The United States Army Field Artillery School (USAFAS) trains Field Artillery

Soldiers A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

and

Marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

in tactics, techniques, and procedures for the employment of

fire support Fire support is defined by the United States Department of Defense as " Fires that directly support land, maritime, amphibious, and special operations forces to engage enemy forces, combat formations, and facilities in pursuit of tactical and ope ...

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 is a United States Army post north of Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles (136.8 km) southwest of Oklahoma City. It covers almost . The fort was first built during the Indian Wars. It is designated as a National Historic Landmark ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

Vision

Be the world's premier Field Artillery force; modernized, organized, trained, and ready to integrate and employ Army, Joint and Multinational fires across multiple domains enabling victory through Unified Land Operations.

Mission

* The mission of the Field Artillery is to destroy, neutralize or suppress the enemy by cannon, rocket or missile fire and to help integrate all fire support assets into combined arms operations. * The mission of the Field Artillery School: The

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

Field Artillery School trains, educates and develops agile, adaptive and decisive Soldiers and leaders; engages, collaborates and partners with other branches, sister-services and other fires warfighting function proponents; and serves as the lead agent for the development of Field Artillery doctrine, concepts and dissemination of that knowledge to the Field Artillery force in support of commanders operating across the full spectrum of conflict and in the joint, inter-organizational and multinational (JIM) environment.

Endstate

The U.S. Army Field Artillery enables maneuver commanders to dominate in Unified Land Operations through effective targeting, integration and delivery of fires.

Heraldry

Device

Shield: Gules, a field piece of the 16th century paleways in plan Or. Crest: On a wreath of the colors (Or and Gules) the arm of

Saint Barbara Saint Barbara ( grc, Ἁγία Βαρβάρα; cop, Ϯⲁⲅⲓⲁ Ⲃⲁⲣⲃⲁⲣⲁ; ; ), known in the Eastern Orthodox Church as the Great Martyr Barbara, was an Early Christianity, early Christian Lebanese and Greek saint and martyr. Acc ...

embowed clothed of the second, issuing from the upper portion of an embattled tower Argent, and grasping flashes of lightning Proper. Motto: CEDAT FORTUNA PERITIS (Let Fortune Yield to Experience, or Skill is Better than Luck). Symbolism:The shield is red for Artillery; the field piece depicted, having been used in the 16th century, is the forerunner of the modern artillery. The crest is the arm of Saint Barbara, the patron saint of Artillery, holding flashes of lightning alluding to the pagan idea of Jove's ability to destroy with his bolts that which offended him. Background: The device was originally approved for The Field Artillery School in 8 April 1926. It was redesignated for The Artillery School on 19 May 1954. On 11 September 1957 the device was redesignated for the U.S. Artillery and Missile School. On 13 February 1969 it was redesignated for the U.S. Field Artillery School.

Shoulder sleeve insignia

Description/Blazon: On a scarlet shield edged with a 1/8 inch (.32 cm) yellow border, 3 inches (7.62 cm) in height and 2 inches (5.08 cm) in width overall, a yellow field piece. Symbolism: The ancient field piece is taken from the device of the Field Artillery School, as well as the colors scarlet and yellow which are for Artillery. Background: The shoulder sleeve insignia was originally approved on 17 July 1970 for the U.S. Army Field Artillery School. It was amended on 9 June 1981 to extend authorization for wear to include personnel assigned to the U.S. Army Field Artillery Center. (TIOH Dwg. No. A-1-188)

Distinctive unit insignia

Description/Blazon: A gold color metal and enamel device 1 inch (2.54 cm) in height overall on a shield Gules, a field piece of the 16th century paleways in plan Or. Symbolism: The shield is red for Artillery; the field piece depicted, having been used in the 16th century, is the forerunner of the modern artillery. Background: The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the Field Artillery School on 29 March 1930. It was redesignated for the Artillery School on 19 May 1954. On 11 September 1957 the insignia was redesignated for the U.S. Army Artillery and Missile School. The distinctive unit insignia was redesignated for the U.S. Field Army Artillery School on 13 February 1969. It was amended on 9 June 1981 to extend authorization for wear to personnel assigned to the U.S. Army Field Artillery Center.

