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13BE1-E3

Cannon Crewmember

E-1 to E-3 (Junior Enlisted) · Army

E1–E3E-4E-5E-6E-7E8–E9
HEADS UP

13B OSUT at Fort Sill, OK runs roughly 10 weeks of combined BCT + Field Artillery AIT under the 434th FA Brigade (verify the current POI — FA OSUT length has been adjusted across the years). You will leave Sill knowing how to load a round, set deflection and quadrant, and stay out of the recoil path on whichever howitzer your training cycle covered. You will not leave Sill knowing what your gaining section actually does on a 14-day live-fire FTX. That part starts the day you sign in to your battery, and the first section chief who reads your end-of-course academic eval (DA Form 1059) is the one whose read of you sets your career for the next 18 months.

The Honest MOS Read
You enlisted 13B (Cannon Crewmember), finished 13B OSUT at the U.S. Army Field Artillery School at Fort Sill, OK, and are heading to (or just arrived at) your first FA battery. Fort Sill is the Field Artillery Center of Excellence (FACoE) and the FA branch's home — Snow Hall, Knox Hall, the West Range and Henry Post ranges, and the Field Artillery Museum sit on the same installation. OSUT is run by the 434th FA Brigade through its training battalions; you stay with one cadre and one cohort the entire cycle. The cycle covers the M777A2 155mm towed howitzer, the M109A6 Paladin / M109A7 Paladin Integrated Management (PIM) self-propelled 155mm, and the M119A3 105mm light howitzer to the gradate standard — but the gun your gaining unit fields is the gun you actually master. The first thing nobody briefs hard enough at OSUT: 13B is a section MOS. You do not work alone. The howitzer is a 7-9 soldier crew machine — section chief (a SSG or E-7-pinned NCO, the gun chief), gunner (sets deflection on the panoramic sight, lays the tube), assistant gunner (sets quadrant, the round chamber), ammo team chief (runs projectile / powder / fuze flow), and the cannoneers (load, ram, run the lanyard or breech, swab the tube). As the cherry cannoneer you start at the bottom of the load cycle — handling powder canisters and projectiles out of the trains or the FAASV, segregating ammo by type, cutting charges to the FDC's call, setting fuzes the assistant gunner verifies, and ramming the round on the section chief's command. Different from the M777 / M109 / M119 — but the load drill, the recoil path discipline, and the eye-and-ear pro rule are the same on every howitzer the Army owns. Your gaining unit determines almost everything about your first three years. The cannon FA community lives in three structural variants tied to the BCT type. In an Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT — 10th MTN at Fort Drum, 25th ID at Schofield, 101st AAB at Fort Campbell, 173rd at Vicenza, 82nd ABN at Fort Liberty (renamed from Fort Bragg in 2023), 2nd IBCT 25th ID at Wheeler/Schofield), the supporting FA battalion fields the M119A3 105mm light howitzer — air-droppable, sling-loadable, foot-mobile-ish with a prime mover, the gun the airborne and air-assault forces fight off. In a Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT — 2nd Cav in Germany, 2/2 ID at JBLM, 1/25 ID in Alaska, 3/2 ID at JBLM), the supporting FA battalion fields the M777A2 155mm towed — a long-range, heavy 155mm tube prime-mover-towed behind the FMTV or LMTV. In an Armored Brigade Combat Team (ABCT — 1AD at Bliss, 1ID at Riley, 3ID at Stewart, 4ID at Carson, 1CD at Hood/Cavazos), the supporting FA battalion fields the M109A6 Paladin or the upgraded M109A7 PIM — a tracked self-propelled 155mm with an onboard fire control system, partnered with the M992 FAASV (Field Artillery Ammunition Supply Vehicle) that hauls the rounds and powder. The howitzer underneath you depends on the BCT. The recruiter probably did not explain that the slot is assigned in the back half of OSUT and depends on the needs of the Army, not your preferences. The FA battery structure: 6-8 howitzers per firing battery (typically two firing platoons of 3-4 guns each), 3 firing batteries per FA battalion (A/B/C BTRY) plus a headquarters and headquarters battery (HHB) with the FDC, radars, survey/MET, and battalion staff, plus a forward support company (FSC) attached for logistics. One FA battalion in every BCT. The non-BCT FA force lives in the Division Artillery (DIVARTY) headquarters in each division, plus the FA brigades (the 17th, 18th, 