32nd Armor Regiment ( United States ) The 32nd Armor Regiment was an armor ed regiment of the United States Army until 2000 at which time it was deactivated . It was redesignated and reactivated as the 32nd Cavalry Regiment serving in the 1st Brigade , 101st Airborne Division in 2005 . History . The 32nd Armor Regiment was activated 15 April 1941 at Camp Beauregard , Louisiana as the 2nd Armored Regiment and assigned to the 3rd Armored Division . This title designation did not last for long as the unit was quickly redesignated less than a month later on 8 May 1941 as the 32nd Armor Regiment . The 32nd Armor along with the 33rd Armor were only two of the six armor regiments ( the others belonging to the 1st and 2nd Armored Divisions ) to have ever been deployed in full regimental formation ( during World War II . ) All other armor units were deployed at the battalion level . The 32nd Armor Regiment then moved to Fort Polk , Louisiana on 14 June 1941 . When the unit arrived Fort Polk was still not completed but nonetheless it was designated as the training base for the 3rd Armored Division . The Battalion received the bulk of its men who underwent basic training , began field training and learned to operate their tanks . World War II . The unit moved to Normandy in mid June 1944 . On 29 June 1944 , the regiment entered combat as part of Combat Command A at Villiers - Fossard . The regiment fought on until 24 April 1945 . During their time in action the unit assisted in the liberation of France and Belgium and breaking through the Siegfried Line . The unit earned two Distinguished Unit Citations and twice received the Meritorious Service Plaque for their service . Post Korea – Pre Vietnam 1st Battalion was in Germany . 2nd Battalion was in Hawaii . 3rd Battalion was in Fort Stewart , Georgia before being sent to Germany in the early 1960s . Cold War . Following the end of the Second World War , the 32nd Armor Regiment stood down along with the rest of the 3rd Armored Division on 10 November 1945 . As Cold War tensions grew , the regiment was reactivated on 15 July 1947 . The unit was stationed with 7th Army in West Germany and was tasked with deterring any Soviet advance through the Fulda Gap . Locations varied with divisional attachments . Examples in the 1960s : 1st Battalion with the 3rd Armored Division , in Friedberg ; 5th Battalion with the 24th Infantry Division in Munich . The 32nd Armor Regiment also played an important role in Operation Desert Storm as part of the 3rd Armored Division . Following the end of hostilities in the Persian Gulf , the 32nd Armor Regiment stood down along with the rest of the 3rd Armored Division at Fort Knox , KY , on 17 October 1992 with personnel and equipment being transferred to the 2d Battalion , 12th Cavalry Regiment . Post Cold War & Reactivation as 32nd Cavalry . The 1st Battalion was reactivated 16 April 1995 at Fort Lewis , Washington using personnel and equipment from the 5th Battalion , 77th Armor Regiment , 1st Armored Division , recently transferred from Mannheim , Germany in 1994 . The battalion then became a subordinate unit of the 2nd Infantry Division . The 1st Battalion ( the last active unit of the 32d Armor Regiment ) was deactivated on 15 September 2000 at Fort Lewis , Washington with personnel and equipment being transferred to the 1st Squadron , 14th Cavalry Regiment . On 10 August 2005 the 1st Squadron , 32nd Cavalry Regiment was activated as part of the 1st Brigade Combat Team ( Bastogne ) , 101st Airborne Division ( Air Assault ) at Fort Campbell , Kentucky . This new cavalry regiment inherited and continued the lineage and honors ( including distinctive unit insignia ) of the 32nd Armor Regiment . Global War on Terror . On 23 September 2005 , the 1st Squadron , 32d Cavalry deployed to Iraq for a tour in support of Operation Iraq Freedom . The unit conducted a relief in place with four battalions of the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment and assumed responsibility for over 18 , 000 square kilometers of eastern Diyala Province along the Iranian border . There , the Bandits partnered with and validated two Iraqi Brigades , fought Al - Qaeda in Iraq operatives and conducted counter - insurgency operations against insurgent networks attempting to destabilize the new Iraqi government . Between 20 May 2006 and 20 July 2006 , Task Force Bandit , consisting of 1 – 32 Cavalry , elements of C / 1 - 68 Armor and A / 3 - 29 Field Artillery and with aviation support from 3rd , 4th and 7th Battalions , 101st Aviation , conducted a series of operations against Al - Qaeda and Ansar Al - Sunna safe areas within the isolated terrain along the Diyala River of the Muqdadiyah Qa ’ da . These operations denied the enemy sanctuary , rescued over twenty kidnapped civilians , eliminated strategic caches , destroyed vehicle - borne improvised explosive factories and disrupted senior Al - Qaeda and Ansar Al - Sunna leadership and planning . During this deployment , Troopers of the 1st Squadron , 32d Cavalry Regiment earned 4 Bronze Star Medals for Valor and 29 Army Commendation Medal s for Valor . On 24 August 2006 , 1st Squadron , 32d Cavalry transitioned authority to 2nd Squadron , 9th Cavalry and returned to Fort