5th Squadron, 6th Cavalry
The 5th Squadron, 6th Cavalry traces its roots to 4 May 1861 when the unit was initially constituted in the regular army of the United States as E Company, 3d Cavalry. In August of that same year, the unit was officially redesignated as E Company, 6th Cavalry and assigned to duty with the Army of the Potomac during the nation's civil war. Later, the unit saw action in the Indian Wars; in Cuba during the Spanish American War; in China as part of the China Relief Expedition; in the Philippines during the insurrection; in Mexico during the Punitive Expedition in search of Pancho Villa; and in France during World War I. During World War II, the unit saw action in France, Belgium and Germany as part of General Patton's 3d Army. In Belgium, the unit earned the Presidential Unit Citation for "breaking the back of German resistance in the Harlange Pocket" during the latter stages of the Battle of the Bulge. Since 1945, the unit was stood down and reactivated several times.
1987 ushered in a new era for the unit as one of the army's first AH-64 attack helicopter battalions. The squadron was organized with five troops - a headquarters and service troop, three attack helicopter troops, and a provisional Aviation Unit Maintenance (AVUM) troop. The headquarters and service troop included the squadron staff elements, a class III/V platoon, a communications section, a motor maintenance section, a food service section, and a command aviation section with three UH-60s and one OH-58C. Each attack helicopter troop included an attack platoon with six AH-64As and an aeroscout platoon with four OH-58Cs. The AVUM troop included a maintenance section, an armament section, and a component repair section. Total aircraft in the squadron was 34 (18 AH-64s, 13 OH-58s, 3 UH-60s).
During the downsizing of USAREUR, from 1992-1993, the 12th Aviation Brigade underwent restructuring, inactivating the 5-6 Cavalry Regiment on 15 June 1992).
