“Being placed in a leadership position helps me learn how different people operate and how to work together even better.”
“I always felt it was something I wanted to do to give back.”
Use Firefinder weapons-locating radar to detect enemy forces and provide accurate targeting information to field artillery units.
ASVAB GT: 87
Catalog listing, not a contract offer. Confirm with a recruiter.
Weapons Locating Radar Operators run the radar that detects incoming artillery and traces it back to where it was fired from. The work mixes emplacing the radar correctly, orienting it precisely, and then holding watch on the display for hours at a stretch. When the system detects a launch you process the track, verify it, and pass the firing location so counterfire can respond quickly. Setup and teardown are physical, involving generators, cabling, antennas, and getting a vehicle mounted system properly leveled and aligned. Shift work is normal, and the quiet hours demand a kind of attention most people find harder than the busy ones.
You learn radar theory in practical form, including emplacement, calibration, search sectors, and interpreting what the system is actually showing you. Electronics troubleshooting becomes routine, covering power, cabling, cooling, and the maintenance that keeps a sensitive system working in the field. Survey and precise positioning skills matter, because radar accuracy depends on knowing exactly where the antenna sits and how it is oriented. You gain experience with generators, environmental control units, and the mechanical side of a fielded sensor system. Reporting procedures teach you to communicate technical information quickly, accurately, and without any ambiguity for the people acting on it.
Sustained vigilance is the quality this job builds most, and it is far rarer in the workforce than people assume. You learn patience with equipment, working a fault methodically instead of swapping parts and hoping something changes. The role develops independence, because radar sections are small and often operate well away from the main body. Responsibility grows quickly, since the information you pass drives an immediate response by other units. You also build the habit of documenting conditions and readings accurately, which is the foundation of technical credibility anywhere.
No employer posts a job for weapons locating radar, so the honest framing is the electronics and sensor experience underneath it. Radar and sensor technician work exists in aviation, weather services, maritime traffic, and defense manufacturing, and veterans move into those field service roles regularly. Power generation, industrial controls, and telecommunications hire people who can troubleshoot systems with electrical, mechanical, and software layers at once. Defense contractors need former operators to install, test, and instruct on these same radars, which is direct consulting back to the field you came from. A clearance plus hands-on sensor experience also opens test range positions, and the GI Bill supports an electronics engineering technology degree.
Published personal accounts with source links. Each describes an individual experience, not a typical assignment or a guarantee of your own experience.
“Being placed in a leadership position helps me learn how different people operate and how to work together even better.”
“I always felt it was something I wanted to do to give back.”
“I believe the battery, battalion, and higher headquarters prepared the schoolhouses very well to assume operations after the three-week COVID-19 safety stand down.”
Quotes are from U.S. government public-domain news stories (DVIDS, army.mil and other official sources). Individuals and units are named as reported at time of publication.
Your day starts by setting up and calibrating the Firefinder radar, aligning the antenna and running system self-tests from the operations shelter. You watch the scope for enemy artillery and mortar signatures, and when a round arcs into your coverage you compute the point of origin and pass counter-fire targets in seconds. Between acquisitions you maintain the radar, reposition to stay survivable, and coordinate with the fire direction center to silence enemy guns.
Related career-field video—not specific to Army 13R.
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.
$43,902–$74,948
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.
Recognizes tested Soldier proficiency in specialties outside the infantry, Special Forces and medical expert-badge tracks.
A skills-based distinction for support and other eligible MOSs. Current proponent requirements and successful testing apply; holding this MOS does not award the badge.
Sources reviewed . Confirm current course and badge requirements with official school guidance and your unit.
For Army 13R Field Artillery Weapons Locating Radar Specialist, 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 structureThe official Army feeder list explicitly names this MOS for the options below. Only the feeder-list match is confirmed—not all prerequisites, current component availability, or individual eligibility.
