Cavalry

Note: Nine cavalry units have been assigned to the 25th Infantry Division since its activation on 1 October 1941. For further information on how cavalry regiments are currently organized see our Regimental System page.

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None authorized 25th Reconnaissance Company 28 October 1942 Constituted on 28 October 1942 as the 25th Reconnaissance Troop and assigned to the 25th Infantry Division. Activated on 3 November 1942 at Schofield Barracks. Upon arrival on Guadalcanal the troop supported the 35th Infantry Regimental Combat Team’s assault on Mount Austin culminating in the elimination of the Japanese forces on Mount Austin and the destruction of the Japanese strong point known as the Gifu. For its gallantry in seizing Mount Austin the 35th Regimental Combat Team including the 25th Reconnaissance Troop received a Presidential Unit Citation. The 25th Reconnaissance Troop also participated in the Northern Solomons campaign receiving credit for an amphibious assault landing on Vella Lavella island. On 1 January 1944 the troop was redesignated as the 25th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop, Mechanized. The troop participated with the 25th Division in the liberation of Luzon from January-August 1945 receiving a Philippine Presidential Unit Citation. While serving on occupation duty in Japan the troop was redesignated the 25th Mechanized Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop on 10 October 1945 and was used largely as military police. On 20 March 1949 it was reorganized and redesignated as the 25th Reconnaissance Company. In response to the North Korean invasion of South Korea the 25th Division landed in Korea in July 1950. The 25th Recon was initially used to screen and turn back enemy probes between the 27th and 24th Regiments west of Hamchang in late July. The 25th Recon was then used to search out and eliminate enemy forces that had infiltrated behind the 25th Division near Masan. The 25th Recon spearheaded the 24th Infantry as it led one of the two 25th Division mounted breakout columns from the Pusan perimeter on 24 September 1950. Both columns linked up at the western port city of Kunsan on 30 September. Throughout the remainder of the Korean War the 25th Recon was in the thick of the fighting. It was awarded two Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citations and received campaign participation credit for all ten Korean campaigns. On 15 February 1957 the 25th Reconnaissance Company was consolidated with Troop C, 4th Cavalry and redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 3rd Reconnaissance Squadron, 4th Cavalry. The 3rd Squadron, 4th Cavalry carries the battle honors awarded to the 25th Reconnaissance Troop/Company in WW II and Korea.
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4th Cav 4th Cavalry Regiment
“Paratus et Fideles”
(“Prepared and Loyal”)
15 February 1957 Constituted on 3 March 1855 as the 1st Cavalry Regiment. Organized 26 March 1855 at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri. From 1855-1861 the regiment campaigned against the Cheyenne and other Indian tribes in the Kansas Territory. On 3 August 61 the regiment was redesignated the 4th U.S. Cavalry. From 1862-1865 the 4th Cavalry saw extensive action in the Civil War receiving participation credit for twenty campaigns. In 1873 the 4th Cavalry was sent to Texas where it defeated several major Indian tribes under the leadership of Colonel Ranald Mackenzie. By 1884 the regiment was in Arizona where it fought the Apaches and participated in the capture of Geronimo in 1886. From 1898 to 1907 the 4th Cavalry participated in nine campaigns of the Philippine Insurrection. Prior to and during WW I the 4th Cavalry served at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii from 1913-1919. In 1940 the 4th was reorganized as corps reconnaissance regiment with one squadron horse mounted and the other mechanized. In 1942 the regiment was completely mechanized. Upon arrival in England in late 1943 the regiment was reorganized and redesignated as the 4th Cavalry Group consisting of the 4th and 24th Cavalry Squadrons and assigned to the VII Corps. On D-Day two troops of the 4th Cavalry Group were the first sea-borne American forces to land on French soil when they seized the St. Marcouf Islands off Utah Beach at 0430 hours 6 June 44. During the liberation of the Cherbourg peninsula the 4th Cavalry fought dismounted at Cape de la Hague with both squadrons receiving a French Croix de Guerre with Silver Star. In the battle for the Hurtgen Forest the 4th Squadron received a Presidential Unit Citation for gallantry in fierce fighting for the town of Bogheim which included a dismounted charge across two hundred yards of fire-swept open ground. The 4th Cavalry Group then participated with the VII Corps in the Battle of the Bulge contributing to the successful blunting of the German attack. Resuming the advance back into Germany, the 4th Cavalry Group defeated a large German force defending the Harz Mountains as WWII came to a close. Ordered to Austria to be part of the occupation force, the 4th Cavalry Group was reorganized and redesignated on 1 May 1946 as the 4th Constabulary Regiment consisting of the 4th and 24th Constabulary Squadrons with headquarters near Linz and units stationed throughout the American zone. In 1949 the regimental headquarters was inactivated. On 16 December 1952 the 24th Constabulary Squadron was inactivated in West Germany. The 4th Constabulary Squadron, which had been redesignated as the 4th Armored Cavalry Reconnaissance Battalion on 1 December 1951, was inactivated in Austria on 1 July 1955. To preserve the 4th Cavalry on the active roles, the battalion headquarters and headquarters company was redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 4th Armor Group and activated