NATO photo by Jake Tupman, March 07, 2018

In my current assignment as the U.S. Army Field Artillery Branch Chief, officers repeatedly ask me the same question: “What must I do to be successful?” My response is usually the same and can be distilled into three simple steps:

1. Ground yourself in foundational components of your chosen profession. For Field Artillery Officers that includes the Five Requirements for Accurate First-Round Fire for Effect; and, the 13 Principles of Fire Support Planning.
2. Be confident and play to your strengths while always seeking to learn and grow.
3. Take care of your team!

In my experience, officers’ careers progress through a familiar sequence. First, an officer is placed in an unfamiliar environment. Next, the officer seeks to build his team applying foundational concepts. Then, the officer adapts to that new environment and effectively integrates into the larger team. Following the three steps above will serve Field Grade Leaders well as they learn and grow in the military.

Twenty years ago this month, I graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point and began my career as an Army Field Artillery Officer. At that time, the Army was involved in a number of peacekeeping and peace support missions. Shortly after arriving at my first unit in Vilseck, Germany, I learned that I would be deploying to Macedonia with my maneuver battalion. A deployment in 2000 was very different from today’s deployment missions. The Army’s last major combat operations concluded nearly a decade earlier with the end of the 1990-1991 Gulf War. As a recent graduate of the Field Artillery Officer Basic Course, and new Company Fire Support Officer, the only deployment references I had were from history lessons. In the few weeks that I had to prepare myself and my Fire Support Team for the deployment, I realized there was much that I did not know. What would be the unit’s mission? What would be expected of my team? I might have chosen to seek out answers to these and other questions. Instead, with so many unknowns, I chose to trust the training that I had received and focus on preparing my team to plan, synchronize, and employ fires in support of my maneuver company. For twenty years and through myriad situations, I have continued to apply this generalized approach, and it has not failed me yet!

I have never met anyone who is clairvoyant, so my experience has been that everyone operates without perfect information. Leaders covet better information, because it leads to better risk identification and improves decision-making. Recognizing that nobody will ever have perfect information, an important leadership challenge is to exercise discretion when accepting risk during the decision-making process.

A great way to mitigate the challenges of imperfect information is to rely on personal strengths. COL (Ret.) William Downing was my former commander, trusted friend, and mentor. He used to say, “When all else fails, do PT!” March 10, 2018 I did not think much of it when I first heard him say this, however, I have come to understand the tremendous wisdom in this saying. He was encouraging us to play to our strengths, because physical fitness is a foundation for every Soldier’s service.

How should Field Artillery officers play to their strengths? The comparative strengths of the Field Artillery officer corps are found in the foundational components of the branch’s combat capabilities. These components include knowing and understanding Field Artillery Operations and Fire Support. Two parts of that base of knowledge are particularly important:

1. Knowing and understanding the Five Requirements for Accurate First-Round Fire for Effect
2. Knowing and understanding the 13 Principles of Fire Support Planning

Upon a sturdy foundation, nearly any structure can be built. Similarly, my knowledge and understanding of the basic Field Artillery concepts enabled me to navigate 20 years of active duty military service, successfully command at the battery and battalion levels, and earn selection for promotion to Colonel. By committing myself to mastering foundational concepts, I have given myself flexibility to assume risk in situations with an information void.

During my first deployment as a Lieutenant, I spent the first few months serving as a guard force OIC instead of exercising artillery or fire support skills. However, one day, my commander surprised me with instructions to pack my gear and head north. I temporarily relocated from my base in Macedonia to Kosovo for several weeks where I found myself, after having previously employed none of my field artillery training, now joining various patrols throughout my unit’s area of operations and controlling “Bright Sky” fire missions in support of maneuver operations. Just when I was beginning to question my decision to “prepare my team to plan, synchronize, and employ fires in support of my maneuver company”, I was pleased to find that the decision was not made in vain.

Fast forward to 2013, I was a Field Artillery Battalion Executive Officer, and my Brigade Commander informed me that I had been selected to be the next S3 for the 17th Field Artillery Brigade. I felt honored by the selection, but I encountered self-doubt, thinking: “I don’t know anything about rockets or general support artillery operations.” After a brief moment of trepidation, I realized that fundamentals of field artillery operations and fire support are exactly that — fundamental! Despite my lack of knowledge regarding Field Artillery Brigade operations, I was still able to add value to the team. I entered my new position acknowledging that I had much to learn, but also confident that the lessons that enabled my prior success were equally applicable to my new assignment.

As a Major, I worked harder than I had ever, previously, worked in my professional career. In fact, while serving as the 17th Field Artillery Brigade S3, I actually thought that I might fail. Within the U.S. Army, we affectionately refer to our Majors as “Iron Majors”, and the moniker is earned due to the expectations for performance that we have for officers, at this level. Major assignments in the U.S. Army are tremendously challenging. However, I am confident that if officers ground themselves in foundational concepts, play to their strengths, and take care of their team then they are likely to achieve success.

Best of luck!

LTC/P McKenzie currently serves as the Field Artillery Officer Branch Chief at the Human Resources Command in Fort Knox, Kentucky. Prior to assuming his current position, he Commanded the Field Artillery Squadron, 2d Cavalry Regiment, in Vilseck, Germany. He completed his Field Grade KD assignments at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, where he served as a Corps Planner, BN XO, FA BDE S3, and Aide-de-Camp. He is a graduate of the School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS) and holds two Master’s Degrees.