History

The origin of USAFAS can be traced back to the 1907 reorganization of the Artillery Corps and to the character of

at that time. The 1907 reorganization created

Coast The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...

and Field Artillery Branches. In the process of this reorganization, the Field Artillery was deprived of its former home at

Fort Monroe Fort Monroe, managed by partnership between the Fort Monroe Authority for the Commonwealth of Virginia, the National Park Service as the Fort Monroe National Monument, and the City of Hampton, is a former military installation in Hampton, Virgi ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. Fort Sill was considered the best location for a Field Artillery school, since its 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 (February 9, 1877 – April 14, 1941) was a career U.S. Army officer and an aide to President Theodore Roosevelt. He was also a cousin of the First Lady, Edith Roosevelt. An avid amateur boxer, and a sparring partner for Roosevel ...

. With the exception of a brief period in 1916 when school troops were used as frontier security guards during the

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution ( es, Revolución Mexicana) was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from approximately 1910 to 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It resulted in the destruction ...

, the School has operated and expanded continuously. Hundreds of thousands of artillerymen have been trained at Fort Sill since the inception of the School. After the United States entered World War I, the school reopened in 1917 with Col.

William J. Snow William J. Snow (December 16, 1868 – February 27, 1947) was a career officer in the United States Army. He attained the rank of major general, and served as the Chief of Field Artillery for seven years in the 1920s. A native of Brooklyn, New Y ...

as commandant. The Field Artillery School, as it was now known, added more courses. After the war, school commandants began a long-range program to improve field artillery mobility, gunnery and equipment. Budget cuts during the 1920s hampered their efforts, but innovative directors of the Gunnery Department, with support from school commandants, helped modernize the field artillery in the 1930s. Maj. Carlos Brewer, director of the Gunnery Department in the late 1920s and early 1930s, introduced new fire direction techniques so fire support would be more responsive. Maj.

Orlando Ward Major General Orlando Ward (November 4, 1891 – February 4, 1972) was a career United States Army officer who fought in both World War I and World War II. During the latter, as a major general, he commanded the 1st Armored Division during Opera ...

, the next department director, developed the fire direction center to centralize command and control and to facilitate massing fire. Brewer, Ward, and Lt. Col. H.L.C. Jones encouraged replacing horses with motor vehicles for moving field artillery guns. During World War II, to best use new long-range guns and better response times, the Field Artillery School championed the use of air observation to control artillery fires. The War Department approved organic field artillery air observation in 1942. The artillery air observers adjusted massed fire and performed liaison, reconnaissance, and other missions during the war. Following the war, the school adapted to the atomic age and the Cold War. The War Department consolidated all artillery training and developments under the U.S. Army Artillery Center at Fort Sill in 1946. At that time, the center included the Artillery School, the Antiaircraft and Guided Missile School at Fort Bliss, Texas, and the Coast Artillery School at Fort Scott, Calif. The air defense artillery became its own branch in 1966. In 1953, school personnel fired the first nuclear-capable fieldartillery gun (the 280mm gun known as Atomic Annie) at Frenchman's Flat, Nevada. During the 1950s, school personnel also helped develop rocket and missile warfare (The U.S. arsenal included the Honest John rocket, Corporal missile and Redstone missile) that could carry a nuclear warhead. In 1963, the school tested aerial rocket artillery, which equipped helicopters with rockets. As demonstrated in the Vietnam War, aerial rocket artillery was effective. The school cooperated in the development of the Field Artillery Digital Automated Computer, commonly called FADAC, to compute fire direction data. Introduced in 1966-67, FADAC made the field artillery a leader in computer developments for the Army. After the Vietnam War, the school participated in the introduction of the Multiple-Launch Rocket System, the Army Tactical Missile System, the Paladin 155-mm. self-propelled howitzer, and other field artillery systems. The field artillery's performance in military operations in Operation Desert Storm in 1990-91 and Iraq and Afghanistan from 2001 to today validated the school's modernization efforts. Field artillery officers and soldiers can do complicated logarithmic calculations to fire a mission in one moment or they can escort a supply convoy, secure prisoners, patrol a village or any other mission the next.

Commandants

Commandants of the Artillery School include John Patten Story, who commanded from 1902 to 1904. Other commandants have included:''Cedat Fortuna Peritis: A History of the Field Artillery School.''
Via Wayback Machine. # Capt.

, 19111914 # Lt. Col. Edward F. McGlachlin Jr., 1914–1916 # Col.

, 1917 # Brig. Gen. Adrian S. Fleming, 1917–1918 # Brig. Gen. Laurin L. Lawson, 1918 # Brig. Gen. Dennis H. Currie, 1918–1919 # Brig. Gen. Edward T. Donnelly, 1919 # Maj. Gen.

