Soldiers blast way to Afghanistan through lava field
By Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Big Island Bureau
POHAKULOA, Hawai'i — After more than three hours of firing, the ear-splitting blasts from the 105mm howitzers had jolted the weapons out of their original positions, shoving them backward in the dust by about six feet.
Kevin Dayton • The Honolulu Advertiser
That prompted a brief halt in the firing while gun crew chiefs from Alpha Battery, 3rd Battalion, 7th Field Artillery carefully realigned the weapons under camouflage nets.
Gun crews of A Battery, 3rd Battalion, 7th Field Artillery fire 105mm howitzers at Pohakuloa Training Area, tuning up for a yearlong deployment in Afghanistan in April with the 3rd Brigade from Schofield Barracks.
Sweating, sun-burned crew members hurried to collect the packing material that had been stripped off the 50-pound shells before they were fired, rubbish that was strewn on the ground around stacks of wooden ammunition crates.
"This big mess of ammo residue is what a staff sergeant likes to see," said Capt. Eric Johnson, the battery commander. "They are making their money when they are shooting live rounds."
In about eight weeks the artillery battery will depart for Afghanistan with the Third Brigade Combat Team from Schofield Barracks to relieve the 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry).
This may be their last opportunity to train with live ammunition before they arrive in the war zone and begin missions that could take them almost anywhere in the country.
Members of the gun crews said they see their colleagues becoming sharper, more focused, more intent since they received news of the year-long deployment.
"We ain't going to another field problem. We're going to some live bullets flying at us, and we're going to be shooting some live bullets at them," said Sgt. Lance Kahiamoeterukina, a radio operator from Wai'anae.
For almost all of the soldiers working the guns, this will be their first time in a combat zone, and they said they have no idea what to expect.
The training has become more intense in recent weeks, with new subjects covered such as disabling land mines, and briefings on Afghanistan and its culture.
The primary purpose of yesterday's firing was to give infantry officers perched on nearby Pu'u Ahi practice at calling in fire missions, a skill that will be essential in Afghanistan.
Johnson jokes that he and his men are "training aides" for the officers today, but the gun crews said they are glad to get more practice with high-explosive rounds.
They went through polished drills, over and over, yelling out orders and listening for instructions as the rounds crashed down in a lava field more than five miles away.
The gun crews planned to fire 135 rounds each yesterday, which is an unusually large amount of live ammunition in a short time, said Staff Sgt. Christopher Gibson, 31.
"Adrenaline is always running because you're working with explosives," said Gibson, who is a section chief in charge of one of the six-man howitzer crews. "Basically when we get into combat, it should feel exactly the same. Maybe a little more heightened because there's more danger."
As part of the preparation for deployment, the soldiers recently went through a simulated ambush on a battalion-sized convoy at Schofield Barracks.
Sgt. Gerardo Lozoya fretted that in Afghanistan, his gun crew is more likely to travel in smaller groups, and said he was unhappy with the way the exercise played out.
"I didn't really like it," said Lazoya, of Homestead, Fla. "I just wish we could train more."
Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 935-3916.
