5th Squadron-7th Cavalry
In early 2004, the 5th squadron was created as part of the Army’s transformation towards modularity. The 5th squadron serves as part of the 1st Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized).
The 7th Regiment, known as the "Garry Owen Regiment," was constituted by act of Congress and War Department General Order 56 on 1 August 1866 at Fort Riley, Kansas under command of Colonel Andrew Jackson Smith. Its ranks were filled with a hard-bitten crew of trappers, frontiersmen, and Civil War veterans.
The 7th Cavalry Regiment received its baptism by fire in 1867, as a part of an expedition against the Cheyenne. On 27 November 1868, the 7th Cavalry swept down on Black Kettle's sleeping village of Cheyenne, and took them completely by surprise. During the Indian Campaigns (1866-1891), the 7th Cavalry acquired the reputation as the most experienced and capable mounted regiment in the U.S. Army. Under such leaders as Brevet Major General George A. Custer, the regiment fought innumerable battles against the Sioux, Cheyenne, and Nez Perce Indians while setting a pattern for fighting men of courage and devotion to duty. On the command "Forward" and the playing of Custer's favorite tune "Garry Owen," the troops stood ready for battle at all times.
On 25 June 1876, the regiment engaged in the infamous Battle of Little Big Horn in Montana. Despite the the crushing defeat, the engagement distinguished the 7th Cavalry Regiment. The battle gave the regiment one of six campaign streamers gained in the courage of the long and bloody Indian Wars. Fourteen troopers received the Congressional Medal of Honor during this period.
In the years that followed, the regiment was part of the Army of Pacification in Cuba and from 1905 to 1907, it helped combat the Phillipine Insurrection in Luzon. After fighting in these locations, the 7th Cavalry joined General John J. Pershing in the Mexican Punitive Expedition against the legendary Pancho Villa in 1916.
Serving with the 1st Cavalry in World War II, the 7th Cavalry garnered campaign streamers for New Guinea, Bismark Archipelago, Leyte, and Luzon campaigns and the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation. After the Leyte Campaign, forty-one Silver Stars were earned by the men of the 7th Cavalry out of 92 given to the entire Division.
The Regiment was chosen to escort General Douglas MacArthur into Tokyo. The Regiment served five years in Japan as part of the occupation force. Less than a month after the outbreak of hostilities in Korea, the 7th Cavalry drove 106 miles through enemy lines in twenty-four hours (the longest one day advance in military history) in order to join the 7th Infantry Division in Osan. It continued to fight with the 7th Infantry Division throughout the Korean War. The 7th Cavalry fought valiantly in the battles of the Naktong River, Seoul, the Chosen Resovoir, the Yalu, and "Operation Commando." The 7th Cavalry holds eight campaign stars for service in Korea.
After its service in Korea, the 7th Cavalry returned to Japan with the 1st Cavalry Division to assist in the mission of protecting the island of Hokkaido from attack. In August of 1957, the regiment moved out of Japan in conjunction with the reduction of ground forces in Japan. Up until 1965, when the 4-7 Cavalry joined the 2d Infantry Division, the 7th Cavalry served honorably in Japan and Vietnam. The unit fought in Southwest Asia where it served with distinction. Thereafter, its new mission in Korea was to become the eyes and ears for the 2d Infantry Division along the Western Corridor of the Korean Peninsula. Its organization has changed repeatedly between numbers of air troops and ground troops, but its mission remained the same.
The 7th Cavalry displays forty-one campaign streamers. Additionally, it has received six Presidential Unit Citations, the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation, the Chryssoun Ariston Andrias Greek Bravery Citation, and two Korean Presidential Unit Citations.