Published feeder conditions: 13B, 13J, 13F, 13M, 13R, 11C, 11B or 19D, 19K
Specialty-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.
Use Firefinder weapons-locating radar to detect enemy forces and provide accurate targeting information to field artillery units.
Weapons Locating Radar Operators run the radar that detects incoming artillery and traces it back to where it was fired from. The work mixes emplacing the radar correctly, orienting it precisely, and then holding watch on the display for hours at a stretch. When the system detects a launch you process the track, verify it, and pass the firing location so counterfire can respond quickly. Setup and teardown are physical, involving generators, cabling, antennas, and getting a vehicle mounted system properly leveled and aligned. Shift work is normal, and the quiet hours demand a kind of attention most people find harder than the busy ones.
You learn radar theory in practical form, including emplacement, calibration, search sectors, and interpreting what the system is actually showing you. Electronics troubleshooting becomes routine, covering power, cabling, cooling, and the maintenance that keeps a sensitive system working in the field. Survey and precise positioning skills matter, because radar accuracy depends on knowing exactly where the antenna sits and how it is oriented. You gain experience with generators, environmental control units, and the mechanical side of a fielded sensor system. Reporting procedures teach you to communicate technical information quickly, accurately, and without any ambiguity for the people acting on it.
No employer posts a job for weapons locating radar, so the honest framing is the electronics and sensor experience underneath it. Radar and sensor technician work exists in aviation, weather services, maritime traffic, and defense manufacturing, and veterans move into those field service roles regularly. Power generation, industrial controls, and telecommunications hire people who can troubleshoot systems with electrical, mechanical, and software layers at once. Defense contractors need former operators to install, test, and instruct on these same radars, which is direct consulting back to the field you came from. A clearance plus hands-on sensor experience also opens test range positions, and the GI Bill supports an electronics engineering technology degree.
ASVAB GT: 87. This is the catalog's listed requirement, not an individual eligibility decision. Confirm the current standard and any exceptions with the service.
This specialty can be pursued through an initial enlistment, subject to eligibility and available contracts. 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/2025/12/04/7573670f/chapter-10-enlisted-base-chapter.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 correction noted. Cited classification identifies title Field Artillery Weapons Locating Radar Specialist. This does not confirm an open recruiting contract.
Army G-1 DA Pam 611-21, chapter 10C: enlisted MOS specifications (historical public consolidation, December 2025) · 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.
Bonus-listed — Army, as of 2026-09-28. Max bonus $45,000Max bonus $45,000 is a display ceiling, including unconfirmed figures and illustrative estimates, not a confirmed offer. Separate programs are not added together. Where no individual amount is listed, the displayed ceiling uses: Army job-signing program ceiling; no individual MOS amount established. This enlisted-program ceiling does not establish an officer accession bonus. Ceiling source
Latest source review — 2026-10-25
GoArmy still publishes job signing up to $45,000, combined enlistment up to $50,000, quick ship $10,000, college credits $6,000, civilian skills $45,000, Ranger $20,000, Airborne $10,000 and Army Reserve $13,000. These are conditional program ceilings, not MOS rates or additive totals. HRC separately advertises critical-skills levels $1,750–$50,000; its linked August chart could not be retrieved as a usable rate table. The two descriptions do not establish a new individual job amount. Earlier MOS flags and the 35P language-specific fact sheet remain historical evidence, not newly verified contract availability.
Historical amounts are retained. A displayed maximum is not a guaranteed payment. Confirm current written contract terms.
Bonus range review — 2026-10-10
No defensible numeric range established for this entry. Ask recruiter for the current written contract. Army publishes a job-signing ceiling of $45,000 and combined ceiling of $50,000, but neither establishes an amount for this MOS.
Range evidencePublished enlistment program.
A listed program does not guarantee a bonus, job assignment or an available slot. Confirm your exact contract, component, ship date and eligibility with a recruiter.
GoArmy careers browserDeployment 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.