41st, 75th, and 130th — verify the current force structure), and the Multiple Launch Rocket System / High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (MLRS / HIMARS) battalions for 13M crews on the rocket side. As a cherry 13B you are almost always going to a firing battery in a BCT FA battalion. Promotion to E-2 is automatic at 6 months TIS per AR 600-8-19. E-3 / PFC is automatic at 12 months TIS with 4 months TIG (waivable to 6/2). E-4 is the first real promotion gate — 24 months TIS / 6 months TIG, both waivable, but the chain has to actively recommend you. The 13B promotion-point cutoffs move based on FA inventory and BCT readiness cycles; pull the current HRC promotion-point MILPER before assuming the cutoff you heard last quarter is still the cutoff this quarter. The section's training rhythm is what shapes the first 18 months. Garrison weeks are PMCS on the gun, the prime mover (FMTV / HEMTT for towed, the Paladin tracked variant and the FAASV in ABCT), and the fire control suite; section-level dry-fire drills; ammo handling certification at the unit ammunition holding area or the consolidated trains; and the unglamorous details (motor pool, area beautification, CQ, staff duty, ammunition handling area details). Field weeks are where the work is real — you emplace the gun, the gunner lays it, the assistant gunner sets quadrant, the ammo team builds the round, and on the section chief's command the round goes. Then you displace and you do it again. The cycle is hours long, then suddenly 30 seconds long, then hours again. The cherry's job is to be in the right place on the gun line — out of the recoil path, eye and ear pro on, hands fast on the load, mouth shut on the gun line — every single time. The pay piece nobody briefs hard enough: BRS (Blended Retirement System) is the default for everyone enlisted after January 2018. You get 1% government TSP match automatically and up to 4% more match if you contribute 5% of base pay. Most cherries do not max this. The math of starting at 19 vs starting at 26 is genuinely life-altering. Talk to S-1 about your TSP contribution in your first week at your unit, not your second year.
Career Arc
  • 01BCT + Field Artillery AIT at Fort Sill — 13B OSUT under the 434th FA Brigade (~10 weeks combined; verify current POI).
  • 02End-of-course academic eval (DA Form 1059) — follows you to gaining unit.
  • 03PCS to gaining firing battery in an IBCT (M119A3), SBCT (M777A2), or ABCT (M109A6/A7 Paladin) FA battalion.
  • 04Reception, in-processing, first counseling cycle with section chief — your file at the battery starts here.
  • 05Month ~6 TIS: E-2 automatic per AR 600-8-19.
  • 06Month ~12 TIS: E-3 / PFC (4 mo TIG, waivable to 6/2).
  • 07First section live-fire — section chief's read of you forms here.
  • 08First gunnery cycle (battery-level Table VI / collective gunnery, with the battery METL fire-mission tasks at the ARTEP-MTP standard) — the gun line's read of you sets.
  • 09First CTC rotation (NTC at Fort Irwin / JRTC at Fort Johnson (renamed from Fort Polk in 2023) / JMRC at Hohenfels) within 18-24 months — the readiness model rotation where the BC and 1SG learn your name.
  • 10E-4 promotion gate at 24 mo TIS / 6 mo TIG with chain recommendation; gunner seat conversation starts shortly after.
Common Screwups
  • ×Sleeping on TSP enrollment under BRS. The 1% automatic + 4% match if you contribute 5% compounds across a 20-year career; starting at 19 vs. 26 is roughly 4x the balance at retirement.
  • ×DUI / drug pop — separation under AR 635-200 ch. 14, an RE code that follows you out the gate, and a sensitive-billet history (you handle 155mm rounds, propellant, and fuzes) that the chain has to write up before separation.
  • ×ACFT (Army Combat Fitness Test) fails — repeated fails trigger flagging per AR 600-8-2, no promotions, no schools, eventual chapter under AR 635-200; cannoneers lift heavy ammo for a living and a flagged cannoneer is a section embarrassment.
  • ×Treating OSUT as the hard part. Your first battery's live-fire FTX, the gunnery cycle, and the CTC train-up are materially harder than anything you did at Sill.
  • ×Article 15 in the first 12 months — barracks fight, AWOL, underage drinking, fraternization (you are 19 and there is a 21-year-old SPC in your section; AR 600-20 chapter 4 paragraph 14 is real). UCMJ entry in your first year buries you on the promotion-point ladder before you ever see a board.

