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, a warrant officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word ...

and

Marines Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included Raid (military), raiding ashor ...

in tactics, techniques, and procedures for the employment of

fire support Fire support is a military tactics term used to describe weapons fire used to support friendly forces by engaging, suppressing, or destroying enemy forces, facilities, or materiel in combat. It is often provided through indirect fire, though th ...

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 (137 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 a ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

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 primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

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 (; ; ; ), known in the Eastern Orthodox Church as the Great Martyr Barbara, was an Early Christianity, early Christian Greek saint and martyr. There is no reference to her in the authentic early Christian writings nor in the origin ...

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 on 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 yellow border, in height and 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 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 A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

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

Fort Monroe Fort Monroe is a former military installation in Hampton, Virginia, at Old Point Comfort, the southern tip of the Virginia Peninsula, United States. It is currently managed by partnership between the Fort Monroe Authority for the Commonwealth o ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. 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. 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 () was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its ...

, the School has operated and expanded continuously. Hundreds of thousands of artillerymen have been trained at Fort Sill since the inception of the School. WWI Artillery School

After the United States entered World War I, the school reopened in 1917 with Col.

William J. Snow William Josiah 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, ...

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 Oper ...

, 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 1968. 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 John P. Story (August 25, 1841 – March 25, 1915) was a career officer in the United States Army who attained the rank of major general. An 1865 graduate of the United States Military Academy, he served from shortly after the end of the Ame ...

, who commanded from 1902 to 1904. Other commandants have included:''Cedat Fortuna Peritis: A History of the Field Artillery School.''
Via Wayback Machine. # Capt. Dan Tyler Moore, 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 s ...

, 1919–1923 # Maj. Gen.

George LeRoy Irwin George LeRoy Irwin (April 26, 1868 – February 19, 1931) was a Major general (United States), major general of the United States Army. Fort Irwin National Training Center is named in his honor. Early life Irwin was born on April 26, 1868, at ...

, 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 McT. Pennell, 1944–1945 # Maj. Gen. Louis E. Hibbs, 1945–1946 # Maj. Gen. Clift Andrus, 1946–1949 # Maj. Gen.

Joseph M. Swing Lieutenant General Joseph May Swing (February 28, 1894 – December 9, 1984) was a senior United States Army officer, who fought in World War I and commanded the 11th Airborne Division during the campaign to liberate the Philippines in World War ...

, 1949–1950 # Maj. Gen. Arthur M. Harper, 1950–1953 # Maj. Gen. Charles E. Hart, 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 him ...

, 1970–1973 # Maj. Gen. David E. Ott, 1973–1976 # Maj. Gen. Donald R. Keith, 1976–1977 # Maj. Gen. Jack N. Merritt, 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 17 May 1949) served as the 16th Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency ( DIA), appointed on 4 November 2005. He was promoted to lieutenant general on 29 November. Maples also commanded th ...

, 2001–2003 # Maj. Gen.

David P. Valcourt David Paul Valcourt is a retired lieutenant general of the United States Army. He served as the Deputy Commanding General and Chief of Staff, United States Army Training and Doctrine Command from February 25, 2008, to May 3, 2010, after serving ...

, 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