United States Army Field Artillery School
Encyclopedia
The United States Army Field Artillery School (USAFAS) trains Field Artillery Soldiers
and Marines
in tactics, techniques, and procedures for the employment of fire support
systems in support of the maneuver commander. The school further develops leaders who are tactically and technically proficient, develops and refines warfighting doctrine, and designs units capable of winning on future battlefields.
The school is currently located at Fort Sill
, Oklahoma
.
.
Training command accomplishes this goal through instruction for Soldiers and Marines from initial entry level through battalion, division artillery and Field Artillery brigade pre-command courses
, rocket
and missile
fire and to help integrate all fire support
assets into combined arms
operations.
To accomplish the Field Artillery mission, Training Command must train Field Artillery Soldiers and Marines in tactics, techniques, and procedures for the employment of fire support
systems in support of the maneuver commander. Training Command further develops leaders who are tactically and technically proficient, develops and refines warfighting doctrine, and designs units capable of winning on future battlefields.
at that time. The 1907 reorganization created Coastal
and Field Artillery Branches. In the process of this reorganization, the Field Artillery was deprived of its former home at Fort Monroe
, Virginia
. Fort Sill was considered the best location for a Field Artillery school, since its 15000 acres (61 km²) reservation allowed ample room for target practice and its great variety of terrain offered an excellent area for different types of tactical training. In addition, the post had already assumed the character of the home of artillery with a large number of artillery units assigned.
The first artillery school, the US Army School of Fire, was organized in 1911 by Captain Dan Tyler Moore
. With the exception of a brief period in 1916 when school troops were used as frontier security guards during the Mexican Revolution
, the School has operated and expanded continuously. Hundreds of thousands of artillerymen have been trained at Fort Sill since the inception of the School.
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
and Marines
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
in tactics, techniques, and procedures for the employment of fire support
Fire support
Fire support is long-range firepower provided to a front-line military unit. Typically, fire support is provided by artillery or close air support , and is used to shape the battlefield or, more optimistically, define the battle...
systems in support of the maneuver commander. The school further develops leaders who are tactically and technically proficient, develops and refines warfighting doctrine, and designs units capable of winning on future battlefields.
The school is currently located at Fort Sill
Fort Sill
Fort Sill is a United States Army post near Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles southwest of Oklahoma City.Today, Fort Sill remains the only active Army installation of all the forts on the South Plains built during the Indian Wars...
, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
.
Goal
The goal of the United States Army Field Artillery School is to prepare Soldiers and Marines for war and operations other than warMilitary operations other than war
Military Operations Other Than War focus on deterring war, resolving conflict, promoting peace, and supporting civil authorities in response to domestic crises. The phrase and acronym was coined by the United States military during the 1990s, but it has since fallen out of use. The UK military...
.
Training command accomplishes this goal through instruction for Soldiers and Marines from initial entry level through battalion, division artillery and Field Artillery brigade pre-command courses
Mission
The mission of the Field Artillery is to destroy, neutralize, or suppress the enemy by cannonCannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
, rocket
Rocket
A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
and missile
Missile
Though a missile may be any thrown or launched object, it colloquially almost always refers to a self-propelled guided weapon system.-Etymology:The word missile comes from the Latin verb mittere, meaning "to send"...
fire and to help integrate all fire support
Fire support
Fire support is long-range firepower provided to a front-line military unit. Typically, fire support is provided by artillery or close air support , and is used to shape the battlefield or, more optimistically, define the battle...
assets into combined arms
Combined arms
Combined arms is an approach to warfare which seeks to integrate different branches of a military to achieve mutually complementary effects...
operations.
To accomplish the Field Artillery mission, Training Command must train Field Artillery Soldiers and Marines in tactics, techniques, and procedures for the employment of fire support
Fire support
Fire support is long-range firepower provided to a front-line military unit. Typically, fire support is provided by artillery or close air support , and is used to shape the battlefield or, more optimistically, define the battle...
systems in support of the maneuver commander. Training Command further develops leaders who are tactically and technically proficient, develops and refines warfighting doctrine, and designs units capable of winning on future battlefields.
History
The origin of USAFAS can be traced back to the 1907 reorganization of the Artillery Corps and to the character of Fort SillFort Sill
Fort Sill is a United States Army post near Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles southwest of Oklahoma City.Today, Fort Sill remains the only active Army installation of all the forts on the South Plains built during the Indian Wars...
at that time. The 1907 reorganization created Coastal
Coastal artillery
Coastal artillery is the branch of armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications....
and Field Artillery Branches. In the process of this reorganization, the Field Artillery was deprived of its former home at Fort Monroe
Fort Monroe
Fort Monroe was a military installation in Hampton, Virginia—at Old Point Comfort, the southern tip of the Virginia Peninsula...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. Fort Sill was considered the best location for a Field Artillery school, since its 15000 acres (61 km²) reservation allowed ample room for target practice and its great variety of terrain offered an excellent area for different types of tactical training. In addition, the post had already assumed the character of the home of artillery with a large number of artillery units assigned.
The first artillery school, the US Army School of Fire, was organized in 1911 by Captain Dan Tyler Moore
Dan Tyler Moore
Dan Tyler Moore was a career U.S. Army officer and an aide to President Theodore Roosevelt. An avid amateur boxer, and a sparring partner for Roosevelt, he struck the President in the eye, causing him to lose much of the sight of that eye.-Early life:Moore was born in Montgomery, Alabama on...
. With the exception of a brief period in 1916 when school troops were used as frontier security guards during the Mexican Revolution
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...
, the School has operated and expanded continuously. Hundreds of thousands of artillerymen have been trained at Fort Sill since the inception of the School.