A Day in the Life

  • 0500Wake. Roll out of the rack. Hit the head, shave, uniform check, PT clothes on. Make the bed to the platoon SOP — the battery will fail an inspection because of you, not because of itself.
  • 0530PT formation. Stand at parade rest behind your section chief or gunner. Accountability check, uniform check, then off to the battery PT field.
  • 0600-0700Battery PT. Cardio days the battery runs together; strength days you may break out into the gym in shifts. The 13B strength PT is the differentiator — deadlifts, sandbag carries, hex-bar work that maps to the heavy-ammo lift cycle the section does at every live-fire. Wednesdays are typically heavy ruck or formation run; Fridays are FTX-prep day for whatever live-fire the battery is doing.
  • 0700-0900Hygiene, change uniforms, breakfast at the DFAC or the barracks. Cherry cannoneers eat at the DFAC for the first 18 months.
  • 0900First formation. 1SG reads battery announcements. Section chief hands out the day's section tasks. You stand still; you listen; you do not check your phone.
  • 0915-1130Work call. Garrison week breakdown: PMCS on the howitzer in the gun park or motor pool (clean the breech, check the recoil cylinder oil, run the fire control check), section-level dry-fire on the gun (the gunner sets deflection, the assistant gunner sets quadrant, the cannoneers run the load cycle dry against the section chief's commands), ammo handling area details (segregation, inventory, the consolidated trains roll-up), or company-level event prep. Field week: emplace the gun, run the lay, dry-fire the cycle, live-fire when the FDC calls.
  • 1130-1300Chow. DFAC if you have a meal card; barracks or off-post if you have BAS. The section eats together on field weeks; on garrison weeks the cherries usually eat together at the DFAC.
  • 1300-1500Afternoon work call. More of the morning — PMCS, dry-fire, ammo handling, motor pool, training. Or battery-level event: SHARP training, EO training, OPSEC training, safety brief, IG brief, ATFP, the unit's online-mandatory courses. Sit, listen, sign the roster.
  • 1500-1630Final formation. Section chief briefs the next day. Sensitive items (sights, collimator, breech tools, fire control panel components, comm fill devices, NVGs, weapons) checked back in. You account for your gear and your weapon — every time, every day.
  • 1630Released. Usually. CQ, staff duty, ammunition handling area detail, motor pool late-day PMCS, or section-specific tasks may extend your day by hours or days.
  • 1700-2000Personal time. Barracks (gym, study, video games, errands), off-post for those with cars, family for the small percentage who are married this young. The cherry mistake here is binge drinking with the section — three months of weeknight drinking makes for the worst Monday formation read of your young career.
  • 2000-2200Study time (the smart cherry studies the cannoneer task cards from STP 6-13B, the howitzer TM, and the section SOP). Phone call to family. The unit's 22:00 lights-out for barracks soldiers is policy at many BCTs.
  • 2200Lights out. Tomorrow starts at 0500.
  • Field rotation / live-fire FTXThe clock collapses. Up at 0430 for stand-to; gun line sector for the day; chow when the section allows; sleep in 2-4 hour shifts under the poncho near the gun trail or in the FAASV in ABCT. A 5-day FTX feels like 10; a 14-day CTC rotation (NTC, JRTC, JMRC) feels like 30. The cherry who can still run a clean load cycle on hour 60 with no sleep is the cherry the section chief promotes.

Weekly Cadence

The Mon-Fri rhythm for a cherry cannoneer in a firing battery is dictated by the section chief's training schedule and the battery training calendar. Monday is high tempo — PT, gun PMCS, weapons maintenance, briefings, the paperwork that piled up over the weekend, and the section chief's read of who showed up tired from the wrong reasons. Tuesday and Wednesday are training days — Sergeant's Time Training (STT) where the section chief or gunner runs the cherries through STP 6-13B task cards: load drill, charge cut, fuze setting, misfire procedure dry, the recoil-path geometry walked through with rope or chalk lines on the gun pad. These are the days that matter. Show up early. Volunteer for the role-player slot. Thursday is often the motor pool day or the range day — gun PMCS at depth, FMTV / HEMTT / Paladin maintenance with the 91-series wheeled / tracked mechanics, M4 sustainment range, or the consolidated ammunition handling area detail. Friday is the battery-level event (PT, hails-and-farewells, awards formation, safety stand-down, ATFP / OPSEC mandatory training) and release. The bad cherry coasts through Mon-Wed and tries to make up the work on Thursday; the good cherry hits Mon-Wed hard and is on the short list for the next driver / wrecker / Air Assault / Airborne slot by Friday's formation. The week's second rhythm is administrative and field-cycle. Common task training (CTT), mandatory online courses (SHARP, EO, ATFP, OPSEC, cyber awareness), the cycle of weapons quals and gun qualifications, the gunnery cycle (battery-level Table VI; battalion-level VII and above) — these come in waves driven by the battery training schedule. Field rotations and CTC train-ups (NTC, JRTC, JMRC, the FA battalion home-station live-fire week) collapse the rhythm — when the battalion is in train-up, garrison-time is for sleep and the family conversation about why you were not home for dinner three nights this week. The cherry's career-killer is to be the soldier the section chief has to chase for an overdue mandatory course at 1700 on a Friday before a long weekend.

