I'm a former 13E. Things have changed a bit. I'll give you a quick, minor league run down on some of them.
You're correct. 13D is the result of a questionable merger between the 13E and 13C MOSs. Putting 13Cs in a btry/plt FDC has assisted in killing 2 Soldiers in a firing incident so far. The original idea behind the 13D MOS was OK if you kept it in a 109A6 unit. Paladin FDCs(or POCs) aren't doing as much TECHNICAL fire direction as the guys with 119s and 198s are.
Putting the former 13C, now a 13D, at a light FDC was a disaster waiting to happen. While the 13C had all the tactical knowledge of how to put rounds down range, he didn't actually know how to do it--technical knowledge. The little 2 week "manual gunnery" course they showed him barely taught the 13C how to read an RDP.
Don't get me wrong, I am not bashing 13Cs. I just sat in a un-related class with a highly intelligent former 13C. Some good people. The 13C was not set up for success in this conversion. The end result is the artillery wasn't set up for success. That's just my opinion--I was one of those gunnery guys where the chief is the fount of all gunnery knowledge in the battery. If the FDO said more than one or two words during a fire mission--that chief was weak. At the same time, if that FDO didn't learn at least some of what the chief knew---that chief was weak.
The artillery has changed, but not that much. Basic METL tasks are still the same. Provide close supporting fires, etc. There has been more dog food dumped on our plate.
The artillery has been tasked with the whole "effects" spectrum. Essentially if it effects the battlefield, the populace, the water supply, or the sewer rats, the artilleryman knows something about it. Some of this has been farmed out to other agencies, but is still chaired by the FA at the unit level.
Many artillerymen are being used in non-standard roles. It is more common to see a 13D or a 13B walking down the road, or kicking in a door than firing counterfire. Many 13Ds are performing as ad-hoc FECCs in the land owning FA units; they need to work on it a bit more. Many GS and NG arty units get tasked with convoy escort or mayor's cell/BDOC duties. This differs depending upon what part of the country you're in, what your mission is, or what theater you're in.
New rounds and new weapons systems are out there. The M109A6(AKA Paladin) is still the mech howitzer. The M198 is being replaced by the M777. The M777 is essentially a towed M109A6(all automated and computerized). The M119 is still the workhorse of the light guys. Sometimes the light units get innovative and borrow some 120mm mortars or M198s for a tour or two. PGMs are the new "in" thing. The artillerymen, including the rocket jockeys, are putting some smart munitions right where they are needed.
Bottom line is artillerymen are still being used. They are just being used for MUCH more than he used to be.
Just rechecked--no OPSEC NAZIs were harmed in the posting of this post.