the same date at Frankfurt, West Germany. The 4th Armor Group was inactivated on 1 April 1963. On 15 February 57 the 4th Cavalry became a parent regiment under the Combat Arms Regimental System. Four squadrons and a battle group were initially activated. Troop C, 4th Cavalry was consolidated with the 25th Reconnaissance Company and activated at Schofield Barracks as Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 3rd Reconnaissance Squadron, 4th Cavalry. Troops A, B and C, 3rd Squadron were also activated on 15 February 57. Troop D (Air) was added to the squadron on 26 July 1963. The 3rd Squadron completed deployment to Vietnam on 24 March 1966. It was based at Cu Chi, northwest of Saigon minus the squadron’s Troop C. It operated with the 3rd Brigade, 25th Division in the Central Highlands and in Quang Tri Province receiving a Valorous Unit Award. Troop C rejoined the squadron at Cu Chi in 1967. The 3rd Squadron known as “Mackenzie’s Raiders” participated in twelve Vietnam campaigns from 24 March 66 to 8 December 70 receiving a Presidential Unit Citation (PUC) for its magnificent defense of Tan Son Nhut air base during Tet 1968 and two subsequent Valorous Unit Awards. Troop D received a PUC for gallantry in Tay Ninh Province. The 1st Platoon, Troop A received a PUC while attached to the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry at Ben Cui. Troop F, 4th Cavalry was activated on 10 February 71 in Vietnam and assigned to the 25th Division as a separate air cavalry troop. Initially it supported the 2nd Brigade then served with the 11th and 12th Aviation Groups in support of South Vietnamese forces. It was one of the last U.S. Army units to leave Vietnam on 26 February 73. On 8 December 1970 the 3rd Squadron returned to Schofield Barracks at color-guard strength. It remained assigned to the 25th at zero strength until April 1972 when it was reorganized and brought up to strength as the division’s reconnaissance squadron consisting of a headquarters and headquarters troop, an armored cavalry troop and two air cavalry troops. The 3rd Squadron was inactivated on 16 March 87 at Schofield Barracks. It was reassigned to the 3rd Infantry Division and activated in Germany on 16 June 1989. The 3rd Squadron’s maneuver elements consisted of three ground and two air troops. The squadron then served a peacekeeping tour in Bosnia. On 16 February 1996 the 3rd Squadron was reassigned back to the 25th Infantry Division as the division reconnaissance squadron and stationed at Wheeler Army Air Field, Hawaii. The squadron’s maneuver elements consisted of two air cavalry troops and one motorized ground troop mounted on heavily armed Humvees. Troop F was reactivated on 16 January 1999 and assigned as the ground reconnaissance troop of the 3rd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division in Germany. It served a tour of duty in Iraq with the 3rd Brigade from February 2004-March 2005. Troop F was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation for extraordinary heroism in action during the battle for Fallujah from 8 November to 20 November 2004. The 3rd Squadron served a one year tour of duty in Afghanistan from April 2004-2005. The squadron was based at Kandahar Airfield. Operating as Task Force Saber under the operational control of the 25th Division’s Task Force Bronco (3rd Brigade Combat Team), the squadron conducted security and stability operations in Kandahar Province and in the city of Herat. For its accomplishments in Afghanistan, the 3rd Squadron was awarded a Meritorious Unit Commendation. As part the modular conversion of the 25th Infantry Division the 3rd Squadron, 4th Cavalry was reorganized as a brigade combat team reconnaissance squadron and assigned to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division on 16 November 2005. The squadron is organized with a headquarters and headquarters troop, two motorized reconnaissance troops mounted on Humvees and a dismounted reconnaissance troop. In July, 2006 the 3rd Squadron began a tour of duty in Iraq with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team. For the majority of its Iraq tour of duty the 3rd Squadron served under the operational control of the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division and was based in Tal Afar in western Nineveh Province near the Syrian border. The 3rd Squadron 4th Cavalry returned to Schofield Barracks in October 2007. On 16 April 2007 at Fort Hood Texas, Troop F, 4th Cavalry was reorganized and activated as the 6th Squadron, 4th Cavalry and assigned to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division. In July 2008 the 6th Squadron began a fifteen month tour of duty in Afghanistan. In October 2008 the 3rd Squadron returned to northern Iraq for a twelve month tour of duty. The squadron operated north of Baghdad in the vicinity of Balad City where it was primarily involved in economic revitalization efforts as well as joint security operations with Iraqi forces. For the 3rd Squadron’s exceptional accomplishments it was awarded a Meritorious Unit Commendation and it also received participation credit for the Iraqi Surge and Iraqi Sovereignty campaign phases. The 3rd Squadron returned to Schofield Barracks in October 2009. The 3d Squadron, 4th Cavalry returned to Afghanistan with the 3rd BCT after an absence of six years in April 2011 and on 3 May 2011 as part of Regional Command- East, assumed responsibility for security and stability operations for eastern Nangarhar Province, located along the border with Pakistan. The 3rd Squadron is based at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Shinwar with Troop B at FOB Hughie. The squadron’s mission is to provide security, support governance and assist in the economic development of the province. 3rd Squadron Lineage and Honors. Additional history of the 4th Cavalry. Read more about them.
