EASTOVER, SOUTH CAROLINA - The M109A6 Paladin is a deadly weapon that weighs more than 25 tons with a blast radius of 50 meters, destroying everything where it finds it mark. For this reason, Soldiers must take every precaution to keep themselves and their battle buddies safe.
"Safety is the biggest priority for our unit," said U.S. Army Sgt. Tim Dietrich, B. Battery, 1-178th Field Artillery fire direction chief."We have M109A6 Paladins and we fire rounds that can travel more than 20-miles, so ensuring that the round lands where it is expected to is very important."
The South Carolina Army National Guard"s 1-178th Field Artillery conducted a live-fire training exercise with the Paladin during drill weekend at McCrady Training Center in Eastover, South Carolina, June 23-25, practicing to safely fire the equipment.
"Our safety procedures are very involved," said U.S. Army 1st Lt. Emory Smith, B. Battery, 1-178th Field Artillery fire direction officer."We begin our drill weekend with our books and maps out; planning the parameters in which we need to fire."
Once the planning is done, the Soldiers input everything into the computers in the operations center, which double-checks the calculations completed by hand, Smith said. Once that"s complete, the Soldiers check communication with the guns to ensure they are receiving the correct information.
"We have multiple checks before we finally shoot a round," said Dietrich."And we are inspected annually by OCTs [Observer, Controller, Trainer] with the regular Army Field Artillery unit in Fort Stewart, Georgia. They watch us conduct our live-fire exercises, then critique us. I always learn more about my job after a visit from them."
During training, the 1-178th Field Artillery Solders were visited by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Ronaldo Branch, 2-306th Field Artillery OCT, and U.S. Army Lt. Col. Glyn Goldwire, 2-306th Field Artillery commander.
"I have enjoyed working with the 1-178th," Branch said."They have taken everything we went over with them from their annual training in March and sustained their high-quality safety procedures and implemented the new procedures we suggested."
When working with weaonry, Soldiers know it"s important to take safety seriously.
"We understand the importance of all our safety procedures," Smith said."Not only do these procedures ensure the safety of civilians, they also ensure the round lands on the intended target, which means a successful mission when we are called upon to defend our nation."