11th ACR names new HQ after Honorary Colonel

Photo By Spc. Gower Liu | Colonel Todd Hook, 69th Colonel of the Regiment, and Command Sgt. Maj. Ryan McLane, 24th Regimental Command Sergeant Major, pose with a group of Blackhorse Veterans who attended the Regimental Headquarters dedication ceremony. The building is dedicated to the memory of General Donn A. Starry, who served as the 41st Colonel of the Regiment from 1969 to 1970 in Vietnam.  

FORT IRWIN, CA, UNITED STATES

06.14.2022

Story by Capt. Evan Cain 

11th Armored Cavalry Regiment

The 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment's (ACR) new headquarters building, Starry Hall, was unveiled on June 10, 2022. The building is dedicated to the memory of General Donn A. Starry, who served as the 41st Colonel of the Regiment from 1969 to 1970 in Vietnam. He was also recognized as the first Honorary Colonel of the Regiment.

After his time at the 11th ACR, where he led the Regiment during the Cambodian Incursion, General Starry worked to modernize U.S. Army strategy. He commanded the U.S. Army Armor School (1973–1976), V Corps in Germany (1976–1977), and the newly formed Training and Doctrine Command (1977–1981). Starry conceptualized AirLand Battle doctrine, which prepared the Army for modern warfighting.

General Starry retired from the Army in 1983 as a four-star general, after serving as the commander for the U.S. Readiness Command (1981–1983). Starry passed away on August 26, 2011 in Canton, Ohio.

Starry Hall was dedicated at the conclusion of a visit from a group of approximately 70 Blackhorse veterans who were attending the 2022 Blackhorse Association Family Reunion in Las Vegas, Nevada. Colonel Todd Hook, 69th Colonel of the Regiment, gave his remarks to the veterans at the dedication ceremony.

“As our Army has come out of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan and other threats are emerging…we are going through an evolution in the Army that I think General Starry, when he was the TRADOC commander, was leading,” said Col. Hook. “We continue to serve our Army in what we do for our current mission. That is to go out there every month and give the Rotational Training Unit the hardest day in the desert. The men and the women of this Regiment take their mission very seriously.”

Prior to Starry Hall, the Regimental leadership had occupied the same Regimental headquarters building since the activation of the 11th ACR at the National Training Center and Fort Irwin, Calif,. in October 1994. Previously, the building was the headquarters of the 177th Armor Brigade.

Moments before uncovering the new signs, Col. Hook said in closing: “We have dedicated our time in command preserving the history and traditions of this great Regiment and you are a part of that. Know that we have dedicated our time not just for the here and now but those who came before us. That is you standing here right now.”

The 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment serves as the U.S. Army’s premiere Opposing Force, providing a near-peer adversary in a complex and multilayered exercise. In addition to force-on-force armored engagements, the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment also conducts dismounted urban operations; electronic and information warfare with drones, jammers, and radar; and mounted reconnaissance as well as all the activities to keep a brigade-sized force functional.

• Date Taken: 06.14.2022
• Date Posted: 06.14.2022 19:20
• Story ID: 422983
• Location: FORT IRWIN, CA, US