Crystal Farris/Idaho Military Division Public Affairs

The Idaho Army National Guard’s 1st of the 148th Field Artillery Regiment conducted its first-ever live fire training and certification using the U.S. Army’s modernized M1156 Precision Guidance Kit during the battalion’s annual training in the Orchard Combat Training Center May 12 to 27.

“The Idaho Army National Guard continues to receive and train on some of the military’s most modernized equipment so we can remain relevant and ready to defend our nation’s interest anywhere in the world,” said Brig. Gen. Farin Schwartz, commander of the Idaho Army National Guard. “The Idaho Army National Guard is one of the most modernized states in the Army National Guard, with equipment that enhances our capability to be interoperable with our active-duty peers.”

The modernized GPS guidance kit with fuze functions and integrated GPS receiver weigh three pounds and attach to existing 155mm artillery shells, converting them to smart weapons for improved target trajectory. Small aerodynamic fins on the fuze allow the system to make flight adjustments of the round’s trajectory and steer the shell on target.

This enables the 1-148th FAR to more precisely deploy munitions within 30 meters of an intended target, as opposed to the average 50 meters of traditional artillery, increasing the battalion’s lethality, while decreasing its spending costs, said Lt. Col. Brady Johnson, commander of the 1-148th FAR.

“Being PGK certified greatly increases the lethality of the field artillery battalion,” said Johnson. “The modernized weaponry allows 18 separate targets to be simultaneously targeted and attacked at a third the cost of conventional missions with minimal clearance of fire issues.”

Traditionally, the battalion would attack three enemy targets with a battery-sized element and six M109A6 Paladins, each firing three rounds of ammunition for a total of 18 rounds. Johnson said it costs approximately $20,000 for 18 rounds of conventional 155mm ammunition, which may or may not hit an intended target, whereas a PGK costs $6,500 per kit and will.

A fail safe can also prevent the shell from exploding if it falls outside 150 meters of an intended target, enabling Soldiers to more confidently call-in artillery support close to their position and reduce the possibility of collateral damage, said Sgt. 1st Class Mike Taylor, 1-148th FAR master gunner.

Soldiers first received training on the PGK when the battalion traveled to Camp Guernsey, Wyoming for annual training in July 2021 but were unable to conduct live fire with the precision guided munitions. Soldiers again received training on the PGK’s capabilities before conducting several live fire missions, first with conventional rounds and then with the PGKs.

Over 80 rounds were fired, including more than 50 PGKs, helping ensure the battalion’s ability to successfully perform its warfighting mission and certify using the modernized precision guided munitions.

“With the new technological advancements of today, it’s vital for us to be modernized,” said Taylor. “The 1-148th is really good at what we do, but with the new PGK, we are even better, hitting targets with every single round. This type of weaponry is going to be crucial on the current battlefield.”

The 1-148th FAR employs fire to destroy, neutralize, suppress or shape enemy forces; provides fire support to maneuver in close combat and during counterattack to control land areas; and provides counterfire.

It is equipped with the M109A6 Paladins that fire 155mm artillery shells. Crews that operate the Paladin consist of four-man teams; a driver, a number one man, a gunner and a section chief.

The number one man is responsible for loading and firing the weapon, the gunner fuzes the round and cuts propellant powder, while the section chief manages all firing data and ensures the weapon is laid on target.

After 72 years, Pfc. Kenneth LeRoy Bridger was finally laid to rest and closure was given to his family during a full military honors graveside ceremony held in Twin Falls, Idaho, on May 21. Bridger was reported missing in action on Nov. 30, 1950, while serving alongside his fellow U.S. troops during the war against North Korea.

Bridger’s remains were identified on Jan. 26, 2022. Bridger was just 17 years old when he went missing and was a member of Company K, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He enlisted into the U.S. Army from Colville, Washington, but many of his remaining family resides in Idaho where he was laid to rest next to his brothers and his mother. Bridger’s four living siblings, along with their families, attended the private ceremony.

“Every U.S. service member is committed to never leave a fallen comrade behind. It is in our creed,” said Maj. Gen. Michael Garshak, Idaho’s adjutant general. “Although it has taken over 70 years to return Pfc. Bridger from the battle fields of Korea, it is comforting to me and to all who serve to know that we fight for a country that will never give up in keeping that promise. It is an immense honor to be a part of this ceremony and return Pfc. Bridger home to his final resting place with his family.”