Key Skills — How to Drill Each

  1. 01
    Run every cannoneer position on the section's howitzer — load, ram, swab, breech, lanyard (on lanyard-fired guns), powder cut, fuze set — to the TC 3-09.81 standard at the section chief's read.
    The section chief rotates cherries through positions during dry-fire and section-level training; learn each seat cold. Memorize the section's load cycle script — the section chief's commands, the gunner's responses, the assistant gunner's verification, the cannoneer's confirmation — in the same order, every time. Drill dry on garrison weeks; never improvise on the gun line. The cherry who tries a faster way is the cherry who puts a round long, short, or out of the SDZ and the battery into a 15-6 investigation.
  2. 02
    Handle 155mm or 105mm projectiles, propellant, and fuzes safely — ammunition segregation, charge cuts, fuze settings, misfire procedure — every time, every round.
    TC 3-09.81 has the propellant and fuze tables; STP 6-13B has the cannoneer-level task cards. Learn the projectile types your battery fires (HE — high explosive, smoke — WP / HC, illum — illumination, the precision-guided rounds the unit may field, the legacy DPICM stocks where still on the books); learn the propellant types (M3A1 green-bag, M4A2 white-bag, M232 MACS modular for 155mm); learn the fuze families (PD point-detonating, time, VT variable-time / proximity, MOFA / multi-option, the precision-guided fuze families). Drill the misfire procedure with the section sergeant — the wait time, the controlled unload, the reporting per the unit SOP. The cherry who fumbles propellant on a charge cut is the cherry who puts the section into a stand-down.
  3. 03
    Stay out of the recoil path. Eye and ear pro on, hands clear, feet anchored, head on a swivel — every fire, every time.
    The recoil path on a 155mm towed gun like the M777A2 is a marked, briefed space the section chief points at before every live-fire. On a Paladin in an ABCT, the recoil path is the tube's traverse arc and the breech opening — different geometry, same rule. The cannoneer who steps into the recoil zone during a fire mission does not get a second warning; the round goes off, the breech opens, and the soldier loses limbs or worse. Eye pro (ballistic glasses to ANSI Z87.1) and ear pro (foam plugs + earmuffs, doubled-up on live-fire) are not optional — single missions cause lifetime hearing damage. The section chief on the next gun watches every cannoneer's feet.
  4. 04
    Run pre-fire and post-fire PMCS on the cannon, breech, recoil system, sight, and prime mover — and report the deadlines to the section chief honestly.
    PMCS to the howitzer's technical manual (TM 9-1015-252-10 family for the M777A2, the M109A6/A7 Paladin TM family, the M119A3 TM family — the section chief has the unit's actual TM set in the gun trailer or section workspace). Daily PMCS is operator-level; weekly and monthly is unit-maintenance-level alongside the wheeled vehicle mechanics (91B) and tracked vehicle mechanics (91H for tracked). Report deadlines honestly to the section chief — a section chief who finds a deadline you hid at the next live-fire never trusts you again. The cherry who PMCS the gun like the section chief is reading is the cherry the section chief eventually lets run the gun.
  5. 05
    Read a 10-digit grid off a paper map and the gun's azimuth indicator; trust the laying when GPS aiding fights you.
    STP 21-1-SMCT task 071-329-1019 (land nav by paper map) is the soldier-level reference; the gun's laying reference uses a survey aiming point, a collimator, and the panoramic sight or the digital fire control display. The 13B-specific skill is reading the section's aiming reference and confirming the lay against it — the cherry who can verify the lay independently is the cherry the section chief promotes to gunner. Drill paper map land nav on the installation's nav courses; drill the section's collimator / aiming reference procedure with the gunner during dry-fire. Do not trust GPS when the system fights you under canopy or jamming — the section's laying procedure was designed to work without it.
  6. 06
    Drive and maintain the section's prime mover (FMTV / HEMTT for towed; the Paladin tracked variant and FAASV in ABCT) and the equipment on it.
    Driver training is a chain-allocated school — typically requested through your section chief and the battery training NCO, run on-installation or at the FA battalion training cycle. Cherry cannoneers who pull the prime-mover driver slot first are the cherries the section deploys to school slots later. Daily PMCS to the vehicle TM, weekly deep PMCS at the motor pool with the 91B or 91H mechanics, and a clean ammo / propellant load plan in the trailer or bed for every movement. The trailer or the FAASV is what the section moves on — broken means the section is non-mission-capable.

Manuals & References — What Chapters Matter

  • TC 3-09.81 — Field Artillery Manual Cannon Gunnery
    The cannoneer's bible. Tables for projectile, propellant, fuze, the engagement / mission types, the misfire procedure, the SDZ (surface danger zone) considerations, the danger-close RED (risk-estimate distance). Read the cannoneer chapters cover-to-cover before your first FTX; the section chief will quote it verbatim and the answer to his question is on the page he is quoting.
  • TC 3-09.8 — Field Artillery Gunnery
    The companion to TC 3-09.81 on the gunnery side — the technical and tactical fire control architecture, the gunnery problem solved end-to-end. As a cherry skim this once; at gunner you will return to it.
  • ATP 3-09.50 — The Field Artillery Cannon Battery
    The battery-level doctrine the BC and the 1SG run the unit off. Read the section composition and section-level operations chapters; understand where your section sits in the battery and where the battery sits in the FA battalion.
  • FM 3-09 — Field Artillery Operations
    The umbrella doctrinal manual for the entire fires warfighting function. The cherry should skim how the FA battalion plugs into the BCT and the brigade fires architecture — your section's call to fire comes through the BCT FSE and the FA battalion FDC chain; FM 3-09 is the framing.
  • STP 6-13B — Soldier's Manual, MOS 13B
    The MOS-specific task list the section runs Sergeant's Time Training (STT) off. Every task you certify as a cherry has a card in STP 6-13B; print the cards for the tasks you have not certified on; carry them in your patrol cap.
  • STP 21-1-SMCT — Soldier's Manual of Common Tasks, Warrior Skills Level 1
    The validation reference for the soldier piece — land nav, weapons immediate-action drills, TCCC, common-task training. Every Sergeant's Time Training event ties to an STP task; the section chief will quiz you off these.