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Buffalo Soldiers 10th Cavalry Regiment
(Buffalo Soldiers)
“Ready And Forward”
6 December 1969 Constituted 28 July 1866 and organized at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas on 21 September 1866 with African-American enlisted personnel. In 1867 the 10th Cavalry was given the mission of protecting the building of the Kansas-Pacific Railroad. In 1869 the regiment established what is now Fort Sill, Oklahoma. In 1875 and for the next seven years the regiment served in Texas and the Indian Territory. Known as the “Buffalo Soldiers” by the Indians, the 10th distinguished itself in numerous engagements with the Cheyenne, Comanche and Kiowa Indians. In1880 the 10th engaged Victorio’s Mescalero Apache band in New Mexico. A forced march followed by a surprise flank attack on his main column forced Victorio into Mexico never to return to American soil. Assigned to Fort Apache, Arizona in 1885, the 10th participated in the capture of Geronimo in 1886. Soon thereafter Troop H captured the remnants of Geronimo’s band led by Chief Mangus Colorados. During the War with Spain the Buffalo Soldiers participated in the charge up San Juan Hill and the siege of Santiago, Cuba. They then served in the Philippines. In 1916 the 10th took part in General John Pershing’s Mexican expedition in the pursuit of the insurgent Pancho Villa. On 31 August 1918 U.S. Army units including Troops A and C of the 10th Cavalry participated in a day-long engagement repelling Mexican forces at Nogales, Arizona. From 1931 to 1940 the 10th served with the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Cavalry Divisions. In 1940 it returned to the 2nd Cavalry Division. On 20 March 1944 the 10th Cavalry was inactivated in North Africa. On 17 November 1950 the 10th Cavalry was redesignated and reorganized as the 510th Tank Battalion with African-American personnel and activated at Camp Polk, Louisiana. The battalion was then integrated and served in Germany until inactivated on 1 May 1958 when it was redesignated as the 10th Cavalry, a parent regiment under the Regimental System. Initially three squadrons were activated. The 1st Squadron participated in eleven Vietnam campaigns with the 4th Infantry Division. Troop H, 10th Cavalry was assigned to the 4th Brigade, 25th Infantry Division and activated at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii on 6 December 1969 as a ground reconnaissance troop. It was inactivated on 15 March 1972 and then reactivated in Vietnam on 30 April 1972 as an air cavalry reconnaissance troop assigned to the 17th Aviation Group. Troop H served in support of South Vietnamese forces and received a Valorous Unit Award for actions in Binh Dinh and Binh Thuan provinces. Inactivated on 26 February 1973, it was one of the last U.S. Army units to serve in Vietnam. Reactivated in 2000, Troop H was assigned as a brigade ground reconnaissance troop in the 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized) at Fort Hood, Texas. It participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom. On March 11, 2005 Troop H was redesignated and reorganized as Headquarters Troop, 8th Squadron, 10th Cavalry and assigned to the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division at Fort Hood, Texas.
