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FORT CAMPBELL, KY - Twenty one years ago, a platoon sergeant
choose a single Reserve Officers' Training Corps cadet from his
platoon to fire a Vulcan air defense weapon system. Although the
weapon system was on the verge of retirement from the Army, that old
Vulcan had a lasting impact on the cadet.
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M167 Vulcan air defense weapon system
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Jared Galazin, the cadet, would go on to choose air
defense artillery as one of his top three branches because
of the time he spent on the gun. Now he is a lieutenant
colonel and commander of the 2nd Battalion, 44th Air Defense
Artillery Regiment, 101st Sustainment Brigade, 101st
Airborne Division (Air Assault).
“It was pretty
amazing to get behind that weapon system and know that you
are about to fire a 20mm cannon,” said Galazin. “I remember
firing that thing and the whole chassis just shook
violently. Keeping that thing tracking smooth on an aircraft
I'm sure had to be very difficult for those who were
gunners.”
About a year later, Galazin had orders
sending him to the 2-44th ADA, which was still using the
Vulcan at the time, so he received more formal instruction
on the gun shortly before the Army retired it from service.
Twenty years later, he along with a number of former
service members with fond memories of their time as Vulcan
crew members are ready to commemorate the weapon. They plan
to gather at a battalion organizational day on July 3, at
Building 6746 on Fort Campbell. In addition to celebrating
the 20th anniversary of the Vulcan's retirement, the
battalion will provide lunch and sporting events for the
attendees. Galazin said that the battalion has a large
number of former 2-44th ADA soldiers that are still part of
the team and he invited them to come celebrate with the
battalion.
He had more memories of the Vulcan to
share.
“It's was a phenomenal weapon in terms of the
firepower that it could provide,” said Galazin. “At the time
the division was equipped with Vulcans it provided a great
direct fire weapon to help support the infantry.”
He
recounted a story one of his Vulcan gunners told him about
an encounter with Iraqi infantry during Desert Storm. The
Iraqis were in an entrenched position engaging a M2 Bradley
fighting vehicle. The Bradley's weapons were unable to
damage the Iraqis hiding behind a wall of dirt. However, the
Bradley's crew called for a Vulcan and once the air defense
Soldiers took aim at the berm, the Vulcan neutralized the
threat in a matter of seconds.
“Back in the time when
it did serve, it was very important,” said Galazin. “It was
part of the overall mix of weapon systems that the Air
Defense Artillery had.”
The M167 Vulcan the battalion
used was a highly mobile weapon. A Humvee could tow it and a
Black Hawk helicopter could air assault it anywhere it
needed to go. It provided defense against aircraft that were
too close for missiles. However, despite its many positive
attributes the Vulcan did have a flaw.
“One of the
worst features and what led to its retirement is that it
simply couldn't provide a lot of capability against high
performance jets,” said Galazin.
In some ways though,
the venerable Vulcan is making a comeback. Soldiers from
Bravo Battery 2-44th ADA just recently finished training on
the Counter Rocket Artillery and Mortar weapon system as
part of their preparations to deploy to Afghanistan and it
shares many similarities with the Vulcan.
“Actually,
we talk about C-RAM almost being the son of Vulcan,” said
Galazin. “Essentially it's the same gun.”
However,
the radar and tracking systems have received a significant
upgrade.
Staff Sgt. Joshua Waller, an intercept
section sergeant for the unit, said the C-RAM is accurate
and has the ability to engage multiple targets. He and the
rest of Bravo Battery 2-44 ADA will soon have an opportunity
to protect soldiers from indirect fire using the C-RAM.
“It's a pretty remarkable weapon,” said Waller. He
summed it up by saying that operating the C-RAM was
“beastly.”
By U.S. Army Sgt. Leejay Lockhart
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2013
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