February 13, 2019 marked the 90th anniversary of the founding of the 124th Cavalry Regiment, constituted in the Texas National Guard in 1929 organized the following month from existing units in central Texas; it was Federally recognized on 15 March 1929. Inducted into Federal Service in November 1940 at home stations, it was subsequently reorganized and redesignated as the 124th Cavalry, Special in mid-September 1944.
The Regiment was broken up in 1946, but in 1959 several of its component units were consolidated with the 136th Tank Battalion to form the 124th Armor, a parent regiment under the Combat Arms Regimental System (CARS); four years later it was reorganized and redesignated as the 124th Cavalry on 15 March 1963. It was withdrawn from CARS in March 1987 and reorganized under the U.S. Army Regimental System.
Nicknamed the “Mars Men” for the symbol of the Roman god of war found on its unit crest, it currently consists solely of the 1st Squadron, 124th Cavalry Regiment, 56th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 36th Infantry Division. The 1st Squadron’s most recent deployment was in 2018 when it was sent to Egypt as Task Force Mars to serve as Multinational Force and Observers to enforce the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty signed in 1979.
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The 124th Cavalry Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia, also called a unit crest or a DUI, was originally approved for the 124th Cavalry Regiment on 6 April 1935. It was redesignated for the 124th Mechanized Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron on 29 April 1949, and nearly twenty years later (January 1967) it was redesignated once again for the 124th Cavalry Regiment, amended to add the crest with the star and wreaths and the symbol for World War II service.
That symbol is a lion grasping the astrological symbol for Mars, and commemorates the unit’s participation in the Central Burma and India-Burman campaigns in World War II. The lion is taken from the seal of Burma (now called Myanmar), while the sign of Mars—the god whom Romans saw as the protector of Soldiers—is a reference to the Mars Task Force which the unit was part of during World War II. The crest is the seal of Texas, famously known as the “Lone Star State.” The unit motto, GOLPEO RAPIDAMENTE, translates in English as “I Strike Quickly.”
Distinctive Unit Insignias are worn by all Soldiers (except General Officers) in units that have been authorized to be issued the device. It is worn centered on the shoulder loops of the Army Green Service Uniform (AGSU) and the blue Army Service Uniform (ASU, Enlisted only) with the base of the insignia toward the outside shoulder seam. More 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.