Master Gunner Division created.

The Commandant of the FA School, Fort Sill, Oklahoma, recently approved the creation of a Master Gunner Division to support FA Master Gunners in units throughout the force. The Master Gunner Division will work under the Director of the Directorate of Training and Doctrine (DOTD) in the FA School and the Command Sergeant Major of the FA.

The division's mission is to provide a "one-stop" for the FA community to get information and help and for the division to get feedback from the field. The division will help with Master Gunner programs and provide updates on changes to or new combat systems and publications. Master Sergeant Robert A. Niebauer, FA Master Gunner, is visiting all FA units in the Army to provide assistance and information, such as on the new artillery tables in the draft FM 3-09.8 Field Artillery Gunnery, and collect issues and lessons learned. Units can contact him at [e-mail] to schedule a unit visit.

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The division also is responsible for providing input to the FA Master Gunner's Course to ensure its contents are current and relevant to the contemporary operating environment (COE). The pilot of the two-week course for senior NCOs (sergeants first class and staff sergeants, the latter by exception) begins 12 October. For more information on the course and other Master Gunner programs and initiatives, see the Master Gunner homepage on the Fires Knowledge Network (FKN) on Army Knowledge Online (AKO).

MSG(R) Gregory D. Plant

Former FA Master Gunner

DOTD, FA School, Fort Sill, OK