The Role Of The Fire Support Officer

The Fire Support Officer is a military job title for the Field Artillery Officer who is the chief advisor to the maneuver commander

. The FSO has the job of integrating all forms of indirect fire support into the battle plan of the maneuver commander. In order to do so he must be intimately familiar with the tactics of the field artillery and the maneuver force that it supports. The FSO is also responsible for coordinating the infantrys mortars, close air support, and naval gunfire into the maneuver plan. Most of these are called indirect fire systems in that they dont use their actual intended target as an aim point when they fire. In the case of aircraft they may operate in a direct fire role such as in the case of close air support of ground forces, or as an indirect firing system such as the case when bombers will launch bombs or missiles which may use laser technology or another means of acquiring their target.

The FSO must insure that the maneuver commander gets the full use of the fire support assets assigned to him in every phase of the battle. He must insure that the commander understands the capability of each weapon system, and last of all he is responsible for the execution of fire support during the actual military operation whether it is an attack or a defensive operation.

The FSO also has the responsibility of establishing fire control measures in the area of responsibility of the maneuver commander. The purpose of fire control coordination measures is to insure that friendly troops and civilians are protected from friendly fires. The FSO must know the location of friendly forces at all times in order to ensure their safety. Fire control measures are changed and updated depending on troop movement and the tactical situation.

In order to be effective the FSO has to continuously coordinate with different members of the staff of the maneuver commander and the commander himself. He is also responsible for coordination with Air Force, and Naval personnel along with the mortar platoon and his own organic artillery unit. He accompanies the commander during the battle and serves as his hip pocket advisor. The Task Force level FSO has several fire support teams which he supervises along with his headquarters element known as the FSE (Fire Support Element). It is vital to the operation that he maintain communication with all of these elements during the planning and execution stages of the battle. He must also communicate with the intelligence officer and intelligence gathering assets before and during the battle so that he can update target information and troop locations.

The FSO also plans and executes the use of battlefield smoke and FASCAM (Field Artillery Scatterable Mines).

The FSO and his organic element and FIST teams spend an extraordinary amount of time in the field because of the nature of their job. They will normally deploy to the field with their organic Field Artillery unit and they will also deploy with either the armored or infantry task force that they support.

The Fire Support Officer has to be dynamic and posses a high degree of personal initiative in order to be successful. The job is a complex assignment and requires tenacity and flexibility in order to insure success. Military Ring Express

by: tishbite

POST COMMENT

¿Por Qué No Tengo Pareja? Descubre Las "enfermedades" Del Soltero O Soltera ¿Puede Ser Peritada La Firma De Un Cuadro Por Un Perito Calígrafo? Feminist Tyranny - A U.s. Export To The World Guidelines For Watering Orchids Correctly Finding The Perfect Campervans To Hire To Get Away Quick Abs - Importance of Stretching Domestic Key Spare Parts Are Still Import AS ATITUDES DE ZAQUEU, PARA VER JESUS CRISTO Matt Hustons Get Him Back Forever Guaranteed That Youll Get Him Back The Different Types Of Hot Tubs To Shop For And Acquire Good Advice Last Longer In Bed - 3 Quick Fixes To Add 15 Minutes To Sex Functional Fabric Was A Good Opportunity To Promote Budding Deliver A Distinct Get Together For Your Little Ones