I have seen the video clip Petard mentioned and it is not pretty. As one who manhandled my first gun when I was 18, the term light gun is a misnomer. There are just different variaties of heavy, awkward "iron monsters."
We gunners are a supporting arm. What we do is deliver 50 kg bullets bullets accurately and repeatedly under all conditions continuously. One of the major limitations is the weight and bulk of 155 mm ammunition amd this stuff may often have to be moved several times by hand on a troop position before it finally goes down range. At the same time the troop has to be able to protect (and administer) itself for long periods in austere conditions. All this takes a certain minimum number of people given that members will be absent for various reasons, including HTLA. We can talk about all the other options, but we (and the Marines) must dance with the one we brung, and our date is the triple seven. In my opinion the current troop establishment is none too fat and probably provides the minimum given the factors outlined in this paragraph.
We gunners are a supporting arm. What we do is deliver 50 kg bullets bullets accurately and repeatedly under all conditions continuously. One of the major limitations is the weight and bulk of 155 mm ammunition amd this stuff may often have to be moved several times by hand on a troop position before it finally goes down range. At the same time the troop has to be able to protect (and administer) itself for long periods in austere conditions. All this takes a certain minimum number of people given that members will be absent for various reasons, including HTLA. We can talk about all the other options, but we (and the Marines) must dance with the one we brung, and our date is the triple seven. In my opinion the current troop establishment is none too fat and probably provides the minimum given the factors outlined in this paragraph.