1/4TH CAV FIRST AIRBORNE RECON SQUADRON

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Well, here goes! Airborne!! We taught the Infantry
how to be Cavalry - Now I guess we'll have to teach
the Airborne.

1-4 CAV TRANSFORMS TO  "FIRST AIRBORNE RECON SQUADRON
 
SCHWEINFURT, Germany -- The last day of February
marked the first time since World War II that one 1st
Infantry Division cavalry unit was without armored
vehicles, moving them closer to being the first
airborne reconnaissance squadron in the Army.
As their last M1A1 Abrams tanks rolled onto the
Conn Barracks railhead in Schweinfurt, Germany,
Feb. 28, the 1st Squadron, 4th U.S. Cavalry Regiment
took one step closer to transforming from heavy to
light and joining the 173rd Airborne Brigade – based
at Vicenza, Italy.
“It’s a big day for this unit to transition away from
the track vehicles and get ready to go airborne,” said
CPT Daniel Baldi, Headquarters and Headquarters
Troop commander. “The big, significant thing is, in
line with the Army’s transformation, to get all of
these track vehicles and heavy vehicles out of the
squadron. It really paves the way for us to get ready
to accept the new (Modified Table of Organization
and Equipment) and be ready to take on the new
mission.”
More than six months ago, the squadron began to
change its training in anticipation of the impending
shift to light reconnaissance by increasingly focusing
on dismounted operations training for not only the
squadron’s scouts, but also the tankers.
“This is a humungous change,” said Baldi. “You go
away from the track vehicles and the huge logistics
footprint that comes along with that. Now with the
airborne (characteristic), it’s lighter, it’s faster, it’s
more mobile and easier to deploy. So it’s a complete
change from the standard that we’ve seen over the
last few years with the heavier equipment.”
“I can’t imagine a more complex set of tasks than
what this squadron’s been asked to do,” said LTC
Christopher Kolenda, 1-4 CAV commander.
During the shift in training, the squadron has had to
reconstitute all of its personnel and heavy equipment
from their deployment during Operation Iraqi
Freedom II. The unit immediately thereafter managed
about 40 percent of the unit’s redeploying Soldiers
for permanent changes of station, while processing
incoming Soldiers. Leadership meanwhile has also
been working to energize their Soldiers to cooperate
in changing the identity and culture of this heavy
cavalry unit. Squadron members have been gearing
up for airborne school, working to change the
tactics, techniques and procedures, and even
creating new unit songs and mottos.
Since members of the squadron employed the M1A1
Abrams tanks and M3A2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles
for patrols and missions during their deployment to
Iraq, the mood among Soldiers has been a mix of
optimism and sadness.
“It’s certainly a bitter-sweet day,” said Kolenda.
“These tanks have been to Bosnia; they’ve been to
Macedonia; they’ve been to Iraq. There’s a lot of
emotional attachment to these vehicles … so to see
them get on a train and depart, on the one hand it’s a
significant emotional event for all of us; on the other
hand, it’s another very important step to the future
as we turn in all of our heavy vehicles.”
“We’re taking tanks and Bradley’s out of a cavalry
unit,” said CSM John Fortune, 1-4 CAV command
sergeant major. “It’s what we’ve historically had.
These tanks have been here since June of ’96, so
this has been the workhorse for the cavalry squadron
for at least 10 years. So yes, it’s a sad day for the
cavalry to get rid of these big beasts back here.”
Fortune conceded, however, that many of the
Soldiers are excited about the transition.
“A lot of these 19K tankers have decided they want
to jump out of planes and be light reconnaissance
squadron members,” said Fortune. “We’ve got 17
guys at Fort Knox right now becoming 19D scouts
from the Armor force, and they’re all looking forward
to jumping out of planes – that’s for sure.”
“That’s the best part about the Army,” said SGT Mark
Hilbert, a scout with C Troop, 1-4 CAV. “You get to
do new things – interesting things – and the fact that
you can jump out of a plane and get paid for it – it’s
great.”
“It’s truly a unique opportunity in the Army,” said
Kolenda. “We are on the cutting edge of Army
transformation. And you see a lot of that happening
right here. There are a lot of Soldiers very, very
excited about this transformation.
The reenlistment rates are through the roof, and
people are really looking forward to the new mission,
to the opportunity to be in an airborne unit and at the
same time maintaining the spirit of the cavalry.”
(Story by SPC Stephen Baack, 1st Infantry Division
Public Affairs)