MCWP 3-16.1 Artillery Operations.pdf - Marine Corps Community ...

10-34 _________________________________________________________________________________________________ MCWP 3-16.1
One of the best uses of the DST for artillery is to
ensure that the artillery can execute the infantry
fire plans. To wargame the fire plans, the S-2
discusses the threat’s COA and its rate of march,
while the S-3 discusses the type of target, where
the artillery is to impact (front, center, or rear of
formation) and the number of rounds and volleys
required. The FDO then states whether or not the
artillery is laid on the target, who will fire the
mission, shift time required, time of flight, and
total time to execute the mission. It is critical that
these are honest times based on the unit’s current
personnel and equipment status, and level of
training. With this information, the target area in
time is backed off using the TPLs, and a DP
(star) is placed on the operations graphic. This
star represents the point where artillery can
achieve its greatest effects on the threat.
The DPs established by artillery in the forward
battle area usually do not have artillery assets to
watch them. These DPs should correspond to a
trigger point of an infantry battalion or regimental
observer. The S-3 uses these DPs as he tracks the
battle to help him make critical decisions. As the
S-2 identifies threat forces at or near the DPs, the
S-3/FDO is alerted and expects a call for fire for
the target tied to the DP. This is how the S-3 antic-
ipates the battle to ensure artillery is prepared to
fire all required missions. In addition, if the artillery
LNOs at the infantry regiments and battalions
have an understanding of the mission execution
times the artillery battalion is capable of, and they
are coordinating their fire plans between headquarters,
then the artillery battalion DST will merely
verify that the fire plans are executable.
Another use of the artillery DST is to determine
DPs for other critical fire support events such as
battery movements, special munitions missions,
radar queuing times, CSS operations, etc. In the
same manner as described above, the S-3 and the
staff wargame the battle determining where to
place DPs which will trigger critical events. For
example, the S-3 could establish a DP to que the
radar to observe a breaching operation when the
lead elements of the breach force report their
location at a certain point.
Once completed, each DP is graphically depicted
on the operations overlay. This will assist in
focusing the S-3 on critical events during the
battle. Time permitting, the staff may develop an
execution matrix that addresses tasks each unit
must execute. See figure 10-25. Figure 10-26 on
page 10-36 shows fire planning using the MCPP.