The U.S. Army has announced that 1st Cavalry Division Artillery (DIVARTY) conducted a joint live-fire exercise with the 2nd Battalion, 14th Marines, 4th Marine Division; 1st Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery, 1st Cavalry Division; 9th Air Support Operations Squadron, 1st Cavalry Division; and 1st Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, July 18.
According to a statement released by the 7th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, the intent of the exercise was to prepare the units to be able to work together in a combat environment. By collaborating with units such as the Marine reservists, the DIVARTY is able to become familiar with more and different types of weapons.
“The Cav is fantastic at shooting in the close fight with tanks and maneuver elements,” said Cpt. Thomas Cummins, DIVARTY. “But by being able to use rocket elements from the Marines that can reach a further target than an Abrams, you minimize the amount of enemy in the fight and that increases lethality.”
It can be anticipated for service members to enter a deployed environment and the mission is a joint operation. Since each branch of service has their own approaches to fighting when conducting missions, there can be a few bumps in the road when it comes time to synchronize on the battlefield. Training opportunities such as this gives the separate military branches the opportunity to develop effective communication when working together in order to achieve success.
“One thing the Marines puts emphasis on is combined arms operations,” said 1st. Lt. James Whitney, 2nd Battalion, 14th Marines executive officer. “It is good to know we are a joint force. It is great to talk to other branches and learn more about how they operate, what other skills they have, and to be able to see the other angles in the fight they can provide.”
DIVARTY will continue to train with other branches in the future to continue to improve their Soldiers ‘ability to successfully execute the mission with other forces.
“It is the “Cav Strong” way to train how we fight,” said Cummins “So anything we can do to continue to surpass excellence, we will do.”
