b. The division artillery is commanded by a field artillery colonel on addition to
his command duties; he is the advisor to the division commander on all fire support
matters as well as field artillery matters. The headquarters battery provides
administrative support for division artillery and includes an aviation section that provides
aerial observation capability.
c. Each of the DS howitzer battalions is considered a firing unit; that is, the
battalion is normally employed as a unit. The battalion headquarters of the DS
battalions contains organic liaison sections that provide the capability for liaison with the
brigade headquarters and the maneuver battalions. The sole mission of an operational
support (OS) battalion is close fire support for the brigade. The OS battalion
commander positions his batteries so as to best support the brigade. Artillery is never
in reserve; therefore, when a brigade is in reserve, its OS battalion is normally given a
GS or reinforcing mission until the brigade is committed. A reinforcing mission is one in
which a field artillery unit augments or supplements the fires of another field artillery
unit. The reinforcing unit is positioned so that it can cover the zone of fire of the
reinforced unit and gives priority of fires to the reinforced unit.
d. The GS battalion is normally employed as a unit to provide artillery support to
the division as a whole. It is positioned so as to best support the combat elements
needing additional fire support.
2-12. ENGINEER BATTALION
a. The organization of the engineer battalion in the infantry, armored, and
mechanized divisions includes a headquarters and headquarters company, combat
engineer companies, and a bridge company. There is no bridge company in the
airborne or air assault division engineer battalion. There are four combat engineer
companies in the air assault, mechanized, and armored divisions (Figure 2-6). This
permits the employment of one combat engineer company in DS of, or attached to,
each committed brigade and for general engineer support. There are, of course,
various combinations of support missions that may be assigned to the engineer
companies, spending upon the deployment of the combat elements of the division.
MD0002
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