Cav troops prepare for Korea departure

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Brandon Banzhaf | A Soldier with the 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, stands as an usher at the battalion’s color casing ceremony on Cooper Field, Sept. 25 at Fort Hood, Texas. The battalion will serve with the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division in South Korea during their nine-month-long tour. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Brandon Banzhaf, 3rd BCT PAO, 1st Cavalry Division/released)  

FORT HOOD, TX, UNITED STATES

09.26.2014

Story by Sgt. Brandon Banzhaf 

3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division

FORT HOOD, Texas – Soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division cased the battalion’s colors on Cooper Field Sept. 25 at Fort Hood, Texas. The casing of the colors symbolizes the departing of the unit from Fort Hood en route to the Republic of Korea for a nine-month tour.

“It is said, that the very soul of a unit is symbolized in its colors and its battle streamers,” said Lt. Col. Elliot Rogers, commander of 3rd Bn., 8th Cav. Regt. “These colors remind us of the past, stand guard over the present and provide inspiration for the unit’s future.”

The unit will bring approximately 800 Soldiers to replace 1st Bn., 12th Cav. Regt., also of 3rd BCT, but will use the vehicles and other equipment already in place to carry out its mission at Camps Hovey and Stanley.

The battalion’s role on the peninsula is to operate as a Combined Arms Battalion. A new formation in today’s army, the CAB is designed to be nearly self-sustaining on the modern battlefield. The addition of a third Combined Arms Battalion in South Korea brings added capability to 2nd Infantry Division’s 1st BCT, to which 3-8 Cav. Regt. will be attached.

“Once again, [the battalion’s] colors are about to embark on a historic journey, a journey that will add another chapter to the long and proud legacy, a journey that will protect the sacrifice of those that have gone before us,” Rogers said. “We rest easy knowing that Fort Hood and the surrounding communities are supporting our Families and our rear detachment.”

• Date Taken: 09.26.2014
• Date Posted: 09.26.2014 17:44
• Story ID: 143448
• Location: FORT HOOD, TX, US