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9th Cavalry 9th Cavalry Regiment
“We Can We Will”
16 March 1987 Constituted 28 July 1866 and organized on 21 September 1866 at Greenville, Louisiana with African-American enlisted personnel. In June 1867 the 9th was sent to south and western Texas with garrisons at Brownsville, Fort Stockton and Fort Davis. The regiment’s principal missions were to protect the mail and stage route between San Antonio and El Paso and to keep the peace along the Rio Grande. In 1875 the 9th was transferred to New Mexico with headquarters in Santa Fe and the regiment widely dispersed throughout the territory engaging roving Apache bands. In 1881 the 9th was transferred to Kansas and the Indian Territory for garrison and patrolling duty. Then in 1885 a portion of the regiment saw action against the Sioux in Montana and South Dakota. The regiment also participated in putting down the Sioux uprising in the winter of 1890-91. During the War with Spain the 9th Cavalry participated in the charge up San Juan Hill and the siege of Santiago, Cuba. They then served against the insurrectionists in the Philippines. The 9th Cavalry was assigned to the 3rd Cavalry Division from 1933 to 1940 when it was assigned to the 2nd Cavalry Division. On 7 March 1944 the 9th Cavalry was inactivated in North Africa. On 1 November 1950 the 9th Cavalry was redesignated and reorganized as the 509th Tank Battalion with African-American personnel and activated at Camp Polk, Louisiana. The battalion was then integrated and served until inactivated at Fort Knox, Kentucky on 10 April 1956. On 1 December 1957 the 509th Tank Battalion was reorganized and redesignated as the 9th Cavalry, a parent regiment under the Regimental System. Five squadrons were initially activated. The 1st Squadron served in thirteen Vietnam campaigns with the 1st Cavalry Division. Troop E, 9th Cavalry was redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Troop (HHT), 5th Squadron and assigned to the 194th Armored Brigade. On 21 December 1962 the 5th Squadron was activated at Fort Ord and then inactivated on 4 January 1968. On that date HHT, 5th Squadron was redesignated and reorganized as Troop E, 9th Cavalry and activated at Fort Ord. Troop E was inactivated on 1 July 1973. On 16 March 1987 Troop E was redesignated as HHT, 5th Squadron 9th Cavalry. On that date the 5th Squadron was assigned to the 25th Infantry Division and activated as an air reconnaissance squadron at Wheeler Army Airfield, Hawaii. On 15 September 1996 the 5th Squadron was inactivated. In 1999 HHT, 5th Squadron was again reorganized and redesignated as Troop E, 9th Cavalry and was assigned to the 2nd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized) at Fort Stewart, Georgia as the brigade reconnaissance troop. It participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Troop E was inactivated in 2004.
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14th Cavalry 14th Cavalry Regiment
“Suivez Moi”
(“Follow Me”)
16 May 2002 Constituted 2 February 1901 in the Regular Army as the 14th Cavalry. Organized 19 February 1901 at Fort Leavenworth Kansas. From 1903-06 during the Philippine Insurrection the 14th Cavalry saw its first combat participating in successful pacification operations on the islands of Mindanao and Jolo. In 1906 the 14th resumed garrison duties in the western U.S. with elements participating in rescue efforts during the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire. From 1909-1912 the regiment returned to the Philippines for garrison duty at Fort Stotsenburg, Luzon. The 14th was next assigned to security duty along the U.S.-Mexican border in Texas from 1912-1920. The regiment was then stationed at Fort Des Moines, Iowa from 1920-1939 with one squadron at Fort Sheridan, Illinois. In October 1940 the 14th was transferred to Fort Riley Kansas and assigned to the 3rd Cavalry Brigade, 2nd Cavalry Division. When WWII was declared, the 14th was sent to patrol the Mexican border in Arizona. Returning to Fort Riley the 14th was inactivated on 15 July 1942, with its personnel used to activate the 14th Armored Regiment, 9th Armored Division. The 14th Armored Regiment was broken up into the 14th and 711th Tank Battalions on 9 October 1943. The 14th Tank served in three European campaigns with the 9th Armored Division receiving a Presidential Unit Citation for its participation in the seizure of the Remagen Bridge over the Rhine River. The 711th Tank served in the Pacific on Leyte and made an amphibious assault during the Ryukyus campaign. Headquarters and Headquarters Troop (HHT), 14th Cavalry was reactivated on 12 July 1943 as HHT, 14th Cavalry Group at Fort Lewis with the 18th and 32nd Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadrons attached. The 14th Cavalry Group was committed to combat in the Ardennes on 20 October 1944 and took heavy losses in slowing the initial thrust of the German Ardennes counteroffensive 16-31 December 1944. The 14th then participated in the defeat of German units caught in the Ruhr pocket. On 1 May 1946 the 14th was reorganized and redesignated as the 14th Constabulary Regiment consisting of the 10th, 22nd and 27th Constabulary Squadrons. From 1946-1948 the 14th stationed at Kitzingen, West Germany performed law and order and border security missions. On 20 December 1948 it was reorganized and redesignated as the 14th Armored Cavalry Regiment (ACR). In 1951 the inactive 14th and 711th Tank Battalions were consolidated with the 14th ACR. From 1949-1972 the 14th ACR served as the border security force in the Fulda Gap area of West Germany. On 17 May 1972, the 14th ACR was inactivated. The regiment was reorganized as the 14th Cavalry, a parent regiment under the U.S. Army Regimental System in 2000. On 16 May 2002, Troop B, 14th Cavalry was reorganized, redesignated and activated at Fort Lewis, Washington as Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 2nd Squadron, 14th Cavalry with the other organic elements of the squadron concurrently constituted and activated. The 2nd Squadron, 14th Cavalry was assigned to the 25th Infantry Division as the reconnaissance squadron of the 1st Brigade consisting of a headquarters troop, three ground reconnaissance troops and a surveillance and target acquisition troop. The 2nd Squadron served with the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division in and around the city of Mosul, Iraq beginning in October 2004. After seeing extensive combat the squadron returned to Fort Lewis in late September 2005. The 2nd Squadron, 14th Cavalry was inactivated on 1 June 2006 at Fort Lewis with its personnel and equipment transferred to the 2nd Cavalry Regiment (Stryker). Troop E,14th Cavalry was redesignated and reorganized as Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 5th Squadron, 14th Cavalry (organic elements organized) assigned to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team (Stryker), 25th Infantry Division and activated at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii on 16 October 2005. On 15 December 2006 the 5th Squadron, 14th Cavalry was inactivated and its personnel and equipment were transferred to the 2nd Squadron, 14th Cavalry which was reactivated on 16 December 2006 and assigned to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team (Stryker), 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks. The 2nd Squadron, 14th Cavalry served a fifteen-month tour of duty in Iraq with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team (Stryker) from November 2007 to February 2009.
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40th Cavalry 40th Cavalry Regiment
“By Force And Valor”
16 October 2005 The 1st Squadron (Airborne), 40th Cavalry Regiment was first activated on 15 April 1941 as Company A, 4th Armored Regiment at Camp Beauregard, Louisiana and assigned to the 3rd Armored Division. On 8 May 1941 the 4th Armored Regiment was redesignated the 40th Armored Regiment and then inactivated on 1 January 1942. The 40th Armored Regiment was reactivated on 2 March 1942 at Camp Polk, Louisiana and assigned to the 7th Armored Division. The regiment moved to Fort Benning and on 20 September 1943 it was broken up to form the 40th and 709th Tank Battalions. The battalions were equipped with the M4 medium and M5 light tanks. The 40th Tank Battalion remained with the 7th Armored Division arriving in France on 11 August 1944. The 40th entered combat on 15 August fighting across northern France into Belgium where it made a significant contribution to the defeat of German forces at St. Vith during the Battle of the Bulge. The 40th then drove into Germany linking up with the Russians on the Baltic coast. The 40th Tank Battalion received participation credit for four European campaigns from Northern France to Central Europe and was awarded the Belgian Fourragere. On 25 July 1945 the 40th was reorganized and redesignated the 40th Amphibian Tractor Battalion then returned to Camp Kilmer NJ and inactivated on 22 February 1946. The 709th Tank Battalion serving as a separate tank battalion entered combat in France on 11 July 1944. While attached to the 8th Infantry Division during the battle for the Hurtgen Forest it received a Presidential Unit Citation for gallantry during the period 21-28 November 1944. The battalion participated in five European campaigns from Normandy to Central Europe. The 709th was inactivated on 10 April 1946 at Camp Kilmer. On 28 June 1948 the 40th was reactivated at Fort Ord, California as a heavy tank battalion and assigned to the 4th Infantry Division. It was inactivated on 1 April 1957 at Fort Lewis, Washington. The 709th was reactivated as the 86th Tank Battalion on 30 July 1948 joining the 3rd Armored Division at Fort Knox. In 1953 it was redesignated as the 709th and then inactivated in Germany on 1 October 1957. On 15 October 1957 the 40th and 709th Tank Battalions were consolidated, reorganized and redesignated as the 40th Armor, a parent regiment under the Combat Arms Regimental System. On 16 December 1963 Company A, 40th Armor equipped with the M41 light tank, served with the 171st Infantry Brigade at Ladd Air Force Base, Alaska from 16 December 1963-13 November 1972. Redesignated as the 1st Battalion, 40th Armor it served at Fort Polk from 5 January 1978 -16 December 1987. From January 1996 to September 1997 it served as an experimental test battalion at Fort Hunter Leggett, California. In 2005 the 40th Armor was redesignated as the 40th Cavalry. The former Company A, 40th Armor was reorganized and redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 1st Squadron (Airborne), 40th Cavalry Regiment (organic elements constituted). The 1st Squadron was assigned to the 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division and activated on 16 October 2005 at Fort Richardson, Alaska.
