8th Cavalry Regiment
In Readiness
"Honor and Courage"
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On 05 May 1971, after 28 years, the colors of the 1st Cavalry Division, minus
those of the 3rd Brigade, were moved from Vietnam to Texas, its birthplace.
Using the assets and personnel of the 1st Armored Division, located at Fort
Hood, Texas the 1st Cavalry Division was reorganized, reassigned to III Corps
and received an experimental designation of the Triple-Capability (TRICAP)
Division. Its mission, under the direction of Modern Army Selected Systems
Test, Evaluation and Review (MASSTER) was to carry on a close identification
with and test forward looking combined armor, air cavalry and airmobile
concepts. The new 1st Cavalry Division consisted of the 1st Armored Brigade,
the 2nd Air Cavalry Combat Brigade (ACCB) the 4th Airmobile Infantry Brigade,
which the 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry, formally the 2nd Battalion, 52nd
Infantry, was assigned. Division Artillery provided the fire support and
Support Command provided normal troop support and service elements.
TRICAP, an acronym for TRIple-CAPability, was derived from combining the
ground (mechanized infantry or armor) capability, airmobile infantry and air
cavalry or attack helicopter forces. TRICAP I was held at Fort Hood, Texas
beginning in February 1972. The purpose of TRICAP I was to investigate the
effectiveness and operational employment of the TRICAP concept at battalion
and company levels when conducting tactical operations in a 1979 European
mid-intensity warfare environment. The exercise consisted of six phases;
movement to contact, defense and delay, exploitation, elimination of
penetration, rear area security and night elimination of penetration in an
adjacent area.
On 26 June 1972, the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry along with the 3rd Brigade
(Separate) was brought back to the United States, completing the last stage of
the "Vietnam recall" for the 1st Cavalry Division which had started over a
year earlier on 05 May 1971. On 28 June, the 2nd Battalion was inactivated at
Fort Hood, Texas. Their period of inactivation was short lived. On 20 April
1974, the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment was reactivated, redesignated
2nd Battalion, (Armor), 8th Cavalry and reassigned to the 1st Cavalry
Division, Fort Hood, Texas where it has been to the present.
The main body of the 1st Cavalry Division, at Fort Hood, under the direction
of MASSTER, continued to test future concepts of mobility and flexibility on
the battlefield. The tests continued for three and a half years were very
demanding. It was concluded that the employment of the TRICAP concept at the
battalion level appeared to have application in some tactical situations, but
employment at company level appeared to be feasible only for short periods of
combat and for special missions. Evaluation also indicated that air cavalry
would normally be controlled above the company level. The battalion task force
encountered no combat support problems directly attributable to the TRICAP
concept.
On 21 February 1975, the end of TRICAP evaluations, the mission of airmobile
anti-armor warfare was transferred to the 6th Cavalry Brigade (Air Combat)
co-located at Fort Hood, Texas and the 1st Cavalry Division was reorganized
and redesignated to become the newest Armored Division in the Army,
essentially the battle configuration it retains today. It would not be until
the end of the Gulf War and subsequent reorganization of 29 November 1992,
when the 1st Battalion, 67th Regiment, 2nd Armored Division would be reflagged
as the 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment and assigned to the 1st Cavalry
Division, filling out the present organization structure.
In 1980, as part of the continuous Force Modernization and Preparation for
combat of the unknown enemies of the future, the division was chosen to field
test the new XM-1 tank. At the same time the division shed the battle weary
M551 Sheridan armored reconnaissance airborne assault vehicles for M60 tanks.
Meanwhile, the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment and supporting troops of
the 8th Cavalry Regiment were deployed to Germany as part of the Emergency
Deployment Readiness Exercise to put together a combat ready tank battalion
using stored (prepositioned) equipment. This mission lead to the formation of
the annual autumn exercises to become known as REturn of FORces to GERmany
(REFORGER).
