Pfc. Zachary Nichols has been in the Army less than a year, only arriving to his unit in the middle of a deployment to Europe last fall. But now he is recognized as being part of one of the best artillery units in the service.
Earlier this month, the Army held its inaugural “Best Redleg” competition at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, a 200-soldier contest from units across the force deciding who is the best artillery team for each major artillery platform. Nichols’ 1-9th Field Artillery Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division, based out of Fort Stewart, Georgia, won the M109 Paladin competition.
Part of his job was handling the Paladin’s massive ammunition rounds, which weigh about 100 pounds each.
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The six-day competition consisted of 35 teams of field artillery soldiers. On top of the artillery tests, soldiers also competed in a physical fitness test, a ruck march, M4 marksmanship and land navigation — loosely akin to a Best Ranger competition or Spur Ride, but for artillerymen.
For firing artillery, the rounds need to be moved, loaded and fired quickly. Nichols’ crew was averaging about 20 seconds to get a round ready to fire — half the time the Army expects.
They were able to fire at targets at such a rapid pace, their team was finished firing sometimes minutes faster than other Paladin teams. The crews are made up of eight soldiers.
“We were kind of…
