Is 0811 (Field Artillery Cannoneer) a Good MOS?
United States Marine Corps · Military Occupational Specialty
Quick Facts — 0811 (Field Artillery Cannoneer)
AIT / Training
7 weeks
Training Location
Fort Sill, OK
Career Field
Field Artillery
Verdict: Not enough data
Based on 0 community reviews from verified service members
Score Breakdown
About 0811 Field Artillery Cannoneer
Serves as a crew member on Marine Corps artillery systems including the M777 howitzer. Loads, aims, and fires in direct and indirect fire missions supporting Marine ground combat operations.
7 weeks
Fort Sill, OK
Field Artillery
Recruiter vs. Reality
What the Recruiter Says
Operate and maintain the artillery systems that provide the Marine Corps' organic long-range firepower. Cannoneer is the king of battle — learn gunnery, fire direction, and the complex science of delivering precision fires at extended ranges in support of ground combat operations.
What It's Actually Like
The M777 lightweight howitzer looks elegant and weighs 9,300 pounds, which you will know intimately because you will move it by hand more often than seems physically reasonable. Cannon crew drills — loading, ramming, firing, managing the breech — are synchronized physical labor performed under time pressure with no margin for error because artillery rounds do not have a reliable undo button. The math behind fire missions is real math: deflection, elevation, propellant charge, fuze setting, all of it translating to where a round goes when it leaves the tube. Getting it wrong in training is a safety incident. Getting it wrong in combat is a tragedy. The culture in artillery is proud and loud. Arty Marines will tell you they are the most important Marines on the battlefield and the grunts they support will disagree and neither of them is entirely wrong. 29 Palms will be your home. Make peace with that.