2nd Battalion - 222nd Field Artillery
"Southern Utah Pride"/"Triple Deuce"/"Golden Boys"

The Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 2nd Battalion, 222nd Field Artillery, "Southern Utah Pride", is located in Cedar City, UT. The Service Battery and OMS #10 are in Beaver. The firing batteries are located in Richfield (A Battery) and St. George (B and C Batteries). The mission of the Battalion is to provide field artillery fires to a division or corps. The battalion maintains an energetic training association with the 45th Field Artillery Brigade in Oklahoma and is affiliated with I Corps Artillery (ICA) in Salt Lake City, UT.

The 222nd completed a three-year train- up period, involving the fielding of the SINCGARS radio system, Precision Lightweight Global Positioning System Receiver (PLGR), and finally, the fielding of the Army's newest howitzer system, the M109A6 Paladin Howitzer System. This fielding was completed and the Battalion certified making the "Triple Deuce" one of the first five National Guard FA Battalions fielded with Paladin.

During the validation process, the 222nd achieved several 'firsts', for both the active component and reserve component fielding programs. The 222nd was the first battalion to achieve 100% first time 'GO's' for the written safety test and gunnery test. The Battalion also had the highest percentage for passing the hands-on test, with only one soldier requiring re-testing. In addition to these accomplishments, the 'Golden Boys' were the first battalion to be fielded without a safety violation.

The Paladin is the most advanced maneuver weapons platform in the US Army's inventory. It is the first howitzer which is capable of processing its own firing data using the onboard computer system. The Paladin can maneuver about the battlefield as part of a two-gun section, three-gun platoon, and six-gun battery or combine with its other firing batteries and fire as part of an 18-gun battalion. This near autonomous capability is changing the way artillery provides support to the maneuver commander. Conventional artillery travels as a firing battery, emplaces itself in a semi-fixed position to provide fires, then moves to its next position. The Paladin conducts survivability moves in a position area. It then receives a call for fire. The Paladin locates its actual position and conducts a fire mission, then returns to survivability moves. The gun can receive a mission while traveling down the road, stop, shoot and continue in less than two minutes. This rapid response and delivery of fires allows the maneuver commander to better exploit opportunities on the battlefield and decisively strike his opponent, ensuring success.

The Battalion supports numerous community activities throughout the year, such as 'Scouting for Food', 'Soldiers for Santa', 'color guards for civic events' and a variety of family support activities. The 2nd Battalion' heritage dates back to the Nauvoo Legion.

The 2nd Battalion, 222nd Field Artillery, completed the fielding process at Camp Gruber in July 2001 of the Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System (AFATDS) fire support system.