Standards — How to Hit Each

  • ACFT 500+ to be left alone, 540+ to start getting noticed for schools — cannoneers lift heavy ammo for a living and the section watches.
    500 is roughly average across the events; 540 puts you above battery average. The deadlift, the hex-bar carry, and the standing power throw are the lifts that map directly to the work — every 155mm round you handle is 95+ pounds, every powder charge is its own load. Build the score with strength volume (deadlift sets, hex-bar carries with weight close to fighting-load mass), interval running for the 2MR, and grip work. Battery PT will get you to 500; personal PT after hours gets you to 540. The section chief reads the score off the unit's PT roster.
  • Qualify on the M4 every cycle — 13Bs carry rifles in the perimeter and on convoy and the battery watches.
    TC 3-22.9 standards. The new qualification scoring profile (Expert at the high end) is what the section chief expects. Cannoneers do not shoot as much as 11Bs but you still carry the rifle on every field problem, every gun-site security cycle, every convoy. Dry-fire 200 reps a week in the barracks; live-fire when the unit puts ammo on the ground. The cannoneer who shoots Expert on the M4 and runs the gun is the cannoneer the section chief points at for a school slot.
  • Section-level live-fire qualification on the howitzer your unit fields — section chief signs off when you can run every cannoneer position cold.
    The section runs sustainment-level live-fire qualification on the gun the unit fields. Section chief or the senior gunner grades each cherry through the load cycle — load, ram, swab, breech, lanyard / firing handle, charge cut, fuze set, post-fire — in dry-fire first, then live. Pass means the section chief signs your training record card; fail means you run it again. Push for the sign-off; the cherry who carries a clean training record is the cherry the section chief lets near the gunner's seat at month 9.
  • Driver's training on the section's prime mover (FMTV / HEMTT for towed, Paladin tracked variant in ABCT) within your first 12 months.
    The driver / wrecker / equipment-operator school is a chain-allocated slot run on-installation or at the training cycle of the BCT. Ask your section chief and the battery training NCO in the first 60 days of arrival. The cherry who pulls the driver slot first is the cherry the section deploys to other schools (Air Assault, Airborne if airborne-coded, the FA-specific schools at Fort Sill) later. Show up to the school physically ready and prepared on the vehicle TM.

Technical Mistakes — Concrete Consequences

  • Standing in the recoil path during a live mission.
    The gun does not warn you. The breech opens fast, the tube recoils hard, and the soldier in the wrong place loses limbs or worse. Every section chief on the gun line watches every cannoneer's feet; the cherry who drifts into the recoil zone gets pulled off the gun line, counseled, and the AAR has his name on it. The next live-fire he stands behind the section chief until the chief is convinced his feet have learned.
  • Mishandling propellant — wrong charge cut, wet powder, lost increment, fuze not set.
    A bad charge means the round goes long or short or off the surface danger zone. A wet powder canister means a hangfire that the section now has to walk through the misfire procedure on while the FDC stops the fire mission. A lost increment means the count for the next mission is off and the FDC's solution is wrong. Every propellant error is a 15-6 risk and a section stand-down. The cherry who fumbles propellant on a charge cut puts the battery into review for the rest of the day.
  • Eye and ear pro off on the gun line — single fire mission, lifetime hearing damage; eye flash on a charge cut, end of your training day and start of a safety stand-down.
    The gun's overpressure on a single 155mm fire causes audiogram-detectable hearing damage when ear pro is not doubled up; eye flash on a charge cut without ballistic glasses ends with the cannoneer at the BAS that afternoon. Eye and ear pro are not optional and the safety stand-down a single PPE violation triggers eats the battery's training day. The section chief who finds your earmuffs around your neck remembers it for the next counseling.
  • Skipping PMCS on the gun, the prime mover, or the FAASV to make a movement window.
    The section chief who finds a leaking recoil cylinder, a worn breech seal, or a dead FAASV at the next live-fire remembers it for your next counseling — and the battery's first sergeant gets a copy. Deadlined equipment that should have been caught at PMCS is the surest sign to the section chief that the cherry has not yet learned the work; the section chief who has to chase PMCS does not promote.
  • Posting OPSEC-relevant photos — tube number, unit patch, vehicle bumper number, ammo load, fuze stockpile, fire-mission audio, AFATDS / fire-direction screen content.
    Counter-fire collection against US artillery is real and constant. The brigade OPSEC officer runs spot checks on social media; the FA battalion CSM and the BCT FSO will hear about it; the cherry who posts a gun-line selfie with the tube number visible ends up in the orderly room explaining himself to the 1SG and the S2. The counseling is the floor; the next live-fire the section chief is standing behind you.

