The 6th Cavalry Squadron; Eindhoven, February 4 – 11, 2019

6th Attack Recon Squadron 17th Cavalry; Text and Photograph's by Alex van Noye

The soldiers of the 6th Attack Reconnaissance Squadron of the 17th Cavalry are deployed in Europe for nine months as part of the ongoing mission to deter potential Russian aggression. Operation Atlantic Resolve started shortly after the annexation of the Crimea by Russia in 2014 as support for the European partners.

The cavalry is an equestrian people in an army and it is traditionally the name for the military unit which moved and fought on horseback. This is in contrast to the infantry who fights on foot and moves on foot. Within the armed forces, the term cavalry nowadays mainly consists of units with armored vehicles. In the United States, there are also many cavalry units that are equipped with helicopters to perform their duties. To make the difference between a mechanized unit and a helicopter unit, the flying cavalry units are not referred to as a troop, but as a squadron. The 17th Cavalry Regiment (17 CAV) is a historic organization within the US Army. The unit started as a cavalry regiment after the Pancho Villa Expedition. The unit was established in the regular army as the 17th cavalry in Fort Bliss, Texas on July 1, 1916. This cavalry was originally deactivated again in the Monterey Presidio in California on September 26, 1921. The cavalry used to be part of the Combat Arms Regimental System from the 50s and was then reorganized as part of the Regiment system of the US Army. Nowadays the units of the 17th Cavalry Regiment are divided among the various Combat Aviation Brigades (CAB) of the army. The units that are part of the 17th Cavalry Regiment are now referred to as squadrons that have been added to the CABs. The main tasks of these cavalry units are to explore targets and attack them immediately if needed. These units are nowadays referred to as the Cavalry Attack Reconnaissance Squadrons.

The units of the 17th Cavalry were not always referred to as squadrons. When the unit still existed as a ground unit during the Vietnam War, the units that fell under the 17 CAV were referred to as Troops. The unit consisted of seven Troops at the time. These units were referred to as Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot and Golf Troop. The 6th Squadron has its origins in the Foxtrot Troop. Troop F received four awards during the Vietnam war from the Cross of Gallantry of the Republic of Vietnam

with Palm and received the campaign partition credit for fourteen campaigns in Vietnam. Troop F was the last cavalry troop on the ground that would leave Vietnam on March 31, 1972. The unit was deactivated after his return from Vietnam. Only on November 16, 2005, Troop F was re-established. The unit was activated as the 6th Attack Reconnaissance Squadron 17th Cavalry. The number six corresponds to the letter F, which is the sixth letter in the alphabet. The other Troops of the 17th Cavalry were also organized in this way. The unit was activated on Wheeler Army Air Field in Hawaii and was assigned to the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade. From this moment on, the unit would fly with the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior as a flying squadron. It would not take long before the unit moved to Alaska. The 6th Squadron was moved to Fort Wainwright in Alaska in May 2006. Here, at this location, the unit was specifically assigned to the reconnaissance task.

The 6th Attack Reconnaissance Squadron was deactivated at Fort Wainwright in Alaska on September 15, 2015. Soon after, the unit would become active as part of the 4th Combat Aviation Brigade at Fort Carson in Colorado. This re-establishment took place on this basis on October 16, 2015. At Fort Carson, the unit was now referred to as the 6th Attack Reconnaissance Squadron of the 17th Cavalry Regiment (6-17th CAV (ARB)). The slogan of the unit is the text "Out Front, Sir". The OH-58D Kiowa Warrior was replaced by the modern AH-64D Apache combat helicopter. These days, the majority of the Cavalry Attack Reconnaissance Squadrons of the American Army are equipped with the Boeing AH-64D Apache combat helicopter. These helicopters are just like the Kiowa’s from the past capable of flying reconnaissance missions. To preserve the identity of the units of cavalry, the companies which are assigned to the 6 Squadron were not designated as Company, but as Troop. The 6th Squadron would be made up of three companies, just like the other units of the 4 CAB. These Troops, are; Attack Reconnaissance Troop Alpha (A/6-17th CAV (AR)) “Aces”, Attack Reconnaissance Troop Bravo (B/6-17th CAV (AR)) “Blackfoot” and Attack Reconnaissance Troop Charlie (C/6-17th CAV (AR)) "Crazy Horse".

During Operation Atlantic Resolve, the 6th Squadron was sent to Europe to deliver the European support package with the units of the 4 CAB. The 6th Attack Reconnaissance Squadron had 24 AH-64D Apache combat helicopters and eight RQ-7 Shadow drones in Europe in 2018. The helicopter units arrived at the beginning of 2018 in the port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands. The helicopters are stationed in Germany and from there they fly missions to countries in Eastern Europe such as Poland, the Baltic States, Romania and Bulgaria. To be able to perform the reconnaissance role even better on the modern battlefield, the 6th Squadron also has a number of RQ-7 Shadow drones. In the German Grafenwoehr, this unit of the 17th Cavalry Regiment practiced the combination of this drone with Apache helicopters for the first time outside the United States in August 2018. The RQ-7 is a small drone capable of handling targets from a height. It is able to designate targets with a Laser pointer. In addition to designating the targets, drones are also very effective weapons for exploring an area for hostile activities. During this exercise, the drones identified targets which were subsequently attacked by Hellfire’s by the Apaches of the reconnaissance squadron. This training shows that the squadron is fully operational and ready to perform missions as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve. In February 2019, the unit, like the units of the 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, returned to Fort Carson in the United States. The units were relieved in Europe by the 1st Combat Aviation Brigade. Just as on arrival, the 4 CAB left via the port of Rotterdam.