Campbell , Kentucky to prepare for their next deployment . On 21 September 2007 , the 1st Squadron , 32d Cavalry once again departed Fort Campbell , again bound for eastern Diyala Province , Iraq , this time for a 15 - month tour as a part of the Iraqi Surge . Once in Iraq , the squadron relieved 5th Squadron , 73rd Cavalry and continued operations in Diyala , all the while planning for a move to FOB Paliwoda , located in southern Salah ad Din Province . While the majority of the squadron conducted their move to FOB Paliwoda and relieved 3rd Squadron , 8th Cavalry , C Troop remained in Diyala to turn over the area of operations to the 2nd Squadron , 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment . During the next twelve months in Salah ad Din Province , 1 – 32 Cavalry set up numerous Sons of Iraq groups to assist in securing the local population , trained members of the Iraqi Army and National Police and conducted numerous targeted air assault raids against high - value targets throughout their area of operations . In November 2008 , the squadron returned to Fort Campbell to once again train and prepare for another deployment , this time to Afghanistan . April 2010 , Task Force ( TF ) Bandit , deployed to eastern Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and executed counterinsurgency operations in the remote provinces of Nuristan and Kunar . TF Bandit established security through offensive operations and the judicious application of joint direct and indirect fires , and improved governance and security by enabling local leaders and Afghan National Security Forces . By mid - July , TF Bandit had made clear improvements in security , governance and development in Naray and Ghaziabad Districts by expanding local government and shifting from contractor - centric to community - focused development . In July 2010 , insurgent forces occupied the village of Barg - e Matal , an isolated but politically significant village in the northern region of TF Bandit ’ s Operational Environment ( OE ) that is accessible only by air . On 26 July 2010 , TF Bandit conducted Operation AZMARAY FURY , a combined air assault , augmented with Soldiers from 1st and 2nd Battalion , 327th Infantry Regiments , Afghan National Security Forces elements and other enablers in order to secure the population of Barg - e Matal . ANSF and TF Bandit seized the objective and conducted follow - on missions in the Mandigal Valley including the clearance of the villages of Badmuk and Bachancha . On 18 September 2010 , TF Bandit enabled the safe completion of parliamentary elections by defending polling sites , securing a main supply route ( MSR ) and pursuing insurgents attempting to disrupt the electoral process . On 8 February 2011 , TF Bandit conducted a major offensive operation code named NORTHERN AVALANCHE . Augmented with Coalition and Afghan National Security Forces elements air assaulted and cleared to disrupt anti - Afghan forces within major valleys located in the southern portion in TF Bandit OE and allow ANSF to secure MSR south of Ghaziabad District Center . ANSF and TF Bandit decisively disrupted a major insurgent network , defeated defending enemy forces , and secured their objectives . During OEF 10 - 11 TF Bandit took part in 327 enemy engagements , completed 661 indirect fire missions involving 5 , 024 projectiles and was awarded 32 Purple Hearts , 13 valor awards and 205 combat badges . The TF Bandit also devoted 50 projects and $ 3 million toward development , and treated over 3 , 000 local national patients In November 2012 , the 1st Squadron , 32nd Cavalry Regiment deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom as Security Force Advise and Assist Teams , SFAAT , under the command of 1st Brigade Combat Team , Bastogne and 101st Airborne Division ( Air Assault ) . Popular Culture . The 32nd Armor Regiment is best known as the unit that Elvis Presley served with . However , Elvis trained until September 1958 with Company A , 2d Medium Tank Battalion , 37th Armor at Fort Hood , Texas reaching the rank Sp1 . He then served in Germany from October 1958 until March 1960 , with the Headquarters Company of the 1st Medium Tank Battalion , 32nd Armor , 3rd Armored Division in Friedberg , when he was promoted to Sp4 . Only towards the end of his tour did he qualify as an MOS 19D Cavalry Scout , and later rank of Sergeant E - 5 , serving in Company D , 1 – 32 Armor , through to March 1960 . Elvis ' s uniform is on display at the Patton Museum of Cavalry and Armor at Ft . Knox , Kentucky , in a special exhibit called " Sgt . Presley , Citizen Soldier . " His character in 1961 ' s Blue Hawaii was " Sgt . Chad Gates " , newly discharged from the 3rd Armored Division . The lead singer of Guns N ' Roses , Axl Rose has a tattoo of the regimental crest on his left arm although he ' s never served in the US Army . In the movie Ferris Bueller ' s Day Off , the regimental crest can be seen on Ferris Bueller ' s black beret . Also notable : The highest scoring American tank crew , ( in history ) , Served in I co 32nd armored regiment . SSG Layfayette G Pool : Tank Commander , Willis Oller : Gunner , Del Boggs : loader , Red Richards : Driver , Bertrand Close : Bow Gunner / Co Driver .