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17th Cavalry 17th Cavalry Regiment
“Forward”
16 November 2005 The 6th Squadron (Recon/Attack), 17th Cavalry Regiment was first constituted and activated as Troop F, 17th Cavalry Regiment on 1 July 1916 at Fort Bliss Texas. The 17th Cavalry was transferred to Douglas, Arizona on 17 May 1917 in response to the need for additional border security and to quiet labor unrest in the Arizona copper mines. In April, 1919 the 17th was ordered to Schofield Barracks Hawaii relieving the 4th Cavalry Regiment. The 17th was charged with the defense of the island of Oahu’s shoreline less Honolulu and Pearl Harbor until September 1921 when the regiment was transferred to the Presidio of Monterey, California where it was inactivated on 21 September 1921. In WWII the 17th Armored Group served in the Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace and Central Europe campaigns while attached to the XII Corps. The 17th Armored Group was inactivated on 30 April 1946 in Germany. On 9 March 1951 Headquarters and Headquarters Troop (HHT), 17th Cavalry was consolidated with Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC), 17th Armored Group as HHC, 17th Armored Cavalry Group and activated on 20 March 1951 at Camp Polk, Louisiana. The Group was inactivated on 4 May 1959 at Fort Stewart, Georgia. In 1959 reconstituted line troops of the 17th Cavalry Regiment and HHC, 17th Armored Cavalry Group were consolidated to form the 17th Cavalry a parent regiment in the Combat Arms Regimental System. Troop F, 17th Cavalry was reconstituted on 15 September 1965 as a brigade reconnaissance troop, assigned to the 196th Light Infantry Brigade (LIB) and activated at Fort Devens, Massachusetts. Troop F arrived in Vietnam on 26 August 1966 with the 196th LIB which was attached to the 25th Infantry Division as its fourth maneuver brigade and based at Tay Ninh. The 196th including Troop F participated with the 25th Infantry Division in some of the largest operations of the Vietnam War including Attleboro, Cedar Falls and Junction City with Troop F conducting reconnaissance and security missions throughout the brigade’s areas of operations. In late April and early May 1967 the 196th was sent north to Task Force Oregon (later redesignated Americal Division) and initially stationed at Chu Lai in Military Region 1. From 1967 to 1972 Troop F distinguished itself in the conduct of cavalry operations in support of 196th Brigade elements operating in the areas of Chu Lai, Tam Ky, Hoi An and Da Nang . Troop F received four awards of the Republic of Vietnam’s Cross of Gallantry with Palm and received campaign participation credit for fourteen Vietnam campaigns. Troop F was the last ground cavalry troop to leave Vietnam departing on 31 March 1972 and then was inactivated. On 16 November 2005 Troop F was reorganized, redesignated and activated as HHT, 6th Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment (squadron organic elements constituted and activated) at Wheeler Army Air Field, Hawaii and assigned to the Combat Aviation Brigade, 25th Infantry Division as a reconnaissance/attack helicopter squadron. The squadron is composed of a headquarters and headquarters troop, three air cavalry troops each equipped with ten OH58D helicopters, an aviation support troop and a forward support troop. While remaining assigned to the division’s Combat Aviation Brigade, the 6th Squadron,17th Cavalry was transferred to Fort Wainwright, Alaska effective 30 June 2006 to provide combat aviation support to the Tropic Lightning’s 1st and 4th Brigade Combat Teams. The 6th Squadron, 17th Cavalry departed Fort Wainwright in July 2008 for a twelve month tour of duty in Iraq. The 6th Squadron, 17th Cavalry served a twelve month tour of duty in northern Iraq from August 2008 to August 2009. Organized as Task Force Saber, the 6-17th had a non-divisional assault helicopter company and an intermediate level aviation maintenance company attached. On 5 March 2011 the 6-17th Cavalry begin another tour of duty in Iraq. The squadron was based at Forward Operating Base Diamondback located at the Mosul Airbase. Again organized as Task Force Saber, the squadron had the mission of supporting stability operations of the US Division- North. As part of the final withdrawal of all US troops from Iraq, the 6-17th Cavalry returned to Fort Wainwright on 6th December 2011 where it is attached to the 16th Combat Aviation Brigade. With this deployment, the squadron earned participation credit for the New Dawn phase of the Iraq Campaign. Read more about them.
