Lead artillery operations and fire support for National Guard missions. Coordinate indirect fire and emergency response operations.
Officer - College Degree Required
Catalog listing, not a contract offer. Confirm with a recruiter.
Field artillery officers in the Guard lead a firing platoon or work in a fire direction center, on drill weekends and during annual training. Weekend drill covers gunnery certification, safety qualification, maintenance status and training meetings, with the live fire saved for the field. Annual training is where the battalion actually shoots, and your platoon's certification depends on how well you prepared the weekends before. State activation is a different job entirely, with your soldiers running shelters, distributing supplies or supporting law enforcement after a disaster. You commission through your state's Officer Candidate School or through ROTC, typically while working a civilian job.
You learn gunnery as a technical discipline, including safety computations, firing data, and the certification process that lets rounds leave the tube. Fire support planning teaches you to synchronize artillery with a maneuver commander's scheme, which is complex coordination under time pressure. You manage a platoon's people, vehicles, ammunition accountability and training calendar year round, not only at drill. Briefing and defending a plan to a commander becomes ordinary work. State missions add coordination with civil agencies that operate on entirely different vocabulary and authority.
Artillery leadership builds precision, because safety in gunnery comes from checked numbers and a clearance process rather than good intentions. You develop the composure to stand in a fire direction center with rounds in the air and keep your voice unhurried. Leading part time soldiers teaches you to motivate people who could simply stop showing up, since you hold authority two days a month. The job grows accountability, since your signature sits on ammunition, weapons and the training records of the soldiers who fire them. Officers here tend to become adults who are comfortable owning a decision in writing.
There is no civilian equivalent of a firing battery, so the value is in the management record rather than the specialty. Operations management, manufacturing supervision, logistics leadership and state emergency management all hire officers who have run complex, hazardous work safely. Federal service and defense contracting also recruit artillery officers, especially into training and simulation roles. Because Guard service is part time, your civilian promotions and your military ones happen in parallel rather than in sequence. Many officers add a graduate degree using federal benefits and whatever tuition support their state provides.
Mornings find you in the fire direction center checking gun positions on the map and confirming the day's live-fire windows with your firing batteries. You bounce between the gun line and the ops center, coordinating indirect fire missions, running dry-fire rehearsals, and syncing with maneuver units over the tactical net. Before the sun drops you debrief the crews, log ammunition counts, and set targets for tomorrow's shoot.
Related career-field video—not specific to National Guard 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.
This Army assignment is not a National Guard schedule or service commitment.
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.
These annual examples assume full-time active duty, not part-time drill pay.
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.
National Guard participation also requires component/unit school-seat approval; confirm availability and requirements with your unit.
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 National Guard 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 National Guard describes technical warrant specialties and a separate helicopter-pilot route. Technical options depend on the Soldier's MOS. This branch-level information does not establish eligibility, a state vacancy, or a promotion ceiling for this listing.
Army National Guard warrant career guidanceService-level application reference—not a verified next step for this listing
Guard applicants work with their State, Territory, or DC Warrant Officer Strength Manager on qualifications and a predetermination packet. Approval and required training are separate from promotion; an Army feeder match alone does not establish Guard eligibility or a state vacancy.
USAREC National Guard applicant processSpecialty-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 artillery operations and fire support for National Guard missions. Coordinate indirect fire and emergency response operations.
Field artillery officers in the Guard lead a firing platoon or work in a fire direction center, on drill weekends and during annual training. Weekend drill covers gunnery certification, safety qualification, maintenance status and training meetings, with the live fire saved for the field. Annual training is where the battalion actually shoots, and your platoon's certification depends on how well you prepared the weekends before. State activation is a different job entirely, with your soldiers running shelters, distributing supplies or supporting law enforcement after a disaster. You commission through your state's Officer Candidate School or through ROTC, typically while working a civilian job.
You learn gunnery as a technical discipline, including safety computations, firing data, and the certification process that lets rounds leave the tube. Fire support planning teaches you to synchronize artillery with a maneuver commander's scheme, which is complex coordination under time pressure. You manage a platoon's people, vehicles, ammunition accountability and training calendar year round, not only at drill. Briefing and defending a plan to a commander becomes ordinary work. State missions add coordination with civil agencies that operate on entirely different vocabulary and authority.
There is no civilian equivalent of a firing battery, so the value is in the management record rather than the specialty. Operations management, manufacturing supervision, logistics leadership and state emergency management all hire officers who have run complex, hazardous work safely. Federal service and defense contracting also recruit artillery officers, especially into training and simulation roles. Because Guard service is part time, your civilian promotions and your military ones happen in parallel rather than in sequence. Many officers add a graduate degree using federal benefits and whatever tuition support their state provides.
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.
Official branch occupation evidence
Occupation identified. This occupation was identified in the cited source. This does not verify requirements, benefits, or a current opening.
Official occupation evidence · 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 — National Guard, as of 2026-09-28Deployment likelihood: Lower*
* 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.