Career Decisions at This Rank

  • TSP enrollment under the Blended Retirement System (BRS).
    Everyone enlisted after January 2018 is on BRS by default. The government matches 1% automatically and adds up to 4% more if you contribute 5% of base pay. At E-1 base pay (verify the current pay table on the DoD military pay site before quoting), 5% is roughly $100-110/month — most cherries say they cannot afford it, but they spend more than that on barracks streaming subscriptions and on-post fast food. The math is unforgiving: starting TSP at 19 with 5% contribution + 5% match, retiring at 39 after 20 years, gets you a TSP balance roughly 4x what starting at 26 gets you. This is the single most consequential financial decision of your first enlistment. Talk to S-1 in your first week.
  • Volunteer for Air Assault / Airborne / driver-wrecker school if the unit lane supports it.
    Short, chain-allocated schools that build the career resume early. Air Assault (10 days at Fort Campbell / Sabalauski Air Assault School, or one of the satellite courses) is a common 13B add-on if the unit is air-assault coded (101st AAB FA battalions, 25th ID, 10th MTN). Airborne (3 weeks at Fort Moore — renamed from Fort Benning in 2023 — under 1st Brigade, 507th PIR) is the standard add-on if the unit is airborne-coded (82nd ABN DIVARTY, 173rd ABCT FA, 4-25 IBCT). The prime-mover driver / wrecker course is on-installation through the BCT training cycle. The slot is chain-allocated — the section chief and the battery training NCO decide who they push for it. Volunteer early; show up to the unit pre-school PT group; ask the section chief directly. School slots you turn down go to the cannoneer in another section who said yes.
  • Stay 13B vs. early reclass thinking at first re-enlistment window.
    The first re-enlistment window typically opens 12-18 months before contract end. Reclass options are tied to Army-wide MOS shortages — the available list moves quarterly. If 13B is not the seat you wanted (the heavy-ammo lifestyle, the gunnery cycle OPTEMPO, the section's training rhythm), the cleanest exit is reclass at first re-enlistment, not chapter discharge. Common 13B reclass paths run toward sister fires MOSes (13F Joint Fire Support Specialist on the FO side, 13M MLRS / HIMARS Crewmember on the rocket side, 13R Field Artillery Firefinder Radar Operator on the sensor side, 13J Fire Control Specialist on the FDC side), toward maintenance (91B Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic, 91H Tracked Vehicle Mechanic — both work the prime mover and the Paladin on your section), toward signal (25-series), or toward 68W medic. Talk to the career counselor before signing anything; pull the current HRC reclass list.
  • Marriage and barracks-to-off-post move.
    Getting married as an E-3/E-4 is a financial windfall (BAH bumps from barracks-rate to with-dependents) and a logistical commitment. Off-post housing decisions need PCS analysis (your next move could be in 24 months); spouse employment in military towns is often constrained; child care availability on most posts has a long waitlist. The honest test: if the relationship is real and survived OSUT, the Army's family infrastructure (ACS, Tricare, on-post housing) is functional. If the marriage is for the BAH alone, the relationship will not survive the first PCS. Talk to S1 and ACS in the first week of any change in marital status.
  • Volunteer for the section's gunner seat as soon as the section chief is open to it.
    The cherry-to-gunner conversation is the first real promotion conversation for a 13B. Some sections rotate cannoneers through the gunner seat at the 9-12 month mark in dry-fire and at 12-18 months in live-fire; others hold the seat for the next E-4 promotion. The cherry who has volunteered for every dry-fire drill, who can read the data off the FDC's call without paging the manual, and who has clean PMCS on his gun is the cherry the section chief lets in the seat first. Push for it — but push by being good at the work, not by asking the section chief directly. The gunner seat is the entry to the gunner qualification, which is the entry to the assistant section chief / SGT-track conversation at E-5.

