Twelve Guns is Better than Six
Abstract
Former Commandant of the United States Marine Corps General James L. Jones identified a gap in the ability of Marine Corps artillery to provide fire support in the changing battlefield of the 21st century and took steps to begin the initiative to improve artillery's problem. General Jones noted that "We have atrophied our Marine ground fires inventory to a dangerous point. We are out gunned and out ranged by just about everyone." The current weapon system, the M198 (155mm), brings a lot of firepower to the battlefield; however, it is cumbersome and it makes it difficult for artillery to keep up with ground forces on the move. With the speed and fluidity of today's battlefield and the Marine Corps' focus on maneuver warfare and ship to objective maneuver (STOM), Marine artillery must be able to provide a greater degree of flexibility to ground commanders. To give artillery this flexibility, the "triad of fires" was conceived. The first aspect of the triad, the high mobility artillery rocket system (HIMARS), will give the Marine expeditionary forces (MEF) the ability to provide shaping fires to the deep fight. Next, the M198 will be replaced with the M777 lightweight 155mm howitzer to continue to support the divisions and regiments within their area of responsibility. Finally, the expeditionary fire support system (EFSS) will support the infantry regiments and battalions at closer ranges and at times when the maneuver forces are advancing rapidly. The current concept of a 6 gun EFSS battery may support the infantry battalions but would fall short of supporting the artillery battalion's doctrinal role of supporting an infantry regiment. By increasing the number of guns in an EFSS battery from 6 to 12, the artillery community's ability to support the Marine Expeditionary Unit and the Marine Expeditionary Brigade would be significantly improved.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 08, 2005
- Accession Number
- ADA505136
Entities
People
- William W. Elliott
Organizations
- Marine Corps University