Lead field artillery units, plan and coordinate fire support operations, and integrate artillery fires with maneuver operations.
Officer - College Degree Required
Catalog listing, not a contract offer. Confirm with a recruiter.
Field Artillery Officers manage a system of people, guns, ammunition, and data that all has to work together on a single timeline. As a fire support officer you sit with a maneuver commander and plan the fires that support his scheme, then execute them by radio. As a platoon leader you run a gun line or a fire direction center, supervising crews, safety, and the accuracy of every computation. Garrison duties include training plans, ranges, maintenance status, counseling subordinates, and accountability for howitzers, launchers, and fire control equipment. Commissioning comes through ROTC, a service academy, or Officer Candidate School, and a bachelor's degree is required first.
Gunnery is a technical discipline, and you learn the ballistics, meteorology, survey, and firing data that make artillery accurate rather than approximate. Fire support planning teaches you to synchronize multiple assets against a maneuver plan with timing measured in seconds. You develop strong safety and certification habits, since artillery errors are unforgiving and the standards exist for that reason. Leadership training covers evaluations, discipline, training management, and the budget and property responsibilities that come with a platoon. Briefing skills grow quickly because you routinely explain complicated technical options to commanders who want a clear recommendation, not a lecture.
You develop precision as a personal value, since artillery rewards exactness and punishes approximation immediately and in front of everyone. Composure grows under compressed timelines, because fire missions arrive while several other things are already going wrong. The role builds the confidence to make a call and own the result, which is the core of being trusted with a firing battery. You learn to balance technical mastery with genuine care for soldiers working long hours in hard conditions. Organizational discipline becomes a habit, since artillery runs on checklists, records, and numbers that somebody has already verified twice.
No civilian employer advertises for a field artillery officer, and it is better to say that plainly. What you sell instead is proven management of a technical operation, a young workforce, and expensive equipment under real deadlines. Operations management, logistics leadership, and manufacturing supervision hire junior officers with that profile, often through programs built specifically to recruit them. Federal agencies, emergency management offices, and defense contractors building training and simulation programs are steady destinations, and a clearance helps. Many artillery officers use the GI Bill for an MBA or a technical master's degree and pivot into program management or finance.
Your morning opens in the fire direction center reviewing the fire support plan and coordinating targets with the maneuver commander you support. You spend the day rehearsing call-for-fire procedures, positioning your gun batteries on the map, and synchronizing artillery with air and ground schemes of maneuver. Between briefings you check on your howitzer crews and fire direction soldiers, making sure steel is ready to rain on target the instant the mission comes down.
Related career-field video—not specific to Army 13A.
No suitable exact-MOS video was verified in the recorded search. This does not establish that none exists.
Related field: field artillery. Source occupation: Army 13B.
United States Army Military Occupational Specialty Overview- MOS 13B Cannon Crewmember-Full Testimonial. As a Cannon Crewmember, you’ll play a vital role in helping the Army win during missions. You’ll work with Howitzers, some of the most technologically advanced weapons systems ever created, to support infantry and tank units. You’ll learn how to handle ammunition, operate these weapons systems, and calculate targets. Soldiers in this job will enlist as a Field Artillery Soldier (13U) and be assigned to a specific Field Artillery job (13-Series MOS) based on available Army opportunities and skills assessed at Basic Combat Training. The video contains music from a US ARMY Enterprise Multimedia Center, Fort Eustis, licensed asset.
Official publisher description and direct video page checked; playback not independently watched. Checked 2026-10-25. This assignment may not reflect every posting in this career.
$77,814–$144,392
2026 basic pay only; the same grade and service time pay the same across jobs. Promotions are assumed, not promised. Excludes allowances, bonuses and special pays.
Possibilities for serving Soldiers, including those in support roles—not guaranteed admission or awards. Individual eligibility, assignment, selection, available training or competition places and successful qualification apply.
Earned by successfully completing Ranger School's demanding leadership and field training.
Not restricted to combat MOSs. Requires selection, a school slot and current course prerequisites. The tab does not mean assignment to the 75th Ranger Regiment.
Recognizes successful airborne qualification, including the required training jumps.
Support specialties can attend too; the Army explicitly gives human resources and wheeled-vehicle mechanics as examples. Requires a school slot and medical, physical and course qualification.
Earned through Air Assault School, covering helicopter operations, sling loads and rappelling.
Available across job specialties, not just combat roles, subject to unit nomination, available seats and current school requirements.
A waiver-dependent opportunity outside engineering; earned by successfully completing the Sapper Leader Course.
Conditional opportunity: Soldiers outside engineering must submit a waiver to attend. Approval is not guaranteed; all other course requirements still apply.
Sources reviewed . Confirm current course and badge requirements with official school guidance and your unit.