How the Seat Varies by Unit Type

  • Infantry Brigade Combat Team FA battalion — M119A3 105mm light howitzer (10th MTN at Fort Drum, 25th ID at Schofield, 101st AAB at Fort Campbell, 173rd at Vicenza, 82nd ABN at Fort Liberty)
    Cherry life on the M119A3 is light-mobile and high-OPTEMPO. The gun is the lightest howitzer the Army fires — air-droppable, sling-loadable under a CH-47 or UH-60, towed by an FMTV. Section life is closer to the infantry's pace; you ruck with the supported IBCT, your gunnery rotation cycle is light-airborne or air-assault flavored, and the FA battalion's training cycle includes airborne ops at the 82nd ABN DIVARTY or air-assault ops at the 101st AAB FA. JRTC at Fort Johnson is the home CTC for most light BCTs. The community values mobility — the cannoneer who can hump powder and projectile through a JRTC swamp without slowing the section is the cannoneer the section chief promotes.
  • Stryker Brigade Combat Team FA battalion — M777A2 155mm towed (2nd Cav in Germany, 2/2 ID at JBLM, 1/25 ID Alaska, 3/2 ID JBLM)
    Cherry life on the M777A2 in an SBCT is the middleweight rhythm — heavier than the M119A3, lighter than the Paladin. The gun is a 155mm towed system, prime-moved by an FMTV or LMTV. The section emplaces and displaces more often than the M119A3 sections (the Stryker rotation calls for the FA to keep up with the Stryker companies on movement) and runs longer-range missions than the M119A3 sections. NTC and JMRC are the home CTCs. The cannoneer's strength load is real — a 155mm projectile is ~95 pounds and the load-cycle work is what builds the back and the legs that the SGT-track soldiers carry into the rest of the career.
  • Armored Brigade Combat Team FA battalion — M109A6 Paladin / M109A7 PIM 155mm self-propelled (1AD Bliss, 1ID Riley, 3ID Stewart, 4ID Carson, 1CD Hood/Cavazos)
    Cherry life on the Paladin is mounted, vehicle-maintenance-heavy, and gunnery-cycle-driven. The gun is a tracked self-propelled 155mm — the section lives on the vehicle, eats on the vehicle, sleeps near the vehicle on FTX. The section is partnered with the M992 FAASV (Field Artillery Ammunition Supply Vehicle), the tracked carrier that hauls the rounds and powder forward. PMCS time on a Paladin is materially heavier than on a towed gun — you work alongside the 91H tracked vehicle mechanics on torsion bars, road wheels, the breech, the fire control panel, and the autoloader system on the A7 PIM. NTC at Fort Irwin is the home rotation; the gunnery cycle (Table I-VI for crew gunnery, VII-XII for platoon and battery) is the institutional rhythm. The community values precision in technical fire control and gunner-seat mastery — the cherry who masters the digital fire control panel is the cherry the section chief promotes early.
  • DIVARTY HHB / FA Brigade headquarters battery (a small fraction of cherry 13Bs land here)
    A few cherry 13Bs land in a DIVARTY headquarters battery (10th MTN DIVARTY, 82nd DIVARTY, 101st DIVARTY, the four-numbered DIVARTYs) or in an FA brigade (17th, 18th, 41st, 75th, 130th — verify current force structure) HHB rather than a firing battery. The seat is closer to staff than to the gun line — you may pull additional duties (training NCO support, supply, S-3 NCO floor support) more than gun-section work. The path back to a firing battery is the standard rotation; the cherry who lands in DIVARTY HHB asks the battery training NCO and the section chief about the path back into a firing battery before reclass or re-enlistment.
  • FA battalion serving a National Guard / Reserve BCT (drilling reservist cherry 13B)
    The NG/USAR cherry 13B follows a different rhythm — drill weekends plus annual training (typically two-week AT), with the home-station firing battery operating on a part-time training cycle. The gunnery cycle compresses into AT and the BCT's CTC rotation cycle; the cherry's mastery curve runs over years rather than months. The civilian-side employment piece is the load — the SCRA (Servicemembers Civil Relief Act) and USERRA (Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act) protections are real but require active management. The component-specific MILPER and HRC retention messages for NG/USAR are different from active-component; pull the right message from your readiness NCO.

What Good Looks Like at This Rank

The good cherry cannoneer is invisible the right way: PMCS clean, ammo prep correct, eye and ear pro on, hands fast on the load, mouth shut on the gun line. He shows up to his first FTX with the section's load-cycle script memorized cold from dry-fire, the cannoneer task cards from STP 6-13B in his patrol cap, and the section chief's read of him already shifting from cherry-watch to "this one is going to be a gunner." He stays out of the recoil path because he understands the geometry, not because the section chief reminded him. He runs PMCS on the gun like the section chief is reading — because he is. By month nine the section chief is rotating him through the gunner's seat on dry-fire — set deflection, lay the tube on the aiming reference, read the data off the FDC's call back to the chief without paging the manual. By month eighteen he is running the assistant gunner's seat on live missions, the section is starting to call him by his first name instead of "the cherry," and the battery's first sergeant has him on the short list for the next school slot — Air Assault if the unit is air-assault coded, Airborne if airborne-coded, the prime-mover driver / wrecker course, or one of the chain-allocated FA NCO-track preparatory programs. The supported infantry company commander (in IBCT and SBCT FA battalions where the gun line lives close to the line) starts to know him by name during the FTX cycle. The bad cherry cannoneer is the one who showed up to a firing battery thinking the gun line was the slow track. He skipped TSP enrollment, he hides PMCS deadlines from the section chief, he drifts toward the recoil zone, he runs eye and ear pro the way regulations technically require and not the way the section chief actually demands. He is not malicious — he just did not yet understand that the cannon FA section runs on trust and that trust is built one clean load cycle and one clean live-fire AAR at a time. The good cherry figured out by week three what game he was playing; the bad cherry is still on month four wondering why the section chief has not let him on the lanyard yet.

