3rd BN, RTI
3rd Battalion, Field Artillery 640th Regiment, Regional Training Institute
The 3rd Battalion, 13B10 students, fire an M119A3, 105mm howitzer. As part of the 13B10 Course, Soldiers must now become familiarized with the M119A3, M777 and M109A6. Students from 3rd Battalion conduct a livefire exercise with a M109A6 howitzer. The 3rd Battalion (BN), Field Artillery (FA), conducts Military Occupational Specialty transition, Advanced Leader and Senior Leader courses for 13B, 13J and 13F Career Management Field Soldiers. The 3rd BN is commanded by Lt. Col. Jason Wilde and 1st Sgt. Shaun B. Harris. In Fiscal Year 2017, 3rd BN conducted 34 separate courses, graduating 469 students from across the nation, indicating a more than 100 percent increase in trained Soldiers since FY 2016. The Field Artillery Fires Center of Excellence (USAFCoE) is on the cutting edge of precision field artillery fires. Early in the year, the USAFCoE identified a need to expand its Joint Fires Observer ( JFO) courses in order to close the gap on untrained legacy Soldiers. The Utah’s Regional Training Institute (RTI) was one of four RTIs to be chosen as JFO training centers, with a truly ambitious timeline to be ready. The 3rd BN seized the initiative and sent instructors through a rigorous, three-tiered certification program. In August, three instructors assisted the Wisconsin Military Academy in successfully conducting the first pilot program in National Guard history. Looking forward to FY 2018, 3rd BN is prepared to meet the challenges of growth and innovation in the field artillery community. Training requirements are continuing to increase with 50 percent growth expected in Advanced and Senior Leader Courses with all three components attending. The 3rd BN stands ready to implement JFO courses in addition to currently established courses, thus providing the most current and relevant instruction to the operational force. 52
Utah National Guard