For Army 13A Field Artillery Officer, official service-wide guidance and any exact feeder-list matches are distinguished below from unverified specialty-specific requirements. Ranks are not separate jobs, and these possibilities are not guaranteed promotions or available contracts.
Examples of higher service ranks
These are service-wide rank names, not a verified promotion ladder for this specialty. Examples are not exhaustive; appointments sharing a pay grade are not additional promotion steps.
Official military rank referenceThe Army distinguishes enlisted, warrant officer, and commissioned officer ranks. These are separate career tracks; a warrant appointment is not the next enlisted promotion. The Army rank chart does not establish a maximum rank for this specialty.
Army rank structureSpecialty-specific advancement, senior assignments, and eligibility for a different personnel category have not been verified for this listing. No feeder eligibility or automatic transition to another specialty is implied.
Advancement depends on current service rules, performance, required education, qualifications, selection, and authorized positions—not simply years served. Confirm current requirements with an official recruiter or career counselor.
Related military jobs below are for exploration, not promised progression or confirmed transfer paths.
Sources reviewed 2026-10-03. This is a partial evidence review, not verification of every advancement route for this specialty. Source retrieval dates do not replace policy effective dates.
Career-field mappings, not automatic qualifications. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024 national medians). O*NET links explain each occupation; military experience does not guarantee a job or salary.
Lead field artillery units, plan and coordinate fire support operations, and integrate artillery fires with maneuver operations.
Field Artillery Officers manage a system of people, guns, ammunition, and data that all has to work together on a single timeline. As a fire support officer you sit with a maneuver commander and plan the fires that support his scheme, then execute them by radio. As a platoon leader you run a gun line or a fire direction center, supervising crews, safety, and the accuracy of every computation. Garrison duties include training plans, ranges, maintenance status, counseling subordinates, and accountability for howitzers, launchers, and fire control equipment. Commissioning comes through ROTC, a service academy, or Officer Candidate School, and a bachelor's degree is required first.
Gunnery is a technical discipline, and you learn the ballistics, meteorology, survey, and firing data that make artillery accurate rather than approximate. Fire support planning teaches you to synchronize multiple assets against a maneuver plan with timing measured in seconds. You develop strong safety and certification habits, since artillery errors are unforgiving and the standards exist for that reason. Leadership training covers evaluations, discipline, training management, and the budget and property responsibilities that come with a platoon. Briefing skills grow quickly because you routinely explain complicated technical options to commanders who want a clear recommendation, not a lecture.
No civilian employer advertises for a field artillery officer, and it is better to say that plainly. What you sell instead is proven management of a technical operation, a young workforce, and expensive equipment under real deadlines. Operations management, logistics leadership, and manufacturing supervision hire junior officers with that profile, often through programs built specifically to recruit them. Federal agencies, emergency management offices, and defense contractors building training and simulation programs are steady destinations, and a clearance helps. Many artillery officers use the GI Bill for an MBA or a technical master's degree and pivot into program management or finance.
Officer - College Degree Required. This is the catalog's listed requirement, not an individual eligibility decision. Confirm the current standard and any exceptions with the service.
A civilian can pursue this specialty through an officer accession path, subject to eligibility and assignment. Confirm the current status of this specific classification with an official recruiter.
Catalog sources consulted: 2026-09-26. This is not an entry-by-entry verification date. No record-specific verification date is recorded. Occupation audit evidence reviewed: 2026-09-26; this does not re-verify every requirement.
Confirmed in DA PAM 611-21 Smartbook, November 2025, historical end-of-FY2025 snapshot (https://api.army.mil/e2/c/downloads/2025/12/04/e1190672/chapter-3-officer-branches-and-fas.pdf). The Army maintains a newer restricted version; it was not sought or accessed. Checked 2026-09-27. Confirmation means documented appearance, not present-day accession availability.
Official branch occupation evidence
Occupation identified. This occupation was identified in the cited source. This does not verify requirements, benefits, or a current opening.
Army G-1 DA Pam 611-21, chapter 3: officer branches and functional areas (historical public consolidation) · reviewed 2026-09-26
Confirmed. Catalog evidence is not an inventory of open contracts.
No dated public inventory confirmed a currently open recruiting contract for this role. This does not mean there are no openings. Confirm current eligibility and offers with an official recruiter.
Advertised — Army, as of 2026-09-28Deployment likelihood: Moderate*
* Estimated. Rank progression and specialty-pay eligibility are illustrative assumptions. Deployment likelihood, when shown, is inferred from similar specialties in the branch and career field, not a published specialty deployment rate.
Descriptions may change. No military role is free from risk of injury or death, including non-combat work. Catalog review dates do not establish current openings or re-verification of every requirement.
Recruiting signals reflect what each branch published on the dates shown. They are not offers, and they do not mean a contract is open for you. Eligibility depends on your ASVAB scores, medical qualification, security clearance eligibility, and ship date. Confirm everything with an official recruiter. See our Disclaimer and Terms.