Preview — The Next Rank

E-4 Specialist (or Corporal, if the chain pins you to a small leadership billet before BLC) is the next rank, and it is structurally different from the cherry tier. E-4 is the first promotion that requires the chain to actively recommend you — 24 months TIS / 6 months TIG per AR 600-8-19, but both clocks can be waived for soldiers who are visibly outperforming the section. The section chief's recommendation is what moves you from the cherry track to the senior-cannoneer / gunner track. The job content at E-4 is "senior cannoneer" or gunner. You sit the gunner's seat — set deflection on the panoramic sight (on the towed guns) or run the gunner's panel on the Paladin's digital fire control, lay the tube on the aiming reference, own the technical accuracy of the round before the section chief signals fire. Or you run as the ammo team chief — supervising charge cuts, fuze settings, projectile and powder flow from the FAASV or the trains, and hand-and-arm-signaling the cherries through a clean mission cycle. If you are CPL-pinned, you are running a small element on the section for real. The BLC packet conversation starts in the same window — STEP (Select-Train-Educate-Promote) requires BLC graduation before you can pin sergeant. The differentiator on the SGT board is the school stack you built as a cherry (Air Assault, Airborne if unit-coded, driver / wrecker, the EIB-equivalent FA-side certifications), the BLC slot (required to pin SGT under the STEP model), and the section chief's read of whether you can be trusted with the gunner's seat and a cannoneer-mentee under you. Plan the BLC packet 6-12 months before your TIS hits the SGT window. The good cherry cannoneer becomes the good SPC gunner by being the soldier the section chief points at when the section has a hard mission and a tight first-round time.
FAQ

13B E1-E3 — Frequently Asked Questions

Q01What does a E1-E3 13B (Cannon Crewmember) actually do?
You came out of 13B OSUT at Fort Sill — the Field Artillery School — knowing how to load a round, set deflection and quadrant, and stay out of the recoil path.
Q02What's the most important thing to know as a E1-E3 13B?
13B OSUT at Fort Sill, OK runs roughly 10 weeks of combined BCT + Field Artillery AIT under the 434th FA Brigade (verify the current POI — FA OSUT length has been adjusted across the years).
Q03What does a typical day look like for a E1-E3 13B?
Time-blocked day at the E1-E3 13B rank tier: 0500 Wake. Roll out of the rack. Hit the head, shave, uniform check, PT clothes on. Make the bed to the platoon SOP — the battery will fail an inspection because of you, not because of itself, 0530 PT formation. Stand at parade rest behind your section chief or gunner. Accountability check, uniform check, then off to the battery PT field, 0600-0700 Battery PT. Cardio days the battery runs together; strength days you may break out into the gym in shifts. The 13B strength PT is the differentiator — deadlifts, sandbag carries,…
Q04What mistakes get E1-E3 13B soldiers fired or relieved?
Sleeping on TSP enrollment under BRS. The 1% automatic + 4% match if you contribute 5% compounds across a 20-year career; starting at 19 vs. 26 is roughly 4x the balance at retirement; DUI / drug pop — separation under AR 635-200 ch. 14, an RE code that follows you out the gate, and a sensitive-billet history (you handle 155mm rounds, propellant, and fuzes) that the chain has to write up before separation; ACFT (Army Combat Fitness Test) fails — repeated fails trigger flagging per AR 600-8-2,…
Q05What career decisions matter most at the E1-E3 13B rank tier?
TSP enrollment under the Blended Retirement System (BRS) — Everyone enlisted after January 2018 is on BRS by default. The government matches 1% automatically and adds up to 4% more if you contribute 5% of base pay. At E-1 base pay (verify the current pay table on the DoD military pay site before quoting), 5% is roughly $100-110/month — most cherries say they cannot afford it, but they spend more than that on barracks streaming subscriptions and on-post fast food. The math is unforgiving: starting TSP at 19 with 5% contribution + 5% match, retiring at 39 after 20 years,…
Q06What's next after E1-E3 for a 13B (Cannon Crewmember) in the Army?
E-4 Specialist (or Corporal, if the chain pins you to a small leadership billet before BLC) is the next rank, and it is structurally different from the cherry tier.
Q07What manuals and regulations does a E1-E3 13B need to know cold?
TC 3-09.81 — Field Artillery Manual Cannon Gunnery (the cannoneer's bible).; TC 3-09.8 — Field Artillery Gunnery.; ATP 3-09.50 — The Field Artillery Cannon Battery.

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Published by the Honest MOS Editorial DeskVerified against DoD/.gov sourcesUpdated May 2026Editorial standards