Lethal Reach and Strategic Convergence: How the 138th Operational Fires Command and V Corps Fires Stand Ready on the Eastern Flank of Europe

FORT KNOX, KY - The U.S. Army's Victory Corps plans to fight and win against peer adversaries by establishing the corps as the primary warfighting headquarters, backed by specialized artillery formations that strike targets deep behind enemy lines.

The 138th Operational Fires Command (OFC), a Kentucky Army National Guard unit headquartered in Lexington, serves as the principal fires headquarters for V Corps, based at Fort Knox, Kentucky. The command bridges the operational gap between tactical ground combat and theater-level strike assets.

Corps artillery was deactivated in 2006, and this new corps-echelon command focuses on command and control of multiple field artillery brigades (FABs) while coordinating for theater-echelon joint effects during multi-domain operations. While Army doctrine assigns division artilleries to handle tactical engagements for divisions and theater fires commands oversee theater-wide effects, operational fires commands resolve this operational seam. The formal mission set of the OFC is to coordinate, synchronize, and employ surface-to-surface fires and integrate both lethal and non-lethal fires across all domains to support corps operations.

Army doctrine assigns one operational fires command to each corps as its force field artillery headquarters. The commander of the 138th OFC serves as the fire support coordinator for the V Corps commanding general, directing targeting, clearance procedures and cross-domain strikes across Eastern Europe.

This concentration of soldiers, warrant officers and field-grade officers provides technical expertise to direct radar networks, ballistic calculations, digital fire direction and multinational liaison teams.

In Eastern Europe, the command confronts anti-access and area-denial networks consisting of integrated air defenses, long-range missile batteries, electronic warfare units and cyber assets. The 138th OFC counters these systems through multidomain operations to eliminate threats before they reach friendly ground elements.

The command's staff translates the corps commander's operational intent, incorporates joint and multinational capabilities, and authors Annex D (Fires) of the corps operations plan. The unit deploys liaison teams with NATO allies to deconflict European airspace, allocate radio frequencies, manage kinetic strike corridors, and integrate electronic and cyber effects with conventional artillery.

The command connects distributed sensor grids - including battlefield radars, unmanned aerial vehicles and orbital reconnaissance - directly to shooter networks, such as High Mobility Artillery Rocket System launchers and cannon batteries. By sequencing airstrikes, electronic jamming and surface fires, the command opens windows of localized domain superiority to permit ground maneuvers.

During combat, the command controls battlefield effects and fire support coordination measures, clearing fires rapidly and adjusting cross-domain sequencing to fluid conditions. Targeting officers direct battle damage assessments using multisource reconnaissance assets, feeding findings into subsequent targeting cycles for re-attack decisions.

The 138th OFC exercises command and control over assigned and attached formations, including field artillery brigades, rocket battalions and cannon battalions. The headquarters serves as the single point of contact for external agencies coordinating force protection and reinforcing fires.

Staff officers plan positioning and fires for artillery units in general support and general support reinforcing roles, advise the corps operations officer on artillery command relationships, and oversee meteorological, survey and counter-battery radar coverage. The command assumes or transfers control of fires during passage-of-lines operations and coordinates logistics and force protection for subordinate units.

The command orchestrates the V Corps counterfire battle by designating subordinate or reinforcing units to detect and destroy hostile artillery. The headquarters also operates as an alternate command post for the corps or a division when required.

Through its forward alignment with V Corps, the 138th OFC supports NATO deterrence through denial. By fusing American and allied artillery into an integrated targeting architecture, the command ensures prompt detection, engagement and destruction of opposing ground forces across the alliance's eastern flank.