“Ready And Forward,” unit motto of the 10th Cavalry Regiment, is an apt description of the Regiment's history since its creation in 1866. Over its 150-years-plus history, the Regiment earned campaign participation credit in the Indian Wars, War With Spain, Philippine Insurrection, Mexican Expedition, World War I, World War II, Vietnam War, and most recently the War on Terrorism. Since 2003, the Regiment and/or units belonging to the Regiment have been honored with two Presidential Unit Citations, two Meritorious Unit Commendations, and two Valorous Unit Awards. As of Summer 2023, the Regiment's lone active unit is its 4th Squadron, assigned to the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division and stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado.
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
“Buffalo Soldiers,” the Regiment's nickname, is taken from the moniker assigned Cavalry regiments made up of African-American Soldiers serving in the 19th century. While the origin of the nickname can not be confirmed unequivocally, it almost certainly originated not with fellow U.S. Cavalry Soldiers, but with the Plains Indians, and it became the inspiration for the design of the Regiment's Distinctive Unit Insignia (DUI), or unit crest, that was approved in March 1922.
Consisting simply of a bison racing right or left (the DUI is worn in pairs), the leftward facing bison on the unit's coat of arms represents the westward movement of settlers across the U.S. In the 19th century. Black and gold, the colors on which the buffalo is standing represent the African-American Soldiers who made the phrase “Buffalo Soldiers” famous and the high standards of excellence to which they adhered.
Although the insignia was assigned to the 510th Tank Battalion for a brief period, it was redesignated for the 10th Cavalry on 12 May 1959.
Full guidance on wear of the DUI is found in DA Pamphlet 670-1,
Section 21-22, "Distinctive unit insignia" and 21–3(d) and (e),
"Beret" and
"Garrison Cap," respectively.