The first-ever Gruber Award for the outstanding FA professional.

Master Sergeant (MSG) Dennis J. Woods (pictured on the right), recently of A Battery, 3d Battalion, 319th Field Artillery, 82d Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, won the first Gruber Award for the outstanding FA professional of 2002. While in A Battery, MSG Woods invented the gun electronic laying optical night sight (GELON), a sight mounting system used by towed howitzers to engage direct fire targets at night without illumination rounds, allowing FA units to maintain night discipline. During the Senior Fire Support Conference Banquet on 3 October at the Fort Sill Officers' Club, the Command Sergeant Major of the FA, CSM Rodney L. Beck (on the left), presented Woods a statue of "The Cannoneer" in recognition of his professionalism and contribution to the FA.

The purpose of the Gruber Award is to recognize outstanding individual thought and innovation that results in a significant contribution to or enhancement of the Field Artillery's warfighting capabilities, morale, readiness or maintenance.

The award was named after Brigadier General Edmund L. Gruber, 1879-1941, the composer of the Field Artillery's "The Caisson Song" that later was adapted to become the Army's song. The inspired composition of then First Lieutenant Gruber's "The Caisson Song" in 1908 has contributed to Field Artillery and Army morale for more than 90 years.

Lieutenant Gruber composed the "The Caisson Song" at Camp Stotsenburg, Pampanga, Philippine Islands, in March 1908. The original lyrics reflect the routine activities in a horse-drawn Field Artillery battery. Gruber's purpose was to commemorate the arrival of the 1st Battalion, 5th Field Artillery to relieve the 2d Battalion in the Philippines.

With minor revisions to Gruber's original verse and refrain plus the addition of verses, the "The Caisson Song" became "The Caissons Go Rolling Along," the official song of the US Army Field Artillery, in 1917. Then in 1952, H.W. Arberg adapted Gruber's song to make it "The Army Goes Rolling Along," the official song of the United States Army.

Although Gruber was most famous for his 1908 composition, his career proved he continued as a professional, innovative Field Artilleryman. As the commander of the 2d Field Artillery in the Panama Canal Zone during the 1933 maneuvers, he conducted the earliest known experiments in airborne artillery techniques, transporting three 75-mm howitzer batteries with men, ammunition and equipment by plane. The following year, he marched the 2d Field Artillery with full field equipment through the jungle across the isthmus from the Atlantic to the Pacific sides, a feat unequaled since the time of Balboa and Morgan. He also commanded the 7th Field Artillery at Fort Ethan Allen, Vermont. Brigadier General Gruber became the Commandant of the Command and General Staff College (CGSC) and Commander of Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in 1940, revising the instruction for CGSC. He was serving in this position at the time of his death on 30 May 1941.

MSG Woods is described by his 82d Division Artillery Command Sergeant Major as "...an All-Army man. His personal involvement with and commitment to the goals and ideals of the Field Artillery and the Army are without equal."

MSG Woods' invention of GELON led to its testing and release by the Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command, Rock Island, Illinois. As his CSM said, "His 30-dollar fix has saved the Army millions." Woods' innovativeness has enhanced the warfighting capabilities of the Field Artillery significantly.

(Much of the information on BG Gruber in this article was taken from "General Order No. 17, Headquarters Fort Leavenworth, Kansas," dated June 2, 1941, by order of Colonel Lewis and signed by Dana C. Schmahl, Lt. Col, Field Artillery, Executive Officer, announcing the death of BG Gruber at Fort Leavenworth.)