Garshak presented Wilber Bridger, Pfc. Bridger’s brother and oldest surviving relative, the U.S. flag and the Purple Heart on his brother’s behalf. Bridger’s brothers Lynn and Halbert “Lee” Bridger along with his sister, Florence Fiscus, received the U.S. flag from the Idaho National Guard. The four siblings also received POW/MIA flags from the National League of the POW/MIA Families and local POW/MIA Awareness Associations in his honor.

Bridger was also awarded the Army Good Conduct medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Service Medal with three Bronze Service Stars, the Combat infantryman Badge, the United Nations Service Medal and the Republic of Korea-Korean War Service Medal.

The Idaho Army National Guard’s State Aviation Group performed a flyover with two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and the Idaho National Guard joint honor guard performed taps and the folding of the flag presentation.

Members of the Twin Falls community, lead by veterans, came together to honor and escort Bridger’s remains when they arrived to Idaho on May 17 in Twin Falls. According to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Bridger was reported missing in action during the last night of his unit’s stand at the defensive perimeter south of the Pungnyuri Inlet on the east side of the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea.

Following an agreement between President Donald Trump and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un, North Korea returned approximately 55 boxes containing the remains of U.S. service members on July 27, 2018. The remains were taken to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, and entered into the DPAA laboratory for identification. One of the 55 boxes contained Bridger’s remains.

According to the DPAA, more than 7,600 Americans are still unaccounted for from the Korean War. Bridger’s name is recorded on the American Battle Monuments Commission’s Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, along with others who are still missing from the Korean War. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Crystal Farris/Idaho Military Division Public Affairs

Medics from the Idaho Army National Guard’s Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1st of the 148th Field Artillery Regiment conducted air medical evacuation and casualty treatment training alongside medical evacuation aviation assets at the Orchard Combat Training Center, May 17.

The training was supported by members of Detachment 1, Company Golf, 1st of the 168th General Support Aviation Battalion and several of its UH-60 Black Hawks, providing approximately 20 field artillery medics practice in air medevac scenarios while conducting their two-week annual training.

“I learned to stay calm and let the training I received in school take over,” said Spc. Regan Esplin, a 1-148th FAR medic. “I love being a medic, all the training that goes with it and everything about trauma medicine because it’s very immediate and the reward is you know how to save someone’s life. These kinds of experiences are crazy and not a lot of people get paid to treat casualties in a combat environment.”

For Esplin, the event was her first annual training with the battalion and a first opportunity to train with flight crews after graduating from the U.S. Army’s 68W Combat Medic Advanced Individual Training in 2021. During the event, she administered an IV and assisted other combat medics in stabilizing a patient.

During the training, combat medics had the opportunity to work with flight teams in loading patients into UH-60 Black Hawks, where they were evacuated from a point of injury to a Role 1 treatment facility. From there, medics offloaded patients from the aircraft and worked to evaluate, treat and stabilize them by administering tourniquets, IVs, ventilators and more prior to packaging them for transport to follow-on echelons of care.

“Training with medic and flight teams enable us to see how ready we are to respond to real-world situations and also make sure our newer medics get exposer to those situations in a tactical training environment first,” said Capt. David McDonald, a 1-148th FAR medical provider. “Depending on the situation, we may need to call in air medevac teams to transport our injured over long distances on the battlefield.”

In a tactical environment, the medical unit provides Role 1 care, which is the treatment a patient receives prior to surgical intervention, including self-aid, buddy-aid, tactical combat casualty care, tactical evacuation and medical evacuation, said McDonald.

When deployed in a tactical environment with the 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team, the battalion would coordinate the evacuation of patients to a Role 2 medical station, provided by the brigade’s Company Charlie, 145th Brigade Support Battalion. The Role 2 station offers surgeons, nurses, a pharmacy and short-term care.

1st Lt. Katherine Smith, executive officer with the medevac detachment, said its important combat medics receive training like this to become comfortable around aircraft in the likelihood they will have to work with them during a deployment. It’s equally important for members of her unit to train with combat medics so the two assets can ensure they understand each other’s operating procedures, she added.

“Different types of units that work together have to understand how the other operates,” said Smith. “In this case, the 1-148th combat medics need to understand how our pilots come into a landing zone and handoff a patient. What we need to know from them is at what point those medics need our assets to supplement that continuum of medical care.”