Like a choreographed dance, Soldiers from the 3rd Stryker Brigade's 1st Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment move in perfect unison with each command shouted out.

Some Soldiers scurry to grab the next 90-pound, 155mm high-explosive round to load in the M-777 Howitzer while others make the necessary adjustments to set the aim of the 9,000-pound weapon. All pause before the "Fire!" command is given.

Soldiers got the chance to fine-tune their skills March 3 at Joint Base Lewis-McChord as part of their annual training requirements.

"It's been more than two years since some Soldiers have done training (on the weapon)," said Lt. Col. JP Moore, who commands the 386 soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment. "We're a little bit behind our training power curve."

For the first time in several years, all three field artillery battalions from Lewis-McChord's three Stryker Combat Teams will be home and training, as well as the 1-377 FA Howitzer battalion from the 17th Fires Brigade.

Soldiers will experience a combination of classroom and training at the range, to "give them the full spectrum of operations," Moore said.

All of the activity will make for a lot of "booms" coming from the base, and surrounding communities will notice an increase in noise, according to JBLM Public Affairs officials.

With four 155mm howitzer battalions training and firing at JBLM this spring and summer, the firing will be a weekly occurrence throughout the spring and the summer, and will include some night firing.

"There's nothing quiet about it, but (the training) is really about the repetition," Moore said. "The ends justify the means."

The M-777 is the world's first 155mm howitzer weighing less than 10,000 pounds. The U.S. Army has been fielding the M-777 since 2006; however, field artillery units on JBLM are just now beginning to do some of the first live fire training using the newer howitzer. The M-777 replaced the M-198 towed howitzer in the active Army, which has been in service since the late 1960s and weighs more than 15,700 lbs.

"The old one was a bear ... 18,000 pounds doesn't move all that easily," Moore said.
The new weapon requires fewer Soldiers to operate and is easier to transport on the battlefield.