U.S. Army
Forward observers in the U.S. Army hold the
Military Occupational Specialty of 13F for enlisted and 13A for officers designating them as members of the field artillery corps. After completion of basic combat training, enlisted soldiers attend an eleven-week course (AIT) on the fundamentals of call-for-fire techniques as well as general field craft and small unit tactics at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. From there those being assigned to airborne units, most notably the
82nd Airborne Division,
173rd Airborne Brigade, and
75th Ranger Regiment will attend the
United States Army Airborne School after the completion of training at Fort Sill. Additionally,
Ranger School is open to both enlisted and officers serving as forward observers. Members of forward observer teams are required to attain and maintain a secret security clearance due to the requirement for forward observers to be aware of not only the mission of their own unit but of other U.S. and allied units in the same operating area. Officers are referred to as "fire support officers" (FSO) while enlisted troops hold the title of forward observers. Once training is complete members are assigned to a forward observer platoon generally part of a headquarters and headquarters company inside a larger infantry, cavalry, armor, or artillery battalion. Observer teams are expected to be able to move, communicate, interact and carry out missions as members of these units with a high level of proficiency in addition to their responsibilities as forward observers. Observers must be able to work independently for long periods of time and, because the clandestine nature of their work and their frequent placement on or behind enemy lines, the ability to operate with minimal support is of great importance as some missions can often last for days or weeks. Currently three methods of directing artillery fire are taught in the U.S. Army. The first and most common is called a "grid mission", where artillery fire is directed based on the map grid coordinate of the target based on a standard map. The second is "shift from known point" where artillery based on his direction and distance from a fixed, pre-established geographic or man-made point. The third and least common is "polar", where the observer gives their current grid location and provides distance and direction to the target. This is typically unpopular due to the FDC confusing the observer's location as the target. Combat observation lasing teams (COLTs) are a sub-specialization within the Army's 13F career field which train in the directing of long-range fire such as rocket-assisted artillery or GPS guided munitions like the 155 mm Excalibur series weaponry. They have a secondary spotting-
reconnaissance capability and are trained to operate with other unconventional forces such as sniper and scout teams for long periods of time with minimal support. Since 2003 the U.S. Army has also used the
RQ-7B Shadow unmanned aircraft, flown by soldiers in the 15W MOS, in Iraq and Afghanistan for artillery correction, close air support and reconnaissance. With the need for coordinated indirect-fire support control at higher levels, fire support specialists are also assigned to the "fire support element", at the
battalion level, and as the "fires" section of the operations staff from
brigade or
regiment level through to the
corps level.
Field artillery forward observer 1189 Field artillery forward observer 1189 was a
World War II Army officer position. Officer classification, commissioned and warrant military classification and coding. The primary duties of the 1189 was to "direct the fire of an artillery unit from a forward position. Observes shell bursts and adjusts fire by forward observation or computation methods; consults with commanders of supported unit in determination of appropriate artillery targets, normal barrage, and zones of defense; trains personnel in procedures of artillery operation; organizes observation posts; sets up and maintains communication systems." ==U.S. Marine Corps==