The computer re-aims the launcher between rounds. The 55,000-pound M-270 MLRS can be armed with 12 surface-to-surface rockets (two six-rocket pods) or two Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS). One of these missiles, the Block 1A Unitary Missile, has Global Positioning System Inertial Guidance and can fire at a target as far away as 300 kilometers. The launchers, which can travel at 40 mph, have a crew of three who are confined to the cab. There is a driver, a gunner and section chief. The chief is the only one that can stand up when the launcher is on the move.
The 2nd Battalion was originally organized as the 643rd Field Artillery Battalion on 1 October 1956 with Headquarters in Webster organized from a Tank Company of the 196th Infantry. Battery A in Sisseton came from the 196th Infantry Heavy Mortar Company and Battery B in Watertown from H Company of the 196th. On 20 November 1956, Battery C was organized in Clark, and on the 30th Svc Battery was organized in Britton.
In 1959, a reorganization and redesignation of the 643rd resulted in the 2s Battalion 147th Field Artillery. The Headquarters remained in Webster, Battery A in Sisseton had a detachment added in Britton. Battery B remained in Watertown, and Battery C of Redfield had a detachment added in Miller. Service Battery was moved to Aberdeen.
The 2nd Bn of the 147th was the first South Dakota Army National Guard unit to go overseas in a non-federal status. They trained in Alaska in June and July of 1966 and in January of 1967.
In 1956, 2nd Bn was organized with 8" towed Field Artillery. These were retained until 1970, when self-propelled howitzers were received. The 2nd Bn became the first Army National Guard 8" Battalion to pass the Nuclear Capabilities Command Evaluation.
In 1993 a reorganization of 2nd Battalion 147th Field Artillery resulted in Headquarters moving to Watertown, Detachment 1 of Battery A was eventually relocated to Watertown, Battery B was relocated to Aberdeen, Battery C and the detachment remained the same, and Service Battery was relocated to Webster.
On 2 September 1997 the 2nd Bn was reorganized as a 155mm M109 Howitzer battalion. In June of 1999 the Battalion switched from the M109A5 Howitzers to the Multiple Launch Rocket System.
When distance learning facilities became available, the Field Artillery School at Fort Bliss started using them in 1999. During the year, the School taught seventeen distance learning classes to over one hundred students and conducted approximately fifty-five briefings, workshops, in-process reviews, video tele-conferences, audio tele-conferences, and Multiple-Launch Rocket System (MLRS) 3X6 conversion training to the 5-113th Field Artillery of the North Carolina Army National Guard and the 2-147th Field Artillery of the South Dakota Army National Guard. As organized in 1999, the conversion training consisted of four phases. Phases two through four were scheduled to be conducted during annual training during 2001-2003, while phase one, which was MOS training, was completed in 1999 via distance learning. The Field Artillery School hired two civilian distance learning instructors to provide the training.
Distance learning for the conversion to the MLRS 3X6 force structure proved to be a major breakthrough, although growing pains existed. In the fall of 1999 after going through distance learning during phase one, Captain Robert F. Markovetz, Jr., of the 2-147th Field Artillery reflected upon the effectiveness of distance learning. Traditionally, a soldier signed up for a correspondence course, waited several weeks for the course material to show up, completed the course, returned it for grading, and then waited for the grade. Rather than spending several weeks on correspondence courses, phase one training with its focus on distance learning through video training and CD ROM permitted the soldier to go through the training without the long waits. The CD ROM instruction provided a multimedia presentation to the soldiers and allowed them to score the practical exercises as they worked, while the video training permitted the soldiers to ask a MOS-qualified instructor questions on the material covered in the CD ROMs. Although weaknesses existed that required correcting, distance learning functioned well and was the wave of the future because it saved money, time, and travel and enabled a large number of soldiers to train for a moderate expense.
The 2nd Battalion, 147th Field Artillery deployed to Iraq in 2004 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. During that time, the unit worked at 18 ammunitions sites in the country, moving 145,000 tons of ammunition for destruction. In addition, the unit also provided escort to 625 trucklods of ammunition captured from enemy forces that were shifted to depots and slated for destruction.
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