Survey and Instrument NCO, Field Artillery (577) Enlisted Personnel

Supervises, coordinates, and participates in survey operations to locate observation posts, gun positions, and other locations by transit, traverse, or other survey methods in connection with control of individual or massed fire of firing batteries.
Supervises crew in setting up, adjusting, and operating such survey and fire control instruments as transit, aiming, circle, range finder, battery commander's telescope, prismatic compass, alidade, plane table, protractor, scales, and steel tape to determine vertical and horizontal angles, distances, and elevations. Instructs crew in use of slide rule and in making routine trigonometric calculations to compute azimuth and military grid coordinates of points by right and oblique triangle methods. Instructs crew in operation of graphical firing table, which is a type of slide rule designed to furnish initial and corrected firing data to the guns. Checks all data and computations made by survey crew for completeness and accuracy. Supervises crew in additional duties of liaison, scouting, intelligence, and reconnaissance. Supervises battery communication personnel in installation operation, and minor maintenance of wire, radio, and visual signaling.
Should be familiar with wire, radio, and visual signal communications systems.

Alternate nomenclatures:

  • Chief of Detail
  • Fire Control NCO
  • Instrument NCO
  • Intelligence Observer

Suitable Substitutions