In September 1982, the division's first National Training Center (NTC)
rotation at Fort Irwin, located in the High Mojave Desert of California,
kicked off a long on-going series of tough, realistic desert battles which
enables the division to stay on the leading edge of warfare technology of
today. The first units to attend were the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry and 3rd
Battalion, 10th Cavalry of the 2nd Brigade. The Division now conducts three
NTC rotations per year.
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| 1st Cavalry Division Headquarters - 1980 |
The opening ceremonies for the new 1st Cavalry Division Headquarters Building
were held in July. A modern brick, 124,000 square-foot facility replaced the
original World War II structures, enabling the housing of the Division Staff
under one roof. Major General William C. Chase (Retired), who commanded the
Division in the final days of World War II through the occupation of Japan,
participated in the ribbon cutting which was held during the 36th reunion of
the Association.
In the fall of 1983, the division deployed to Europe for the annual REFORGER
exercises. This deployment was consistent with the contingency plans for its
NATO reinforcement role. REFORGER '83 was the largest deployment of the
division since Vietnam. A real test of war equipment repositioned stocks,
REFORGER also marked the first time the exercise was lead by the Dutch.
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Four years later, the 1st Cavalry Division deployed on REFORGER '87 with the
2nd Armored Division. With the decline of the role of the Warsaw Pact, the
sizes of subsequent REFORGER deployments were reduced, but command and
control elements continued to evaluate the need for equipment types and
repositioning of "war stocks" along with development of contingency plans to
ensure the reliability and effectiveness of combat readiness, should
deployment become necessary.
At Fort Hood, the division through deliberate planning, evolved into the
combat unit which would be eventually assigned a major role in the Gulf War.
Along with the constant training of personnel, equipment was updated. The
XM-1 tank, renamed the M1 Abrams, was accepted and issued, along with
the BFV (Bradley M2 Infantry) and CFV (M3 Cavalry) fighting vehicles. New
technology was fielded in the MLRS (Multiple Launched Rocket Systems) and the
AH-64 Apache helicopter with its "Hellfire" guided missile. The old reliable
Jeep bowed to the HEMTT (Heavy Expanded Multi-purpose Tactical Truck), capable
of hauling fuel, ammunition and various cargos, and the HMMWV (High Mobility
Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicle, configured as troop/cargo carrier, light
armored personnel carrier, communications equipment carrier and ambulance, -
both of which proved to be invaluable in the Gulf War.
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Along with the hardware technology changes, communication innovations made
possible quantum leaps in command and control operations by the fielding of
MSE (Mobile Subscriber Equipment) which, essentially cellular telephones
for both fixed sites and mobile vehicles, provides secure mobile voice/data
and facsimile service. The MSE is augmented by SINGARS, the Single Channel
Ground to Air Communication System, which provides unprecedented security
using frequency hopping technology.
All of this new equipment saw hard operational use at Fort Hood and by the
deployment of brigades to the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, located
in the High Mojave Desert of California. This facility encompasses 1,000
square miles for maneuver training against the best trained opposing force in
the world. The mission of Fort Irwin is to provide tough, realistic combined
arms training at battalion task force level using both live fire and opposing
forces. To carry out this mission, the National Training Center has a
computerized, live-fire complex with sophisticated targetry, a full-time
opposing force, a state-of-the-art range instrumentation system that monitors
training battles and full-time combat trainers who observe and control units
during exercises.
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This effective training could have not come at a more opportune time in the
history of the First Team. On 07 August 1990, a deployment order for the
Southwest Asia operations was issued. Plans calling for the division to deploy
by 15 September extended the work day to 14, 16 and in some cases 24 hours.
On schedule, by mid September over 800 heavy loaded vehicles were loaded at
the Fort Hood railhead to make the trip to the seaports of Houston and
Beaumont. An additional 4,200 vehicles formed road conveys that left every two
hours, around the clock.
On 16 September, in the final drama, soldiers assembled for roll call,
answering their name as called on the manifest. They were ready as the moment
came; busses pulled up and were loaded for the trip to the airfield, The time
for future memories had begun as a US Air Force C5A Galaxy, carrying the
advanced party of headquarters staff, left Fort Hood, Robert Gray Army
Airfield, heading to their rendezvous with destiny.
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