The Right Fire Supporters in the Right Positions send the Right Message.

Commanders of both the 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized) Artillery and 1st Cavalry Division Artillery at Fort Hood [Texas] made bold moves in keeping with "the azimuth" of Field Artillery modernization and transformation. In these division artilleries, majors who have been branch-qualified as S3s or executive officers are assigned as brigade fire support officers (FSOs). This sends a great message to brigade combat team (BCT) commanders and (hopefully) future selection and promotion boards. But there is more we can do. The Officer Professional Management System (OPMS) XXI allows FA commanders to assign fire supporters at every echelon and apply the same bold initiative.

Combat Observation Lasing Team (COLT). Most direct support (DS) FA battalion commanders assign their "stud" lieutenants as COLT 6s. This may be the only fire support assignment where Gunners currently want to be selected. That is as it should be as COLTs increasingly work with enlisted tactical air control parties (ETAC-P), air defense teams and engineer reconnaissance teams (ERT) to be the "eyes of the BCT." And those who do the job well usually have good things in store for them.

Armor/Infantry Fire Support Team (FIST) Chief. We should assign lieutenants who have been successful cannon battery fire direction officers (FDOs) and (or) platoon leaders to be FIST chiefs. This is not a new suggestion, but bears repeating.

We must develop our young fire supporters and lay a foundation upon which to build for future fire support assignments.

Armor/Infantry Task Force and Cavalry/Attack Aviation Squadron FSO. We should assign captains who have been successful cannon or MLRS [multiple-launch rocket system] battery commanders. This is a tough one, as branch-qualified captains are in high demand.

Also, unique FSO skills are required to advise Army aviation commanders on the employment of the Apache, OH-58C and OH-58D Kiowa Warrior.

BCT and Armored Cavalry/Attack Aviation Regimental FSO. We should follow Iron Gunner 6 and Red Team 6 and assign majors who have been a successful cannon or MLRS battalion S3s. This is a critical assignment as we normally fight as BCTs and, therefore, must be able to synchronize effects at this level.

Division DFSCOORD [Deputy Fire Support Coordinator]. We should assign lieutenant colonels who have been successful cannon or MLRS battalion commanders to be DFSCOORDs, perhaps before they attend a war college-level of schooling.

Corps DFSCOORD. We should assign colonels who have been successful division artillery or FA brigade commanders to these positions. This would be a change from the current practice of assigning some lieutenant colonels who are pre-positioned for battalion command and, therefore, only get six to eight months in the saddle before attending the pre-command course (PCC). In addition, the "water level" at corps is 06, which would make the DFSCOORD an equal.

Echelon Above Corps (EAC). As with the corps DFSCOORD, we should continue to assign a colonel as the chief of the battlefield coordination detachment (BCD). A brigadier general who has commanded a corps artillery should be the ECOORD [effects coordinator] at the joint task force (JTF) level.

The emerging ECC [effects coordination cell] concept takes the integration and synchronization of lethal and non-lethal effects to lower levels than it has been before. This is good, but it complicates things.

Integration across joint and combined battlefield command and control systems and intelligence nodes will be critical and challenging, but we're on the right track. To do it right, we will need fire supporters of immense capabilities and resolve to bring effects-based fires together for the maneuver commander.

Let us ensure we put our best foot forward and assign the right Gunners to be our fire support ambassadors at all levels, from company team to EAC.

LTC(R) Stuart G. McLennan III Harker Heights, TX