From UPS manager to Paladin assistant gunner: Soldier embraces first mobilization

BEMOWO PISKIE TRAINING AREA, Poland — Spc. Patrick Pierson, assistant gunner, assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery (2-3 FA), NATO Forward… BEMOWO PISKIE TRAINING AREA, Poland — Spc. Patrick Pierson, assistant gunner, assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery (2-3 FA), NATO Forward Land Forces (FLF) Battle Group-Poland, currently forward-deployed to Bemowo Piskie Training Area (BPTA), Poland, is a highly motivated, focused, and effective soldier. He began his career after years in the civilian sector as a UPS manager, helping with shipping and receiving packages. Pierson joined at 28 as a family man looking for a military career he knew would benefit his family. “I initially enlisted to better myself, but also to better my family,” said Pierson.

Pierson, currently an assistant gunner with 2-3 FA, started his military career in a Carrier Ammunition Tracked vehicle, helping move ammunition to the M109A7 Paladin. To become an assistant gunner in a Paladin, you have to show initiative and take a test to prove your knowledge of the equipment. When talking about the junior enlisted level 10 tests, which evaluates basic, hands-on, and foundational artillery knowledge, and the level 30 test, which evaluates a Soldier’s ability to act as a Howitzer Section Chief, Spc. Carlos Aldana, assistant gunner, 2-3 FA, NATO FLF Battle Group-Poland, said, “In the artillery world,