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6th Cavalry 6th Cavalry Regiment
(The Fighting Sixth)
“Ducit Amor Patriae”
(“Led by Love of Country”)
6 June 2006 The 2nd Squadron (Recon/Attack), 6th Cavalry Regiment was organized in the Regular Army on 16 August 1861 as Company B, 6th Cavalry Regiment at Camp Scott, Pa. The 6th Cavalry Regiment participated in 16 Civil War campaigns particularly distinguishing itself at the Battle of Gettysburg where the regiment suffered severe casualties in successfully repulsing two Confederate cavalry brigades’ attempts to capture the Union supply trains. In 1865 the regiment began over thirty years of service in the American west maintaining law and order and participating in ten campaigns of the Indian Wars in Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and South Dakota. In 1898 during the Spanish-American War the 6th participated in the charge up San Juan Hill and the capture of the city of Santiago, Cuba. In 1900 the 6th joined an international force in quelling the Boxer Rebellion in Peking, China. During the Philippine Insurrection the regiment served two tours of duty from 1900-1903 and again in 1909. In 1916 the 6th participated in the Mexican Expedition in pursuit of the bandit Pancho Villa. In WWI the 6th Cavalry served in France as a rear area security force. From 1919-1942 the 6th was stationed at Fort Oglethorpe, GA. In 1943 the 6th was reorganized as a mechanized cavalry regiment and then while in Northern Ireland was reorganized as the 6th Cavalry Group consisting of the 6th and 28th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadrons. Arriving in France on 6th July 1944 as part of Patton’s Third Army, the 6th participated in the Normandy, Northern France, Ardennes, Rhineland, and Central Europe campaigns, receiving a Presidential Unit Citation for extraordinary heroism on 9-13 January 1945 in day and night attacks both mounted and dismounted, in defeating German forces near Harlange, Luxembourg. On 1 May 1946 the 6th was reorganized and redesignated as the 6th Constabulary Regiment and performed occupation duties in Germany until 1948 when it was reorganized and redesignated as the 6th Armored Cavalry Regiment. The 6th performed border security until 1957 when it returned to Fort Knox, KY. Inactivated in 1963 it was reactivated at Fort Meade, MD from 1967-1971. The 6th Cavalry was designated a parent regiment under the Combat Arms Regimental System in 1973. On 1 July 1973 Troop B, 6th Cavalry was redesignated, reorganized and activated as Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 2nd Squadron, 6th Cavalry (squadron organic elements constituted and activated concurrently) at Fort Knox, Ky. Inactivated on 30 May 1986 it was reactivated at Fort Hood, Texas on 16 July 1986 as an attack helicopter squadron equipped with the Apache helicopter. In 1988 the squadron was assigned to the 11th Aviation Brigade at Illesheim, Germany from which it participated in Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm receiving a Valorous Unit Award. In 1996 it served in Bosnia and in 1999 in Albania. The 2-6th Cavalry participated in the invasion of Iraq in 2003 with the 11th Aviation Brigade. From February 2005 to February 2006 the 2nd Squadron served in Afghanistan as part of Task Force Griffin. On 6 June 2006 the 2nd Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment was reassigned to the Combat Aviation Brigade, 25th Infantry Division with station at Wheeler Army Airfield, Hawaii as a reconnaissance/attack squadron equipped with the OH58D helicopter. The 2nd Squadron was selected by the Department of the Army to receive the Brigadier General Carl I. Hutton Memorial Award for 2006 in recognition of the squadron’s outstanding professionalism and its contributions to the advancement of flight safety. The award is given annually by the Order of Daedalians, a military aviator society founded in 1921. From August 2006 to October 2007 the 2nd Squadron served in Iraq with the Combat Aviation Brigade, 25th Infantry Division. The squadron was based at Kirkuk and supported combat operations of the Multinational Division-North including those of the Tropic Lightning’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team.
