This may be a very dumb question to most, but are all Cav units simply Cavalry MOS's, i.e. 19D, etc?

SPC Darin Day — Mon, 16 May 2016 19:38:48 -0400

I know this is very vague, but the reason I ask is that while working on a recent project I was talking to an NCO at a nearby ARNG Cav Unit and the topic of Stetson's, etc. came up. The person I was talking to got very disgruntled and said they were Infantry. Color me confused. Is there someone who can help me out?

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made May 16 at 2016 7:40 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 16 May 2016 19:40:50 -0400

No. Cav units have infantry, mortars, whatever, and support like any other unit. Even Cav units like 3d and 2nd CR are mostly infantry.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made May 16 at 2016 7:42 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 16 May 2016 19:42:55 -0400

No there is a mixture of infantry and armor. However it is predominantly armor MOS

Response by CPT Daniel Glorsky made May 16 at 2016 7:45 PM

CPT Daniel Glorsky — Mon, 16 May 2016 19:45:20 -0400

Infantrymen and officers can wear Stetsons if they are part of a cavalry unit. In 1 CD, the infantry combined arms battalions are part of cavalry regiments (I.e. 1-12 Cavalry Regiment, not Infantry Regiment). So, even non 19 series can wear Stetsons in these types of units. Even in an IBCT, where most of the brigade's battalions are part of an infantry regiment , the 11C in the IBCT's cavalry squadron can wear a Stetson (but probably only if you force them)

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made May 16 at 2016 7:47 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 16 May 2016 19:47:22 -0400

Well let me lay the facts down. Yes there are pure Cavalry Organizations. However, the majority of the Cavalry Squadrons are now found in Light Infantry Brigades. Yes, there is a lot of animosity between 19 and 11 series folks, just like you encountered with the National Guard NCO. There always will be tension between the two. Now if you want to find pure Cavalry Squadrons, they can still be found at Fort Hood, Fort Carson, and I believe Fort Bliss. The HBCTs or better known as Heavy Brigade Combat Teams are located there. Korea used to have 4/7 CAV but it is now a rotational unit. Hope that answers your question. Scouts Out!

Response by SPC Darin Day made May 16 at 2016 7:59 PM

SPC Darin Day — Mon, 16 May 2016 19:59:33 -0400

So when coming across various Troops, either Active or ARNG, how would one know if it was a Cav Troop or Infantry, etc? I'm assuming if a Cav Squadron is part of an Infantry Brigade Combat team that Squadron is infantry?

Response by SGM Billy Herrington made May 16 at 2016 9:30 PM

SGM Billy Herrington — Mon, 16 May 2016 21:30:51 -0400

Peter Pan boots and Harry Potter hats. Bleh

Lmao

Response by Capt Tom Brown made May 16 at 2016 9:35 PM

Capt Tom Brown — Mon, 16 May 2016 21:35:05 -0400

Being close to Ft Hood I always wondered about that too. Evidently if a person is a member of a Calvary unit they can wear the stetson regardless of their basic occupational specialty designator. You see a lot of stetsons around Ft Hood.

Response by Capt Tom Brown made May 17 at 2016 8:58 AM

Capt Tom Brown — Tue, 17 May 2016 08:58:15 -0400

SPC Darin Day I for one have learned something as a result of yr question so thanks for putting it out there. Here on RP a person can ask just about anything in good faith without concern about being slammed like on fb.

Response by SSG(P) Private RallyPoint Member made May 17 at 2016 10:20 AM

SSG(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 17 May 2016 10:20:11 -0400

Don't forget Air Cav units that are typically AH-64 Apache helicopters (the 1/17 Cav is the last Air Cav unit to fly the OH-58 Kiowa). But they too also have all the requisite support MOS' that a unit requires to stay up and running.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 5 at 2017 1:57 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 05 Jul 2017 13:57:15 -0400

Because not all Cavalry are on the ground. The 6th Cavalry is pure Air Cavalry with Apaches instead of Bradley's. As a unit designated as Cavalry, the majority of its personnel are Aviation Branch affiliated with a sprinkling of QM, AG, OD and others to round things out. In addition there are hybred Cavalry units made up of both ground and air elements. By doctrine all provide screening, flanking and reconnaissance missions on the battlefield.

