Cav kids earn their spurs in time for school

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Brandon Banzhaf | Jessante Harris, 3, shoots a water gun at a target during the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division kid spur ride.  

HARKER HEIGHTS, TX, UNITED STATES

08.28.2015

Story by Sgt. Brandon Banzhaf 

3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division

FORT HOOD, Texas – While most children across the country spend the last few weeks of August getting new school supplies, new clothes and preparing to advance to the next grade, one Cavalry unit added an extra item to their kids’ back-to-school list – cavalry spurs.

Children of Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, participated in a kids spur ride Aug. 25 at the Harker Heights Community Park.

While a traditional cavalry spur ride is designed to test a Trooper’s combat skills in a rigorous, multi-day event, the spur ride hosted for the children was a far lighter affair.

Replacing the Army Physical Fitness Test, weapons qualification and ruck marches with water gun target practice, softball “grenades” and safety lessons courtesy of the Harker Heights Fire Department the children were able to enjoy a fun and educational day with their parents – many of whom had recently returned from the Exportable Combat Training Capability training at Camp Shelby, Mississippi.

• Date Taken: 08.28.2015
• Date Posted: 08.28.2015 19:10
• Story ID: 174630
• Location: HARKER HEIGHTS, TX, US
• Hometown: KILLEEN, TX, US