12th Cavalry Regiment (United States)

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name=12th Cavalry Regiment


caption=12th Cavalry coat Of arms
country=USA
allegiance=
type=Cavalry Regiment
branch=Regular Army
dates=February 2, 1901–
specialization=Cavalry
command_structure=
size=
current_commander=
garrison=Fort Hood
ceremonial_chief=
nickname=
motto=Semper Paratus {Always Ready}
colors=Yellow
march=
mascot=
battles=World War II
Vietnam War
Iraqi War
notable_commanders=Captain Max Cleland
anniversaries=
identification_symbol=
identification_symbol_label=Distinctive Unit Insignia
identification_symbol_2=
identification_symbol_2_label=Cavalry
previous=11th Armored Cavalry Regiment
next=13th Cavalry RegimentThe 12th Cavalry is a cavalry regiment of the United States Army.

History

On February 2, 1901, Congress authorized the organization of the Twelfth Regiment of Cavalry, Army of the United States. Under this authority, the regiment was formed at Fort Sam Houston, Texas on February 8, 1901.

From 1901 until 1911, the Regiment served posts in Texas, Georgia, and the Philippines.

During World War II the 12th Cavalry served as an infantry regiment within the 1st Cavalry Division.

The regiment was deactivated prior to the 1st Cavalry Division's service in the Korean War, but its lineage was resurrected in with the creation in 1957 of the Combat Arms Regimental System, in which the battalions listed below were created.

After Operation Iraqi Freedom II, the 12th Cavalry Regiment underwent a major transition as elements from 2/7CAV, 1/9CAV, and 3/8CAV were reflagged and combined with the Regiment to create the battalions currently in operation. The 2nd Battalion, Twelfth Cavalry Regiment, as well as 2/7CAV and 1/9CAV moved to the 4th Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division, and are currently operating from Fort Bliss, Texas. The 1st Battalion, Twelfth Cavalry Regiment as well as 3/8CAV continue to operate at Fort Hood, Texas, and are now with the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division. It has not been the same since a certain SPC has left.

1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry

The Regiment returned to Texas to conduct border patrol duty in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. There the 1st Squadron engaged small detachments of raiding bandits until February 22, 1916.

The 1st Squadron then reported for duty to Corozal in the Panama Canal Zone. The Squadron remained in Corozal until 1921 when the Regiment was reorganized during the drawdown following the First World War.

On January 3, 1933 the Twelfth Cavalry was assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division and participated in division maneuvers. The unit was reorganized as an infantry regiment in preparation for overseas service.

The Twelfth Cavalry arrived in Australia on July 26, 1943 and began six months of jungle and amphibious training. The Regiment's first assault in the Pacific War came on February 29, 1944 when her soldiers assaulted the Los Negros Islands in the Admiralty Islands, north of New Guinea. The Twelfth Cavalry was assigned to the Leyte-Samar Campaign and helped liberate those islands from Japanese control in spite of stubborn resistance. Continuing the attack onto the island of Luzon, Regimental history was highlighted on February 3, 1945 when a flying column of Cavalrymen cut a 100 mile path through enemy-held territory to be the "First in Manila".

After World War II, the Twelfth Cavalry settled in for occupation duty in Japan and was inactivated on March 29, 1949. The Twelfth Cavalry was reactivated on February 15, 1957 as part of the 1st Armored Division at Fort Polk, Louisiana. The 1st Squadron was designated "1st Reconnaissance Squadron."

The Twelfth was again inactivated on February 3, 1962. On September 1, 1963 the squadron was redesignated the First Battalion and reactivated and assigned to the First Cavalry Division in Korea. In June 1965, the battalion's colors were returned to Fort Benning, Georgia and assigned to a battalion of the 11th Air Assault Division (Test), in preparation for duty in the Republic of Vietnam.

During the Vietnam conflict, units of the Battalion participated in 12 campaigns and earned three Presidential Unit Citations and three Valorous Unit Awards for actions against the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army. On May 5, 1971 the Battalion returned from Vietnam to its new home at Fort Hood, Texas.

On June 15, 1983, the 1st Battalion was relieved of its assignment to the First Cavalry Division and was inactivated at Fort Hood, Texas. Three years later, on October 4, 1986, the Battalion was reactivated as the 1st Squadron at Fort Knox, Kentucky. There, the squadron assumed the mission of training new armor soldiers. On December 16, 1992 the Squadron was redesignated the First Battalion and moved to Fort Hood, Texas.

As of May 2003, the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry transitioned to the M1A2 SEP tank - the first unit in the 1st Cavalry Division to do so.

In March 2004, 1st Battalion deployed as part of 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division to East Baghdad, Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom II. Organized as a Task Force with attached infantry and engineer companies and operating from Camp Eagle outside Sadr City, 1-12 CAV battled the Mahdi Army of Muqtada al-Sadr throughout 2004. Commanded by LTC Tim Meredith, with senior NCO CSM Donald Battle, Task Force 1-12 Cavalry racked-up one of the most successful records for defeating enemy forces, executing significant civil-military programs, and providing excellent force protection.

The battalion gained more fame in July of 2007, during full spectrum operations in Baquba during which time an individual in the first platoon element of A co, 1-12 Cav, Spc Matuzewski fired rounds at the 2nd platoon element. Shortly before this act, he was told repeatedly as to the whereabouts of the 2nd platoon element, but showed blatant disregard for the safety of his comrades as he apparently was not paying attention. Later that day, when being interviewed about his shenannigans by independent photo-journalist Michael Yon, he laughed when questioned about his incident. He has since been sent to the E-5 board, and is now a leader of soldiers.

