Photo By Staff Sgt. John Onuoha | YAVORIV, Ukraine – Soldiers of 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Infantry...... read more read more
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By Spc. John Onuoha, 6-8 CAV., 2IBCT UPAR
YAVORIV, Ukraine – Spur rides are long time traditions in a Cavalry unit, but a spur ride on foreign soil is nothing typical.
The Troopers of 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division along with members of the California National Guard, Polish and Canadian contingents tested their mettle during the grueling 30-hour event here, September 28.
Soldiers with cavalry units are inducted into the Order of the Spur after successfully completing a spur ride. Every participant, known as shave-tails, go through a strenuous set physical and mental tests before they can earn the right to wear the coveted silver spurs.
The term shave-tail dates back to the start of United States cavalry in 1776. When green Troopers first arrived to their cavalry assignments, they were assigned a horse with a shaved tail and this led to the nickname for newly assigned Soldiers.
The spur ride, thought to be the first one ever held in Ukraine, consisted of 13 lanes. Each lane was observed by Spur-holders from the squadron to ensure the tasks were completed to the Cavalry standard. They were tasked with testing each shave-tail’s ability to continue despite difficulties and pushing each one to their limits.
“This spur ride was a mix of Soldiers proving their professionalism and exhibiting the fact that they are proficient in their reconnaissance tasks, and everything it takes to be a cavalry scout,” said 1st Lt. Christopher Tabush, the officer in charge of the spur ride exercise.
The spur ride gave the squadron the ability to build esprit de corps and camaraderie. Split into teams, the spur candidates had to stick together to finish as a unit.
“All the lanes were pretty fun and challenging,” said Pfc. Justin Montgomery, a spur candidate who is a scout with 6-8 CAV. “It felt great getting in there with people that I do not know, and coming out on the other side knowing that I have made friends through teamwork.”
Motivation and teamwork were key factors during the spur ride.
“Honestly I felt like I had the most motivated team out there. It made me realize that I could do some things that I thought I could not do. I also had the mentality to help my teammates because I did not want to fail them, and that was a huge part of my motivation,” said Montgomery.
Although the event was open to all, it upheld the rigorous and high standards of the Order of the Spur with only 60 spur candidates out of the initial 109 earning their spurs.
After completing the spur ride, the qualified candidates achieved their goal, September 29. Sitting on a mock horse in front of the squadron’s current spur holders, the shave-tails had their spurs slapped on their boots and finally became spur holders.
“When you get through it, you are just like, wow, I made it,” Montgomery said.
6-8 CAV is deployed to Ukraine in support of the Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine. Their primary focus is on direct training of Ukrainian land forces while simultaneously building an enduring and sustainable combat training center.
| Date Taken: | 09.28.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 10.03.2016 09:05 |
| Story ID: | 211163 |
| Location: | YAVORIV, UA |
| Web Views: | 310 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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