FORWARD OPERATING BASE Q-WEST, Iraq — Members of the 1st Cavalry Division’s 5th Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade were out Thursday and Friday shooting the biggest gun in the Army’s arsenal — the 155 mm Paladin howitzer. When the weapon was fired, the Earth shook and the deafening sound could be heard for miles.
The 5-82nd was qualifying several crews from batteries A and B who needed the training. The unit is deployed to northern Iraq, where the two guns were fired. The unit was also testing, successfully, new software that helps to determine the weapon’s range.
The exercise’s target was a fuel truck partially destroyed by a roadside bomb several months ago. It was positioned nearly 10 kilometers from the guns, and forward observers helped to cite the accuracy of the shells.
