Field Artillery Unit Turns Guns On Recruiting Spokane Becomes New Home For Battery Of Army National Guard

Spokane has become a home for howitzers, enormous pieces of field artillery capable of hurling 98-pound bombs up to 18 miles.

The big guns on tracks are part of a Washington Army National Guard unit that was moved from Vancouver, Wash., to Spokane last October.

The unit brings with it around 100 jobs for citizen soldiers and is the first National Guard field artillery unit ever placed in Spokane, according to Sgt. Dave Rodriguez, who does training for the unit, B Battery, 2-146th Field Artillery Battalion.

The unit was moved to deal with a battle all branches of the service are currently fighting - a lack of new people willing to sign up.

“The military is hurting immensely right now from recruiting,” said Capt. Joseph Huss, unit commander. “Competition is becoming fierce between the Army Guard, reserve and full-time branches.”

With the downsizing of the military and a strong economy, fewer people are willing to don green battle dress uniforms, Huss said.

On the West Side of Washington, there is so much competition for recruits that some units are struggling to find enough people, Huss said.

But Spokane - with fewer Guard units than the West Side - has good demographics for recruiting, he said.

The unit only had six people when it opened for business in October on Electric Road south of the Spokane International Airport.

By this past weekend, the unit had swelled to roughly 45 people. Huss hopes to meet his target of having 102 people on board later this year.

As citizen soldiers, Guard members work in traditional careers during the week, but train for the Guard one weekend a month and two weeks each year. Additionally, they may spend several weeks each year at military schools.

Huss is a software engineer for Lockheed-Martin in Bellevue. The unit’s nucleus that arrived in October includes people like Sgt. Scott Knittel, who works for the U.S. Postal Service in Kendrick, Idaho; Sgt. Daryl Stocking, a bookkeeper and personal financial analyst in Spokane; and Spc. Josh Ripp, who works in reservations for United Airlines in Seattle.

The howitzers the unit use look sort of like tanks - but don’t say that in front of these guys. These weapons are self-propelled field artillery.

The big guns support infantry and armor on the battlefield. With their extreme range, they hurl rounds over the heads of friendly troops and into the enemy.

“There is no glory in artillery. But we inflict more casualties than anyone,” Knittel said.

The inside of the turret is the size of a walk-in closet. There are metal conduits everywhere, nothing being hid by a cosmetic panel.

“It’s very quiet in here when it fires, considering,” Knittel said, referring to the space where a crew of four stands when the gun fires.

“But they hear us sir. Artillery has saved many lives,” said Sgt. 1st Class. Elmo Garcia, one of the unit’s full-time members.

The turret has the feel of solid 20th century engineering. But to the lay person, one thing stands out - how the gun is ultimately fired, the very apex of this weapon’s purpose.

Once a shell is loaded, backed with powder and the breech is closed, the whole thing is set off by pulling a humble cord.

“Then, when a round goes off, you know it,” Garcia said.