1543 Infantry Heavy Mortar Unit Commander

1543 was the historical Army commissioned officer MOS for Infantry Heavy Mortar Unit Commander. The Army's 1 March 1974 officer career pamphlet lists the exact code and title among the principal Infantry officer specialties. An Army Research Institute study associates MOS 1543 with infantry weapons platoon leaders, and 1953 command reports describe its use for heavy mortar battalion liaison officers. This four-digit officer MOS is distinct from enlisted SSN 543. The cited sources do not establish an activation date, retirement date or direct personnel conversion, so no successor or effective transition dates are asserted.

1. Department of the Army, DA Pam 600-3, 1 March 1974

   Official Department of the Army pamphlet · Source date: March 1, 1974

   Location: Chapter 20, Infantry Specialty, para 20-2b, printed p. 20-1; scan PDF p. 85: principal MOS list 1542 Infantry Unit Commander, 1543 Infantry Heavy Mortar Unit Commander, 1560 Infantry Unit Commander (Mechanized)

   Supports: The Army's exact title for officer MOS 1543 in its 1974 officer career guidance.

2. Sitterson, Davis, and Korotkin, Development of Criteria Dimensions for Evaluation of Performance and Career Development of Entry-Level Officers, U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences, November 1974, reprinted December 1979, Research Note 79-36

   U.S. Army Research Institute technical report · Source date: November 1974

   Location: Printed p. C-2, scan PDF p. 29, Infantry entry-level position list: 15 Platoon Leader, Wpns. Plt. (MOS 1543)

   Supports: A second official 1974 artifact pairing MOS 1543 with an infantry weapons platoon leader duty position, confirming active commissioned-officer use of the code.

3. Command Reports of the 461st Infantry Battalion (Heavy Mortar), declassified, reproduced by the 4point2.org unit association

   Declassified official command reports, veteran-hosted reproduction · Source date: 1953

   Location: Recommendation section citing T/O&E 7-46, DA, 26 Sep 53: three liaison officers, MOS 1543, in grade of captain, recommended for the heavy mortar battalion headquarters

   Supports: Official 1953 usage of MOS 1543 for captain positions in an infantry heavy mortar battalion. The battalion was activated January 1953 as successor to the 2nd Chemical Mortar Battalion.