UNDISCLOSED LOCATION –
This week’s Task Force Spartan Spotlight focuses on Staff Sgt. Brian Lang, a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System crew chief for Bravo Battery, 1st Battalion, 14th Field Artillery Regiment, 65th Field Artillery Brigade, Task Force Spartan.
“I’ve been in for little over six years now,” said Lang. “I started off as a driver in a ’270’ – a 270 is a track unit vehicle that will carry two of the rocket pods instead of one.”
Throughout Lang’s career in field artillery, he has continued to move through not only the ranks but the duty positions too.
“I moved up to the gunner position where you operate the fire control panel, which is you execute the missions, [and] control the database. Everything reported up from the fire direction control center will come to you,” said Lang. “And, then recently I became the launcher chief on top of ammunition section chief that was coordinated back in 2017.”
This is Lang’s first deployment to the Middle East, but he has been stationed twice in South Korea. He said that the unit’s motivation has remained high through its tour and that his Soldiers are ready to bring the fight when the need arises.
“With this unit, some of us were selected to go to Afghanistan, in support of TAC-South (Train, Advise, and Assist Command - South) and [Task Force] Southwest there in Kandahar (Afghanistan) and in the Helmand Province (Afghanistan) as well,” he said.
Lang said that during their time in Afghanistan they were called on for multiple fire missions to engage and destroy targets.
During Golden Sparrow, a 24-hour exercise by Bravo battery, Lang and his crew were tested by the weather and the stress of the job, he said. Even though the rounds were simulated, the crews were still required to move their vehicles to the firing point, fire, and then reload as if it were a live-fire mission. It’s exercises like Golden Sparrow that, Lang believes, help develop all Soldiers in his battery.
“We have long days and long hours working in the heat, and even the Soldiers know that this helps them prep,” Lang said. “So, when you are under high stress or high stress situations, you will definitely be able to be prepared for those moments downrange. And, as an NCO (noncommissioned officer), you know exactly what to prepare for – for your Soldiers, to help develop future leaders as well, so they can be prepared for combat environments and be able to train and sustain themselves and others.”
With Lang’s deployment ending soon, he said that he enjoyed his time with his unit and the mission.
“The 1-14 as a whole, is an absolutely fantastic unit,” he said. “All different missions, all different unit METL – all different [mission essential] task listings – and we’re all accomplishing these tasks given at hand. And, we’re executing them pretty flawlessly, along with building relationships with all of the individual countries and the soldiers within those countries – through international events.”