2d Battalion, 12th Cavalry

As of 1933, the Squadron was headquartered at Fort Ringgold, near Rio Grande City, the Second of the 12th rode patrols along the southern border for almost forty years under different headquarters. Late in 1940, the battalion returned to Fort Bliss and trained for war as part of the 1st Cavalry Division's Second Brigade and participated in the historic Louisiana Maneuvers.

The battalion traded its horses for jeep and amphibious assault vehicles in February 1943. In mid-June 1943, the Division shipped out for Australia, where it trained in preparation for combat on the Pacific Rim. The battalion saw its first combat on Los Negros Island in March 1944.

The battalion also participated in the invasion of the Philippines. Landing on Leyte on October 20, 1944, the regiment was assigned the most difficult terrain in the central mountain ranges and faced fierce fighting. The fight was characterized by the bloody fight for Hill 2348 on November 15. After being cut off from their supply lines, the battalion held off waves of suicide attacks. Finally on the night of December 2, the troopers counterattacked and took the hill. The First Team took Leyte killing 56,200 enemy soldiers while losing 241 of their own.

On January 27, the battalion stormed ashore on Luzon. It took six months, but on June 30, 1945, the entire island was secured. Selected by MacArthur to be the first into Japan, the battalion took on occupation duty near Yokohama until its deactivation in 1949.

Reactivated in 1957, the battalion deployed to Vietnam in 1965 and fought the Division's first engagement from September 18 to September 20 as part of Operation Gibraltar. During the Tet Offensive, the battalion played a critical role in the 3rd Brigade's successful mission to relieve Hue. The Battalion participated in the Cambodian Incursion and earned its 16th Campaign streamer for the Sanctuary Counteroffensive. On March 26, 1971, the battalion stood down after five and a half years of daily combat in the jungles of Vietnam and returned to the United States at Fort Hood, TX for permanent duty for the first time since 1943. After progressing from Tri Cap to Armor division configurations in the 70's, the "Blue Lancers" of 2/12 Cav found themselves as a mechanized infantry battalion, equipped with M113A1 armored personnel carriers (APC)s. The battalion participated in several deployments on REFORGER as well as having been tasked as one of the test beds for the 1st Cavalry Division's Restructure Study (DRS). For the next several years, 2/12 Cav (Mech) was thoroughly engaged in the peacetime training and preparation of its officers, NCOs, and enlisted soldiers in the eventuality of a combat deployment to Europe during the Cold War against Warsaw Pact forces. Shortly after the arrival of the M1 Tank at Fort Hood in 1981, the "Last of the Blue Lancers..." [some immortal words uttered one day by an anonymous staff sergeant] finally faded away when 2/12 Cav (Mech) was re-flagged as 3/10 Cav (Armor). An interesting note about the unit was that at one time--shortly before it completed its transition to armor--2/12 Cav (Mech) was the only mechanized infantry battalion in the US Army that was tank-gunnery qualified.

The unit was reactivated in 1986, with the mission of training Armor officers at Fort Knox. The battalion's colors were later moved to the First Team at Fort Hood, Texas in December 1992. Since then, the Chargers have aggressively defended freedom and set high standards in training at places like the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California. In the summer of 1995, Alpha company was called out with Task Force 1-5 CAV on a contingency response to hostilities in the Persian Gulf. A year later, from September to December 1996, Bravo and Charlie company deployed with Task Force 1-5 Cavalry again, this time as a part of 3rd Brigade for Operation Desert Strike. Despite not being on an alert status, Bravo and Charlie companies mustered, deployed, drew propositioned equipment and occupied defensive battle positions in 96 hours. Meanwhile, with two companies plus their support slices deployed, the remainder of the battalion turned in the battalion's 58 M1A1 HC tanks to General Dynamics War Reserve.

In January 1997, the 2nd Battalion drew the new M1A2 tanks, making it the most lethal battalion in the world. The winds of sand blew again for the Chargers in June 1997. This time the entire task force deployed to Kuwait, drew propositioned equipment, and initiated a rigorous two and a half month training cycle known as Intrinsic Action 97-02. The Chargers battled blowing sand, 130-plus degree temperatures, and 50 mile an hour winds, all while maintaining an above 90% operational readiness rate and a high quality of life for the soldiers.

In the fall of 1998 2nd Brigade was organized into a Task Force with 1-5 Inf and 1-12 Armor, to go to Bosnia as SFOR5. To avoid complication of two battalions of 'Chargers' 2-12 Armor was redesignated as the 'ThunderHorse' Battalion.

In October 2006, 2-12 CAV deployed as part of 4th BCT, 1st CAV out of Ft. Bliss Texas to support Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Battalion was attached to 2BCT, 1ID in western Baghdad. As part of Task Force Dagger, 2-12 CAV patrolled the Baghdad neighborhoods of Gazyaliyah and Shulla. 2-12 CAV redeployed to Ft. Bliss in December 2007.

In March 2008, 2-12 CAV was reflagged as 1st Battalion, 77th Armor "Steel Tigers".

External links

* [http://www.hood.army.mil/1stcavdiv/menu/units/3rd/1-12cav.htm 1-12CAV's official website]
* [http://www.hood.army.mil/1stcavdiv/menu/units/4th/2-12cav.htm 2-12CAV's official website]