Response by PFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 6 at 2017 8:01 PM

PFC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 06 Jul 2017 20:01:42 -0400

My unit is a Regimental Support Squadron or RSS to the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment . We consist of almost every suport MOS available at our level cooks, fuelers, supply, wheeled vic mechanics, track vic mechanics, electronics maintenance, medics, ect .
We are all authorized to wear the Stetson because we are all in the Cav

Response by Frank Garrett made Jul 6 at 2017 8:42 PM

Frank Garrett — Thu, 06 Jul 2017 20:42:10 -0400

My dad was in the 1st Cav/12th Cav Rgt/F Troop in 1937-39 at Ft Ringgild TX. He was very proud of his service there. One of the last true horse cav detachments according to him. I understand that horses were actually in theater in the Philippines in WWII. Semper Paratus

Response by CPL Howard McMillen made Jul 11 at 2017 6:07 AM

CPL Howard McMillen — Tue, 11 Jul 2017 06:07:04 -0400

If your unit is Cav you are Cav ..

Response by PFC David Gettman made Jul 11 at 2017 9:39 PM

PFC David Gettman — Tue, 11 Jul 2017 21:39:21 -0400

The current 2d Cavalry Regiment (2CR) is as diverse a unit as you will ever see in the military. Within the "regiment", which more closely resembles a brigade, you will find the majority are Infantry MOS but there are also a wide variety of other MOS included. Depending on the squadron, troop, and platoon, you will also have Scouts, Engineers, Medics, Mortars, Clerks, Cooks, Artillery, Finance, MI, MP's, Legal, Mechanics, Drone Operators, you name it. No more tanks in Europe (for now), but 2CR has the MGS.

One squadron, FIRES, is Artillery. Another squadron, just added recently, is PIONEER, made up of Engineers. Yet another squadron, MULESKINNER, is the RSS or Regimental Support Squadron made up of Cooks, Clerks, Finance, Medics, Mechanics, etc. Each squadron has assets from all these so they can operate independently from each other.

2CR currently has troopers deployed for joint training to nearly a dozen countries including Germany (home base Vilseck), Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Czech Republic, Finland, Romania, Hungary, and Saudi Arabia.

A gathering of 2CR troopers with all their different colored cords on their Stetsons looks a little like a gay pride parade.

Response by SFC Spence Larzeson made Jul 14 at 2017 9:53 AM

SFC Spence Larzeson — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 09:53:29 -0400

When I was in 3/8 Cav, a cavalry platoon had as much firepower as a Warsaw Pact Company. 5x M551's (after '77 M60's), 2x TOW tracks (M113), 2x Dragon tracks (M113), a M113 scout/C&C track, a 120mm Mortar track (M113) and 2x Hercules 125cc motorcycles.
Cavalry troopers were Deltas & DAT's with a few mortarmen thrown in for good measure.

Response by SFC Spence Larzeson made Jul 14 at 2017 9:54 AM

SFC Spence Larzeson — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 09:54:49 -0400

And we all got into fights with the infantry at Graf.

Response by SFC J Fullerton made Jul 14 at 2017 10:23 AM

SFC J Fullerton — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 10:23:35 -0400

As mentioned by others, Cavalry units do have mortar sections at the Troop level and mortar platoons in HHT. Armor Bn's also have a mortar platoon in HHC. Make no mistake, 11C's are blue cord wearing Infantryman.

Response by WO1 Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 16 at 2018 7:04 PM

WO1 Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 16 Jan 2018 19:04:30 -0500

No, there are Army Aviation Cavalry Squadrons that consist of Apache Attack helicopters and sometimes UAV’s