Ernest Hinds Ernest Hinds (August 18, 1864 - June 17, 1941) was a career officer in the United States Army. A veteran of the Spanish–American War, Philippine–American War, and World War I, he attained the rank of major general and was notable for his ser ...

, 1919–1923 # Maj. Gen. George LeRoy Irwin, 1923–1928 # Brig. Gen. Dwight E. Aultman, 1928–1929 # Brig. Gen. William M. Cruikshank, 1930–1934 # Maj. Gen.

Henry W. Butner Henry Wolfe Butner (April 6, 1875 – March 13, 1937) was a United States Army general (United States), general in World War I and onetime commanding officer of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Fort Bragg (1928–29). A native of North Carolina, Butn ...

, 1934–1936 # Brig. Gen. Augustine McIntyre Jr., 1936–1940 # Brig. Gen. Donald C. Cubbison, 1940 # Brig. Gen. George R. Allin, 1941–1942 # Brig. Gen. Jesmond D. Balmer, 1942–1944 # Maj. Gen.

, 1944 # Maj. Gen. Ralph T. Pennell, 1944–1945 # Maj. Gen. Louis E. Hibbs, 1945–1946 # Maj. Gen.

Clift Andrus Major General Clift Andrus (October 12, 1890 – September 29, 1968) was a highly decorated senior officer of the United States Army. He is most noted for his service as a commander of 1st Infantry Division at the end of World War II. In militar ...

, 1946–1949 # Maj. Gen. Joseph M. Swing, 1949–1950 # Maj. Gen. Arthur M. Harper, 1950–1953 # Maj. Gen.

Charles E. Hart Charles Edward Hart (June 17, 1900 – December 9, 1991) was an American military officer who served as General, Commanding General of the U.S. V Corps, V Corps (1954–1956) and Commanding General of the Army Air Defense Command (1957–1960). ...

, 1953–1954 # Maj. Gen. Edward T. Williams, 1954–1956 # Maj. Gen. Thomas E. deShazo, 1956–1959 # Maj. Gen. Verdi B. Barnes, 1959–1961 # Maj. Gen. Lewis S. Griffing, 1961–1964 # Maj. Gen. Harry H. Critz, 1964–1967 # Maj. Gen. Charles P. Brown, 1967–1970 # Maj. Gen.

Roderick Wetherill Major General Roderick Wetherill Sr. (January 19, 1918 – June 26 − 1978) was a notable officer of the United States Army, serving from World War II through to the Vietnam War. The official Army history of the War in southeast Asia considers hi ...

, 1970–1973 # Maj. Gen. David E. Ott, 1973–1976 # Maj. Gen. Donald R. Keith, 1976–1977 # Maj. Gen.

Jack N. Merritt Jack Neil Merritt (October 23, 1930 – January 3, 2018) was a United States Army four-star general who served as U.S. Military Representative, NATO Military Committee (USMILREP) from 1985 to 1987. Military career Merritt was born in Lawton, Okla ...

, 1977–1980 # Maj. Gen. Edward A. Dinges, 1980–1982 # Maj. Gen. John S. Crosby, 1982–1985 # Maj. Gen. Eugene S. Korpal, 1985–1987 # Maj. Gen. Raphael J. Hallada, 1987–1991 # Maj. Gen. Fred F. Marty, 1991–1993 # Maj. Gen. John A. Dubia, 1993–1995 # Maj. Gen. Randall L. Rigby, 1995–1997 # Maj. Gen. Leo J. Baxter, 1997–1999 # Maj. Gen. Toney Stricklin, 1999–2001 # Maj. Gen.

Michael D. Maples Lieutenant General Michael David Maples, USA (born May 17, 1949) served as the 16th Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency ( DIA), appointed on November 4, 2005. He was promoted to lieutenant general on November 29. Maples also commanded ...

, 2001–2003 # Maj. Gen. David P. Valcourt, 2003–2005 # Maj. Gen. David C. Ralston, 2005–2007 # Maj. Gen. Peter M. Vangjel, 2007–2009 # Brig. Gen. Ross E. Ridge, 2009–2010 # Brig. Gen. Thomas S. Vandal, 2011–2012 # Brig. Gen. Brian J. McKiernan, 2012–2013 # Brig. Gen. Christopher F. Bentley, 2013–2014 # Brig. Gen. William A. Turner, 2014–2016 # Brig. Gen. Stephen J. Maranian, 2016–2018 # Brig. Gen. Stephen G. Smith 2018–2020 # Brig. Gen. Winston P. "Phil" Brooks 2020–2021 # Brig. Gen. Andrew D. Preston, 2021–present