Petard
I've been gone from the guns for quite a while but in the picture I can trace the origins of much that is there to the 60-80s timeframe. I've got a couple of questions:
1. Does one of the CP's still have an overarching responsibility as the battery's primary CP? or, once the troops deploy separately do they appear as coequal entities?
To use a lawyer type response, it depends. ;D
The main constraint are comm's, so typically only one CP can produce data for guns once they're co-located. This is not the case with many modern artillery digital systems. For example even a Stryker Mortar CP can produce data for any Mortar in the Platoon, even if deployed some distance away. Canadian Reg F Artillery units do not have that capability yet, and P Res Artillery units are not likely to see it at all
Right now, the Canadian Army's main means to run digital comm's is over the Enhanced Position and Location Radio System (EPLRS), and the bandwidth for running arty stuff is limited, what with everything else needed for Command & Control, as well some kind of "blue force tracking" trying to get through the same "tube". The system is also dependent on being able to interconnect, or relay if you will, to cover long distances. The distance between Tp can often exceed that, although that Tp way off in the wilderness will typically keep vocie Comm's to next higher formation, and therefore needs to keep it's full C/S identifier so it's understood who the hell they are
When occupying the same gun position, one CP will assume producing data for all guns for that position, and will drop it's letter, the other CP keeps it's letter.
Example. C/S 1A move to 1B's location, 1B is already set up and has the CP n FC data as well for the gun platforms C/S 1A guns will occupy. When 1A is ready, 1B will drop the B and become just C/S 1. 1A will typically shut down after being set up with current data. In case of a simultaneous fire mission, it will be addressed as left and right section to C/S 1.
Should there be a third Tp, 1C, but deployed no where near the other two, it would stay on Bty and Regt net as 1C. In the case of a Regt fire mission, potentially C/S 1, 1C, 2, and whoever else added on (the original OP described a scenario with 3 additional firing units in the Regt; bizzarre).
Should it require a division of the distribution of fire, C/S 0 would figure that out, and send corrections to C/S 1 (which is one correction taking into account both Tps), a correction for just 1C, and a correction for C/S 2
2. What is the role of the 15A etc M113 paired with the gun and its prime mover?
For Force protection reasons, the majority of the gun det travels in a vehicle that provides some fire support and better protection. In Bosnia it was a Grizzly. At the start of the Kandahar deployments in 2006 it was a Bison, then became a TLAV (the M113 with a 1M turret). The gun tractor was usually 10 ton, then it became the big AHSVS, but lately it is back to 10 ton, or whatever they can get!
They don't always have that 2nd vehicle. During the Kabul deployments they just had an MLVW, with blast blankets, and hope, for protection
3. Are there really that many 55 Met call signs in a regiment? Why?
Because the Gun Tp were usually widely dispersed during the Afghanistan mission, sometimes more than 100+km between Tps, they did need a Met Det per Tp. For awhile they only had enough Met techs to support 2 Tps, and for the third Tp tried to get by with IGRADS met, a method of converting aviation Met data from the nearest air base (usually the Kandahar airport); relatively not as accurate as a radio sonde at location, but some Met better than standard. They've since gone back to usually only one Met Sect supporting the entire Regt, since the deployments are not that dispersed in Canada, relative to the way they were in Afghanistan. This may change in the near future, when a reliable and accurate networked Met data becomes available (it is close to initial implementation, so I'm told)
