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1-38 FA has field day firing rockets

By Spc. Timothy Dinneen
March 28, 2006

BOAR ONE RANGE, Republic of Korea (Army News Service, March 28, 2006) – Army rockets screamed overhead at the lone U.S. rocket firing range in the Republic of Korea March 21 during a bi-annual field exercise.

Soldiers with 1st Battalion, 38th Field Artillery Regiment, transformed a serene valley hidden among tall and jagged mountains into a “thunder alley” while validating the effectiveness of the Fires Brigade unit in case of any hostile aggression.

“Our goal is to suppress enemy artillery with an area of fire within a 600 x 600 meter zone,” said Lt. Col. Keith Bean, battalion commander.

Although this is the solitary range for the unit to train in a war situation, 1-38 FA has sectors of fire and designated firing areas in times of war. They would move the battalion to those points of fire.

“The training that we do is how we would react in a war situation in Korea,” said Sgt. 1st Class Roberto Valencia.

The M270 A-1 launchers fired ripper rockets at pre-determined impact zones. Although these were practice rockets they had the same effect to fire as normal rockets. However, unlike rockets used in actual combat, the ripper rockets did not create explosions.

The firing at the impact point was evaluated by radar and observers while three batteries competed against each other. The terrain also posed an obstacle to overcome for the communications teams.

The week and a half long exercise consisted of 18 crew members and 19 launchers. Valencia said that the entire battalion was able to fire in a single day for the first time instead of one battery per day.

“We’re doing excellent,” he said. “Everything went the way we planned it.”

As always, safety played an important part in the training.

“The most important part of the training is the safety,” added Valencia, “to make sure that we shoot the rockets safely without injuring anyone and the rockets hit the correct impact area.”

For many of the younger Soldiers, this was the first opportunity to let the rippers fly in a field environment and determine how accurate they fire.

“This is the first time putting rounds down range and it’s a rush. Digital is one thing, but putting rounds in a launcher is entirely different,” said Spc. Martin Rischer.

“I feel a lot more prepared to do my job during live missions because of the things that can happen out here that are not in simulations like fires and all kinds of contingencies,” said Pvt. Josh Thomas.

“The best part is watching the Soldiers eyes light up when they’re firing and seeing them take pride in what they do,” said Staff Sgt. Samuel Duncan.

Language specialists joined the unit to interpret between Korean nationals living in the area and with the ROK Soldiers who also fired at the range.

“There is a good relationship between the U.S. and ROK Soldiers because we are all working toward one goal. The neighbors are very understanding and are used to the training,” said ROK Pvt. Kim, K.H.