Quote Originally Posted by SethB View Post
patmc,

My understanding is that guns are no longer grouped into batteries by MVV, which means that using analog methods you will get an irregular sheaf. Is this effect noticeable in the field?
Seth, those words are music to my ears, but I haven't been near a cannon in half a decade. Someone closer to the powder has to answer that one for you. I still have my first MVV homework assignment. A lot of red pen on that one.

I should caveat what I wrote, you need to know BOTH digital and manual, which was how they taught gunnery. You learned manual, then applied it to digital. The majority of FA ops are digital because machines can crunch the big numbers fast. That said, you have to know what the computer is doing to ensure it gives you good data. You need to know what right sounds like. In my Fire Direction Center, we used AFATDS, a handheld computer and 2 charts. AFATDS accounted for Met, powder temp, elevation, etc... We confirmed it was in the right neighborhood with the charts and handheld, but shot the AFATDS data. You always want the most accurate data because mistakes can kill. Our Battery Commander trusted us to shoot off charts when needed, though.

I believe a Field Artillery Officer should know manual gunnery because it is the backbone of everything else. Assuming they'll learn it with OJT or OPDs will fail. Try reading FM 6-40 or a TFT for self improvement. OBC is unpleasant, but you learn it. "Just trust the FDNCO" is good, but you still need to verify. My SSG was really good, but I still had to give the fire commands and it was my ass if the data was bad. The fact that we both knew gunnery made ops smooth and we got along great.