FIELD 08, FIELD ARTILLERY
(This occupation is for males only)

The field artillery OccFld is divided among three functional areas: firing battery, field artillery operations, and field artillery observation/liaison.

Qualifications include ability and learned skills to operate and maintain artillery equipment; basic technical and mathematical skills for computing, communicating, and executing fire commands; ability and attitudes supporting life and close work with others in a field environment; and performing duties involving hard technical skills as well as administrative and managerial skills. The duties which must be learned vary by functional area.

Firing battery includes moving, emplacing, loading, firing, protecting, and maintaining field artillery cannon weapons systems. Field artillery operations involve moving, emplacing, operating, protecting, and maintaining equipment which acquires targets; provides, relates, and evaluates gun and target survey information, meteorological data, weapon system performance; and integrating these factors into orders and communicating these orders to the firing battery.

Field artillery observation and liaison include checking and analyzing combat plans and communicating appropriate advice, planning and operating information to coordinate the fires of field artillery and naval guns with infantry and armor combat maneuvers; observing and reporting targets and other battlefield information; and adjusting observed fires on targets.

Types of entry level jobs include work as field artillery batteryman or cannoneer, radar operator, fire control man, meteorological man and, as a fire support man, spotting fires of artillery and naval gunfire. Formal schooling or field skills training is provided to Marines entering the OccFld. Because field artillery is the primary supporting arm for Marine infantry and armor, most of its billets are in FMF ground organizations.

The Marine artillery man finds most assignment opportunities similar to the wide variety of billets available to those in other combat and combat support fields at all staff levels of the division and in various category "B" jobs (MOSs 8000-9599). Marines entering this OccFld receive MOS 0800, Basic Field Artillery Man, and under instruction and close supervision, perform routine duties incident to the firing, operation, and maintenance of field artillery pieces and related equipment. These Marines are trained for one of the MOSs in the field artillery OccFld and participate in routine functioning and tactical employment of the unit to which attached.

School Location: Fort Sill, OK

0811-- Field Artillery Cannoneer

0842-- Field Artillery Radar Operator

0844-- Field Artillery Fire Control Man

0847-- Artillery Meteoroloqical Man

0848-- Field Artillery Operations Man

0861-- Fire Support Man

Marines from Mike Battery, 4th Battalion, 14th Marine Regiment operate the 155mm M198 howitzer in November 2004. The battery was based at Camp Fallujah, Iraq and was supporting Operation Phantom Fury.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: HollywoodMarine,

frickin awesome.

Is anyone here field artillery? Because i'm trying to find out some more about it than about.com has on it, and i'd like to hear from someone that is actually in it, because i'm highly considering it for my job.

I am NOT an 08 Marine, but I did spend 6 years with a I 3/14, a Reserve Firering Batt, so I do know alot of what goes on with a Batt. and if I can't answer your questions, I'm sure I know someone that can & wil relay the intel...

im currently an 0811 (gunrock oorah) in bravo battery 1/11, this is quite possibly the worst job in the marine corps ;p
lots of bullshit work to do when we arent in the field, pointless gear layouts, one after another. being in the field is fun but tiring, in the rear they play lots of stupid games with us. like we'll finish all of our work by 0900 and they still wont secure us from work until like 1700

Jump over to the Field Artillery Board, there is a topic called Forward Observer. Also known as Fire Support Man, MOS 0861.

I am a 0811 Cannon cocker and I can answer most questions that you may have.

Like any job it has its ups and downs. You do a lot of maintenance on the howitzer and SL-3 gear, and the howitzer will become your life. Shooting the howitzers is a blast (no pun intended) but most of the time in the field you will be doing dry runs because the corps. can't afford for you to put live rounds down range everytime you go out. The other downside is that you rarely get to see your rounds hit.

Deployments rarely see Arty Batterys going over sees as artillery, which is a down because you have been training so hard in this profession for nothing. Batterys usually get converted into rifle companies which will fulfill an assigned task. This however is changing, I believe all the battalions that have the new howitzer (M777) will be going incountry as artillery as all the battalions with the older model (M198) will head over as securty, military police, etc.. (FYI: Marine Artillery in Iraq has been more accurate than airstrikes)

You have your three main Artillery MOS's
0811: These are the Marines that basically "Pull string go boom". They are told over comm. where to traverse and elevate the howitzer, what fuze, round, and propellent to put in and they are told when to fire. They are basically responsible for firing the weapon and conducting maintenance on it.

0844: Fire Direction Control man. This is the brains of the battery. They do all the math, they decide what fuze, round, and propellent to use and they relay it to the 0811's.

0861: Forward Observer. Your battery recon. These guys call in the coordinates to the 0844's. They are the ones watching the rounds hit and relaying whether or not they are spot on or they need to redirect the fire. It requires a bit of brain power and prestine shape.

I would recommend Arty to those who are reservists or are only planning on doing a 4 year contract. If you plan to make a career out of the Corps. then you need to do heavy research and thought before signing to artillery, even though most of the time you will be able to redirect your MOS when your contract expires.

We are the Kings of Battle.

I was just given this MOS and I dont really know what to think of it. I am an FDC but I hope to redirect after this enlistment.

0861 worked for me. Good job, no question.

Have fun digging holes, I did for four years! 0811 C 1/12 1996-2000

I was never an 08, but my whole battalion was right before I joined, including my best friend. The 08 crewmen seemed to hate life, the FDC guys seemed to have it the easiest, and the FO guys thought it was the ****, though none of them ever really got to do their job. Coronado is a bad *** place to go for school I hear.

Are FO active in Iraq now and are there a lot of them there.

and is it possible to be an FO officer?

Thanks, Mike

Go over to the Field Artillery Board and check the thread titled "Forward Observer".

quote:

Originally posted by CareerPlanner:
I am NOT an 08 Marine, but I did spend 6 years with a I 3/14, a Reserve Firering Batt, so I do know alot of what goes on with a Batt. and if I can't answer your questions, I'm sure I know someone that can & wil relay the intel...

Were you with the Reading unit? I have a friend in that unit, they got back from Iraq in April.

Two points to add. There is a new job in the 08 field, 0814 HIMARS( look it up )
Reserve Artillery wont exsist much longer, several Battalions have been shut down already. There is a good chance that you will go to Iraq and an even better chance that you wont take your Big Guns with you, most units are being turned into Provincial MP's/Truck Plts or Civil Affairs/CAG shiat. Other than that its a great MOS

^he hit it on the head. i'm a gunrock as well. in iraq doing the MP thing. interesting. haven't touched a howitzer in a year. i do more motor t work here as a driver than i do as an arty marine. but we also do a lot of grunt work out here as well.

Bump, Shot, Over.

Hello everyone. What is the difference between the USMC and the Army when it comes to FA?

quote:

Originally posted by SWDmeansKILL:
Hello everyone. What is the difference between the USMC and the Army when it comes to FA?

Marine Artillery is more accurate.

Army FA is generally heavier and mechanized. The Marine Corps' mechanized artillery became obselete in the early 90s. Don't know why they did away with it, but the 8"SP would consistently have direct hits on targets. The Marine Corps currently fields towed pieces and HIMARS (USMC's version of MLRS).
The enlisted Marines have their own schools at Ft. Sill, whereas the Marine officers attend classes with their Army counterparts.
In all seriousness, the equipment is similar, but the true difference is the Marines on the guns. Look at the video I linked in the folder for "So you wanna be an 0811" in the Field Artillery folder.