page_title: 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment
section_title: Support Squadron
hierarchical_section_title: 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment / Current organization / Support Squadron
caption_attribution_description: English: A US Army (USA) 2nd Squadron (SQDN), 11th Cavalry Regiment (CAV REGT), 155th Brigade Combat Team (BCT), Mississippi Army National Guard (MSARNG), M88A1 (Heavy Equipment Recovery Combat Utility Lift and Evacuation System) Recovery Vehicle travels along on the main road at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Kalsu, Iraq, during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM.
context_page_description: The 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment is a unit of the United States Army garrisoned at Fort Irwin, California. Although termed an armored cavalry regiment, it is being re-organized as a multi-component heavy brigade combat team. The regiment has served in the Philippine–American War, World War II, the Vietnam War, Cold War, Operation Desert Storm, and Operation Iraqi Freedom. The 11th ACR serves as the Opposing Force for the Army and Marine task forces, and foreign military forces that train at the National Training Center.
  The OPFOR trained U.S. Army forces in mechanized desert warfare following a Soviet-era style threat until June 2002, when the OPFOR and the 11th ACR changed to portraying an urban/asymmetrical warfare style of combat U.S. soldiers are facing in operations abroad. From June to December 2003, members of the 11th ACR deployed to Afghanistan, where they helped to develop and train the armor and mechanized infantry battalions of the Afghan National Army. These specialized units would defend the Afghan capital during the country's constitutional convention. In January 2004, the 11th ACR deployed to Iraq. The 11th ACR was not reorganized under the U.S.
context_section_description: Support Squadron, 11th ACR provides combat support/combat service support to the 11th ACR and NTC Opposing Force and conducts deployment, survivability and MOS sustainment training IOT ensure the success of the regiment, OPFOR, and squadron.
  "Packhorse", was activated in Germany under the command of LTC Ronald Kelly on 17 September 1985 to support the Blackhorse as it patrolled the East-West German border along the Fulda Gap. The squadron's official name at that time was Combat Support Squadron (CSS). The nickname "Packhorse" is derived from the early days of the U.S. Cavalry, when soldiers went on campaigns accompanied by packhorses, additional horses and/or mules that carried all their essential supplies. Everything from food to gunpowder to horseshoes were transported in this manner.
  Initial organization included five units—Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, Maintenance Troop, Supply and Transportation Troop, Medical Troop, and the attached 54th Chemical Detachment. The squadron also operated the Regimental Material Management Center which had the responsibility for the overall logistics state of the regiment. Elements of the squadron were based at both Fulda and Wildflecken. The squadron was large for a battalion-sized unit, as the Maintenance Troop alone had some 400 soldiers assigned. The Packhorse provided logistical support during both the frequent regimental maneuvers of the Cold War and at gunnery exercises at Grafenwoehr, where the squadron operated for weeks at a time while the cavalry troops and tank companies rotated through the firing ranges.
  Squadron vehicles during the Cold War included 3/4-ton M1009 CUCV's, 1&1/4-ton M1008 and M1010 pickup trucks that often carried special-purpose shelters mounting communications, medical, or maintenance equipment, HEMTT's, M88's, tanker trucks, and trucks carrying chemical decontamination equipment.  A pair of M934 5-ton Expansible Vans ("Expando-vans") housed the squadron headquarters in the field.  The squadron was also capable of highly specialized functions such as the provision of potable water by filtering fresh water sources through purification units.
  On 3 October 1990, the two Germanys re-unified. By December 1991 the Soviet Union dissolved, ending squadron's six-year presence along the Iron Curtain. In August 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait, prompting the United States to respond.  On 16 May 1991, the Packhorse received orders to deploy to Kuwait to support the regiment as it secured the country while it struggled to rebuild after the war. By October, the regiment had completed its mission and the Packhorse returned to Fulda. As the need for U.S. forces in Europe decreased, the Packhorse was inactivated on 15 February 1994, followed by the Blackhorse on 15 March 1994.
  The 177th Forward Support Battalion was inactivated on 26 October 1994, becoming the Regimental Support Squadron, 'Packhorse' now carrying its new role with the U.S. Army's Opposing Forces at the National Training Center.
  Since its reactivation Support Squadron has been the Forces Command (FORSCOM) winner of the Philip A. Connelly award for garrison food service excellence in FY 1992, 1993 and 1994. The squadron also won this same competition at the Department of the Army (DA) level in FY 1993. The squadron played a part in the regiment's selection as the only Army unit in the Department of Defense for the Phoenix award for Maintenance Excellence in FY 1995, FY 1999 and FY 2000. Headquarters and Headquarters Troop was the winner of the DA Award for Maintenance Excellence for FY 1995 and FY 1996 in the Intermediate Equipment Density Category, the only unit to do so in the 16-year history of the program.
  Maintenance Troop was recognized as the Salute Magazine Unit of the Year for 1995; this competition included units from all branches of the service. The 58th Engineer Company placed 4th in FORSCOM in the DA Award for Maintenance Excellence in the Heavy Equipment Density Category in FY 1995, and were 3rd-place winners in FY 1996 and FY 1997. The 511th Military Intelligence Company placed 3rd in FORSCOM
caption: M88 of the 11th ACR in Iraq, 2005
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