Special Delivery

The Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) was recently deployed in Iraq and used at Tal Afar and in Al Anbar province against terrorist insurgent strongholds.

Photo by SPC Alisan Gul

From an Army News Service story by Sgt. Michael J. Carden and Pfc. Matthew Clifton:

The Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System destroyed two insurgent strongholds from a distance of more than 50 kilometers away. Battery B, 3rd Battalion, 13th Field Artillery Regiment fired eight guided rockets in Tal Afar Sept. 9 and 10, killing 48 insurgents, said Maj. Jeremy McGuire, deputy of operations, Force Field Artillery, Multi-National Corps – Iraq.

Battery A, 3-13 FAR fired another six rockets Sept. 11, destroying the Mish’al Bridge and preventing its use for insurgent forces in the Al Anbar province in Western Iraq, McGuire added.

The pinpoint accuracy of the GMLRS sets it apart from other artillery systems:

When the GMLRS was used in Tal Afar Sept. 9 and 10, damage to surrounding buildings was almost non-existent and the target’s destruction was absolute, said Capt. Robert J. Hannah, 3-13th FAR.

The physical and psychological effect the system had on the enemy in Tal Afar – who was trying either to successfully defend against an attack or goad the Coalition into destroying large portions of the city – was extremely valuable, [Col. H. R.] McMaster said.