An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : News : Article View
NEWS | Aug. 2, 2017

Guard Soldiers from around country trade old jobs for rocket launchers in Wyoming

By Sgt. 1st Class James McGuire Wyoming National Guard

CAMP GUERNSEY JOINT TRAINING CENTER, Wyo. – The Wyoming Army National Guard's heritage is steeped in field artillery excellence, and if a Guard member wants to learn how to be a "Red Leg," the Cowboy State is often where they come to do it.

Whether a personal choice or their command's choice, a Guard member generally needs to attend a reclassification course to learn a new skill, and when it comes to becoming a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System launcher driver, the 213th Regional Training Institute at Camp Guernsey is the destination for some.

Soldiers from eight states, ranging from as far away as Vermont, Oklahoma and Michigan recently completed a two-week reclass course earning them the new job title of 13M, or HIMARS driver.

As varied as the locations they came from, are the backgrounds of the 16 students.

Sgt. Anthony Ekman, from Lawton, Oklahoma, has had a number of jobs in the Guard including wheeled vehicle mechanic, water treatment specialist and infantryman. Spc. Carter Davis, currently an Army Guard recruiter in Casper, but a Marine motor transportation specialist for eight years, was nudged to take the class by his command.

"I actually took a few years off after my eight in the Marines, and drove a truck, but the oil fields dried up, so I came to the Guard," Davis said. "(HIMARS) are awesome. We can fire a lot of different kinds of ammunition. It's impressive."

Sgt. Lane Fall, from Holland, Michigan, has been a truck driver and ammunition specialist during her seven years in the Guard. For her third deployment overseas, she volunteered to augment an artillery unit. Her unit trained Jordanian soldiers to be HIMARS crewmembers, and during a live-fire training mission, she got the opportunity to "flip the switch," a task that sealed her fate.

"I thought I'd try something new, so I deployed with the (field artillery) as an ammunition section chief. We spent the last couple of days of training the Jordanians out in the country. They fired some and we fired some," Fall said. "The first time I flipped the switch to fire a rocket, I knew this was for me."

That was not her only incentive, however.

"I am the first female in the battery to be part of a launch crew. And the only female in this class. This opportunity wasn't open to females until 2012," she explained. "I like to be different and prove people wrong, especially about combat arms, so this is awesome."

The course's youngest student, 19-year-old Pvt. 1st Class Jacob McGee, recently transferred to a Kansas artillery unit from Nebraska, where he was a wheeled vehicle mechanic.

"I had to move down to Kansas to take care of my grandpa, so they put me in the FA unit and sent me here," he said. "It's going good. I've learned a lot."

"This is a pretty sharp class," said Staff Sgt. Troy Ross, one of four guest instructors and a member of Wyoming's A Battery, 2nd Battalion, 300th Field Artillery, who is helping teach the course for a fourth time. "I like getting up in front of the class and imparting some of my knowledge and wisdom on young hearts and minds."

He said the course is set up like most Army training and features crawl, walk and run phases.

"The first four days are all classroom instruction and then it goes about half and half. It's a lot of hands-on, and every hands-on lesson relates to a classroom lesson and the Army publications and manuals."

Ross was one of three instructors from Wyoming. A fourth instructor, from a howitzer-based unit from Kentucky, but an expert in artillery ammunition, who teaches in his home state, rounded out the crew.

"Kentucky recently switched to HIMARS, so it's kind of an even trade off, learning from each other," said A 2/300 Staff Sgt. Tim Rychecky who has been working with HIMARS since Wyoming fielded the weapon system in 2008. "His expertise in ammunition really makes the class more interesting he said of Staff Sgt. Martin Brown.

The instructors said because this is a 10-level, or basic course, students learned tasks associated to all three HIMARS crew members, but were evaluated only in the driver role.

The RTI generally hosts the class twice a year, and looks forward to this autumn and sending another group of graduates back to their home units with a new skill set and fond memories of their time spent in Guernsey.

 

 

Related Articles
Soldiers with Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 112th Infantry Regiment, 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team practice various close quarter battle techniques at the live fire shoot house complex at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania, June 10, 2025. The Soldiers conducted several iterations to practice movement while firing live rounds. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Jonathan Campbell)
Pennsylvania Guard Soldiers Train at Live-Fire Shoot House
By Staff Sgt. Jonathan Campbell, | July 17, 2025
FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. – Soldiers from Pennsylvania Army Guard’s B Company, 1st Battalion, 112th Infantry Regiment, 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team conducted training at the live-fire shoot house here during the unit’s...

New York Air and Army National Guard medical personnel examine a “casualty’s ” triage tag before loading victim into the  cargo bay of a 105th Airlift Wing Globemaster III airlifter at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York, on June 6, 2025 during a medical evacuation training exercise. The Army Army and Air Guard medical personnel joined Active Soldiers from Keller Army Community Hospital at West Point in conducting a “tail-to-tail” drill in which casualties were off-loaded directly from an Army Medevac helicopter into the C-17.
N.Y. Army, Air Guard Partner for Medical Evacuation Exercise
By Eric Durr, | July 17, 2025
NEWBURGH, N.Y. — New York Army and Air National Guard medical personnel teamed up with their active component Army counterparts from West Point’s Keller Army Community Hospital for a three-day exercise that tested all parts...

U.S. Army Spc. Massan Signon, wheeled vehicle mechanic (91B) with the D.C. National Guard’s 104th Maintenance Company, stands for a photograph at the Combined Support Maintenance Shop at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, in Washington, D.C., on June 21, 2025. Spc. Signon is part of a dedicated team that performs routine maintenance, emergency repairs, and recovery operations, which are vital for keeping the Army's vehicles operational and ready for deployment at a moment's notice. Their work directly impacts the ability to respond to missions.
Why I Serve: D.C. Guard Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic Excels in Operational Relevance
By Ayan Sheikh, | July 17, 2025
WASHINGTON — From Togo to the nation’s capital, U.S. Army Spc. Massan Signon of the 104th Maintenance Company has embraced every challenge with determination and a commitment to service.A wheeled vehicle mechanic with the...