The Arkansas Army National Guard's 142nd Fires Brigade held its final live-fire exercise of the year Saturday (Feb 2).
“A live fire exercise is where we basically come out to the field, and we actually shoot the rounds we’ve been training to shoot,” said Staff Sergeant Codey Staton.
The North Central and Northwest Arkansas based brigade fired its M109A6 Paladin and M270A1 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) artillery platforms.
The brigade will now transition to preparing for deployment. Approximately 600 men and women will be sent to Africa in the next year.
Members of the 142nd say their training at Fort Chaffee helps them to prepare for situations they might encounter overseas.
"Having Fort Chaffee as a training center enables us to be really one of the better field artillery organizations in the United States Army, and we're very proud of that," said Commander Troy Galloway.
Thirteen hundred people from the Arkansas Army National Guard took part in the weekend training at Fort Chaffee.