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1st Cavalry 1st Cavalry Regiment
(1st Regiment of Dragoons)
“Animo Et Fide”
(“Courageous and Faithful”)
16 December 2006 The 5th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment was first constituted on 2 March 1833 in the Regular Army as Company E, United States Regiment of Dragoons. Company E was organized on 29 June 1833 in New York city and joined the regiment at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri on 4 August 1833. Elements of the regiment were first stationed in the Arkansas Territory and at Forts Leavenworth and Des Monies. On 15 May 1836 the regiment was redesignated as the 1st Regiment of Dragoons. During the period from activation to 1846 the regiment conducted explorations of new territory and preserved law and order among Indian tribes and settlers. In the Mexican War 1846-1847several companies of the 1st Dragoons participated in the defeat of Mexican forces defending New Mexico and southern California while other companies accompanied American forces invading Mexico including Company E which fought in the battle of Coahuila in 1846 and in the battle of Buena Vista in 1847. The regiment then returned to the West with the regimental headquarters first located at Fort Union, New Mexico in 1854 and then at Fort Tejon, California near Los Angeles in 1856. Companies of the regiment were stationed in the Pacific Northwest as well as New Mexico and California engaged in fighting Indian tribes with Company E serving primarily in the Oregon Territory. On 3 August 1861 the regiment was redesignated as the 1st Cavalry Regiment. In 1862 with the start of the Civil War the regiment boarded ships in Los Angeles and sailed to Washington DC. The 1st Cavalry distinguished itself in many of the most famous battles of the Civil War including Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Petersburg and Appomattox. Upon conclusion of the Civil War the 1st Cavalry returned to the West Coast by ship. Headquartered at Fort Vancouver, Washington Territory, the regiment was scattered at company-sized posts in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, California and Arizona from which campaigns against hostile Indian tribes were undertaken. Company E served in Arizona from 1866 to 1873 against the Apaches. In 1877 the 1st Cavalry participated in the intense and bloody campaign to subjugate the Nez Perces Indians in Idaho and Montana and then against the Bannocks Indians in Idaho in 1878. In 1884 the regiment was transferred to the Dakotas and participated in the Pine Ridge campaign of 1890-91. In the War with Spain the 1st Cavalry participated in the invasion of Cuba in June – July 1898 seeing dismounted action at Las Guasimas, San Juan Hill and Santiago. From 1900-1903 the regiment with its horses was sent to the Philippine island of Luzon to engage Filipino insurgents in what became known as the Philippine Insurrection. During WWI the regiment provided border protection against Mexican bandits. In August 1921 the 1st Cavalry Regiment was assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Bliss Texas. In January 1933 the 1st Cavalry Regiment was reassigned to the 7th Cavalry Brigade (Mechanized) at Fort Knox, Kentucky as a mechanized cavalry regiment. On 15 July 1940 the regiment was redesignated as the 1st Armored Regiment and assigned to the 1st Armored Division. In WWII the 1st Armored Regiment first saw action in the Allied invasion of North Africa in 1942 participating in intense combat with the German Afrika Corps at Kasserine Pass and other locations in Tunisia. The 1st Armored Regiment next saw action in Italy beginning on 6 January 1944 in the Naples-Foggia campaign. Then on 24th January the 1st was inserted into the Allied beachhead at Anzio and was instrumental in stopping German attempts to drive the Allies into the sea. The Allies successfully broke out of the Anzio beachhead led by the 1st Armored Division in May 1944 and fought to and liberated Rome on 4 June 1944. The 1st Armored Division then drove north to the Arno River. On 20 July 1944 the 1st Armored Division went into reserve and was reorganized from regiments into separate battalions. In the reorganization the 2nd Battalion, 1st Armored Regiment including Company E was disbanded. The remainder of the regiment was organized and designated as the 1st Tank Battalion. The battalion subsequently participated in the stiff fighting in the North Apennines and Po Valley campaigns. Upon the surrender of German forces in northern Italy on 2 May 1945 the 1st Tank Battalion moved to Germany for occupation duty. On 1 May 1946 the 1st Tank Battalion was relieved from assignment to the 1st Armored Division, reorganized and redesignated as the 1st Constabulary Squadron, 15th Constabulary Regiment with station at Knielingen, West Germany. The squadron conducted law enforcement and security missions around the city of Karlsruhe until its inactivation on 20 December 1948. On 1 March 1951 it was reorganized and redesignated as the 1st Medium Tank Battalion and assigned to the 1st Armored Division at Fort Hood Texas. On 27 February 1951, Company E, 2nd Battalion, 1st Armored Regiment was reconstituted as Company B, 100th Tank Battalion and activated at Fort Hood as an element of the 1st Armored Division then was inactivated on 15 February 1957 at Fort Polk, Louisiana. On 15 February 1957 the 1st Cavalry was designated a parent regiment under the Combat Arms Regimental System. On 15 April 1966 Troop E, 1st Cavalry was activated as the brigade reconnaissance troop of the 11th Infantry Brigade at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. Troop E arrived in Vietnam on 19 December 1967 and participated in extensive ground combat in Quang Ngai and Quang Tin provinces through eleven campaigns, receiving the Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry for service in 1969-1970 with the 11th Infantry Brigade, 23rd Infantry Division (Americal). Troop E was inactivated in Vietnam on 13 November 1971. On 31 December 1972 Troop E was reactivated as an air cavalry reconnaissance troop and assigned to the 172nd Infantry Brigade at Fort Wainwright, Alaska. It was inactivated on 15 March 1987. It was reactivated on 16 April 1998 as a ground reconnaissance troop at Fort Wainwright with the 172nd Infantry Brigade and inactivated on 15 November 2003. On 16 December 2006, Troop E, 1st Cavalry Regiment was reorganized, redesignated and activated as Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 5th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment (organic squadron elements concurrently constituted and activated) and assigned to the 1st Brigade Combat Team (Stryker), 25th Infantry Division at Fort Wainwright, Alaska.
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