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ArmyCombat ArmsRank #48 of 101 by 4-year cost
13J

Fire Control Specialist

14-week pipeline · BCT + AIT · Fort Sill, OK
Training Pipeline
$37K
14 weeks
Annual MILPERS
$63K
E-4, 3 years service
Equipment Burden
$8K
per year (amortized)
4-Year Total Cost
$323K
DoD investment
4-Year Cost Breakdown
Training Pipeline
$37K11%
Military Personnel (MILPERS × 4yr)
$254K79%
Equipment Burden (× 4yr)
$32K10%
Training: 11% · MILPERS: 79% · Equipment: 10%= $323K
By the Numbers

Fire control specialists are the computational backbone of Army fires — they turn requests into solutions and route missions to the right weapon system in seconds. Their AFATDS system processes fires faster than any human could manually.

Training Pipeline
Duration
14 weeks
Type
BCT + AIT
Location
Fort Sill, OK
Pipeline Cost
$37K

13Js operate the Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System (AFATDS) — a software suite that processes and routes fire missions across an entire division. A single AFATDS installation costs $2.8M.

Equipment & Annual Burden
Assigned Equipment
  • ·AFATDS Terminal ($2.8M system)
  • ·Meteorological Equipment
  • ·Survey Equipment
  • ·M4A1 Carbine
  • ·SINCGARS Radio
Annual Equipment Burden
$8K/yr
AFATDS terminal share + survey/met equipment amortized
Military Personnel Cost (Annual)
Grade BenchmarkE-4, 3 years service
Base MILPERS$63K/yr
Total Annual MILPERS$63K/yr
Force Structure Context
Annual Accessions~1,200
Avg Career Length6 years
Annual Training Bill$44.4M
Total Force 4yr Cost$387.0M
Other Army Profiles

Cost estimates derived from DoD Comptroller per-soldier analysis, RAND Corporation military personnel studies, CBO military compensation reports, service-specific training cost testimony, and published equipment unit costs. Error margin ±15%. Individual costs vary by duty station, assignment, and deployment tempo. This is Phase 3 of the Honest MOS DoD Budget Intelligence Roadmap.