U.S. Marines with Charlie battery, 1st Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment (1/12), receive their awards for winning the annual celebration of St. Barbara’s day, Dec. 7, 2017. The unit honored St. Barbara, the patron saint of artillery, by pitting teams from each battery against each other and challenging them to build and operate their own trebuchet, a medieval siege weapon. The event served to promote healthy competition and cohesion between Marines of 1/12, while also teaching the history of their occupation. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Luke Kuennen)

Photo by Lance Cpl. Luke Kuennen

Back to basics: 1/12 holds medieval artillery competition

11 Dec 2017 | Lance Cpl. Luke Kuennen Marine Corps Base Hawaii

MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII -- U.S. Marines with 1st Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment (1/12), held their annual celebration of Saint Barbara’s day at Landing Zone Eagle, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Dec. 7, 2017.
As an artillery unit, 1/12 honored St. Barbara by pitting teams from the unit’s batteries against each other.
“Every year we celebrate Saint Barbara’s day, who is our patron saint,” said Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Briggs, the operations chief with 1/12, Charlie battery. “We have an annual field meet, and we finish the field meet off with the firing of the trebuchets that each battery is commissioned to build.”
The event served to promote healthy competition and cohesion between Marines of 1/12, while also teaching the history of their occupation.
“It really takes us back to our roots within artillery and indirect weapon fire,” said Briggs. “The trebuchet is one of the first true indirect fire weapons, so it’s a fun way for us to celebrate the past.”
After Briggs and his Marines secured the victory for Charlie battery, 1/12 moved into a traditional Hawaiian celebration in the evening.
“After the field meet we scheduled a luau with an imu cooked pig,” said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Tyler Wetter, the target acquisition officer for the unit. “It helps us bring in the whole Hawaiian experience, seeing as we are the only artillery battalion in Hawaii.”
The event helps bring all the units that support 1/12 closer together, Wetter said.
“A functional artillery unit is not just artillerymen,” said Wetter. “It’s artillerymen and all their supporting efforts. Events like these help to bring everyone together and build that unit camaraderie and morale.”
Lance Cpl. Kofi Yiboeh, a motor transportation operator attached to 1/12, was one of the many Marines representing supporting elements at the event.
“Today was great, we all had a really good time,” said Yiboeh. “We got everybody in the unit together, and had a little friendly competition going on.”
Yiboeh stressed the importance of the interactions with other Marines in different specialties.
“Events like this, they give you knowledge of what goes into the battery, other than just your job field,” said Yiboeh. “I’m pretty confident everyone learned something new, I always do.”