YAKIMA COUNTY, Wash. — The Yakima Training Center hosted a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System live-fire training Friday because it’s the only place in the state with a large-enough range.
HIMARS can hit a target up to 3oo kilometers or 190 miles away and have been used in Afghanistan, Iran, Syria and, more recently, in Ukraine.
“What you’re seeing across the world right now is a lot of HIMARS attacks on supply depots to target ammunition, communications and things like that for the enemy,” Lt. Col. Brady Lowe, commander with the 1st Battalion, 94th Field Artillery Regiment.
HIMARS will work in all weather and can manage a variety of difficult terrains, including hills, sand and roads. Army officials said the goal of Friday’s training was to put them through a worst-case combat scenario in a controlled environment.
“So, that way they can make some mistakes and learn from them and be more prepared for whatever our nation calls them to do,” said Trevor Breitenbach, Alpha Battery Commander with the 1st Battalion, 94th Field Artillery Regiment.
Breitenbach said the training is an important part of making sure their soldiers stay safe.
“That way, whenever they’re reacting to contact, indirect fire, and ambush, there’s a chemical threat, it’s just muscle memory for them,” Breitenbach said.
Lowe said the HIMARS are also vital to national security.
“Just the impact of the HIMARS brings a capability that makes the enemy know it’s there,” Lowe said. “I think it instantly changes the battlefield, like any long-range weapons system in the history of the military. I’m glad it’s on our side.”
Lowes said in 2023, the soldiers who participated in Friday’s training will be doing HIMARS exercises in the Philippines, Indonesia, Alaska and other places across the Pacific.
TOP STORIES FROM THE KAPP-KVEW NEWS STAFF:
COPYRIGHT 2022 BY YAKTRINEWS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.