The 9th Cavalry Regiment’s origins go back to the constitution of the 9th Cavalry in the Regular Army, which was later selected to be the first Cavalry regiment consisting of African-American Soldiers. Later dubbed “Buffalo Soldiers” (for reasons that are somewhat hazy), the Regiment adopted the motto, “We Can, We Will” as it entered a period of two decades of service in the Indian Wars. The Regiment eventually earned credit for participation in no fewer than ten of the fourteen Indian War campaigns.
While the Regiment did not deploy to Europe for World War I, it did see action in the War With Spain and the Philippine Insurrection. During World War II, the Regiment was assigned to the Mediterranean to serve as a source of troop reinforcements for units in combat, earning a European-African-Middle Eastern Theater WWII streamer but without a specific campaign inscription. During the Vietnam War, the Regiment’s 1st Battalion served as newly developed “Air Cavalry” created for the new paradigm of air assault, earning three Presidential Unit Citations and five Valorous Unit Awards. During the War on Terrorism, the Regiment has been awarded a trio of Meritorious Unit Commendations and a pair of Valorous Unit Awards.
Today, the Regiment comprises three squadrons—1st, 4th, and 6th—all assigned to either the 1st or 2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Fort Cavazos (known as Fort Hood up until May 2023)..
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Also known as a unit crest or DUI, a Distinctive Unit Insignia is 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. DUIs are not worn on the Dress variations of either uniform, however.