MARINE CORP BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. -- Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 167 supported 3rd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment during an artillery training exercise aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, Nov. 29.
The squadron flew three Marines from 3rd Bn., 10th Marines to hone their aerial observer skills to direct fire on targets.
This is the first time artillery has shot over to the air station’s side of the New River since 2007, said 1st Lt. Jordan Willoughby, assistant operation officer for Headquarters Battery, 3rd Bn., 10th Marines.
The Marines typically have a different area that they bombard with shells, but with the support of HMLA-167, they turned the M777 Howitzer cannon to fire across the river.
Moving the direction of the howitzer and making adjustments is a skill that is refreshed with the exercise, said Willoughby.
The Marines went out in a team of helicopters, an AH-1W Cobra and an UH-1Y Huey. Together, the helicopters strafed close to the target and called out coordinates and adjustments as the artillery Marines fired the rounds.
The Marines in the air would direct Battery L to walk the round across the field on target by giving adjustments and relaying with the artillery Marines where the rounds were impacting. Once the rounds where falling on the target, the aerial observer would call out “fire for effect.”
“Fire for effect” is a command to send volleys of shells on to the target in order to destroy the location or position.
The Huey also has an on-board laser that shoots a grid onto the ground. The pilots can see on a screen exactly where the target is located, said Capt. Buck Perry, HMLA-167 quality assurance officer. The screen will read out a 10-digit map coordinate that will put the round within three feet of a target.
“We got some good training out of this mission,” said Perry. “We have some lessons learned for the next time. But overall, it was mission success for both of us.”