14th Cavalry Regiment ( United States ) The 14th Cavalry Regiment is a cavalry regiment of the United States Army . It has two squadrons that provide reconnaissance , surveillance , and target acquisition for Stryker brigade combat team s . Constituted in 1901 , it has served in conflicts from the Philippine - American War to the Operation Iraqi Freedom . History . The 14th Cavalry was constituted February 2 , 1901 by War Department General Order Number 14 . The unit was organized at Fort Leavenworth , Kansas , March 5 , 1901 . The 14th was stationed in the Philippines from 1903 – 1906 during the insurgency campaigns . Upon successful completion of that campaign in 1906 , the regiment then returned home to the United States and took up garrisons in the Pacific Northwest , where it assumed peacetime duties . The regiment was called back to the Philippines in 1909 , although this time it was only engaged in garrison duties and training . In 1912 , the regiment was called for service in the Mexican campaign , joining General ' Black Jack ' Pershing ' s expeditionary forces in the summer of 1916 , chasing bandits throughout the Mexican plains . The regiment then returned to Texas , where it began the task of border patrolling until 1918 , when it was called into service in Europe . The Armistice at Versailles was signed before the regiment could cross the Atlantic and the regiment resumed its border patrol mission . In 1920 , the 14th Cavalry Regiment moved to Iowa and for approximately the next two decades served in a peacetime capacity . In 1942 , the regiment was inactivated , and from its lineage came the 14th Cavalry Group , 14th Tank Battalion and 711th Tank Battalion . On 28 August 1944 , the 14th Cavalry Group sailed for Europe , where it landed on Omaha Beach on 30 September and pressed east . On 18 October , the unit was split into the 18th Squadron , attached to the 2nd Infantry Division , and the 32nd Squadron , attached to the 83rd Infantry Division . The unit regained its autonomy on 12 December 1944 and began guarding the Losheim Gap in Belgium . On 16 December , the 14th Cavalry Group received the full brunt of the German winter counteroffensive in the Battle of the Bulge . After two days of savage fighting , the unit reassembled at Vielsam , Belgium and was attached to the 7th Armored Division . On 23 December , the unit secured the southern flank of the perimeter , which allowed friendly troops to withdraw to safety . On 25 December , the unit was reequipped , attached to the XVIII Airborne Corps and moved back into the Bulge to push back the German Army . After the bloody and brutal fight in the Ardennes , the regiment was assigned to the 3rd US Army , and ended the war near the Austrian border . While the 14th Cavalry Group was fighting the German Army at the Battle of the Bulge , the 14th Tank Battalion was assigned to the 9th Armored Division ' s Combat Command B ( CCB ) and took part in operations in the vicinity of St . Vith , Belgium from 17 to 23 December 1944 . The battalion was subject to constant German tank and infantry attacks , repeatedly throwing back the numerically superior attacking German forces while sustaining heavy losses . By denying the Germans their objective , the 14th Tank Battalion disrupted the enemy ' s time line and momentum , causing the Germans to divert a Corps to capture St . Vith . For seven days , the 14th Tank Battalion , as part of CCB , held St . Vith before being ordered to withdraw west of the Salm River . For their actions in defense of St . Vith , the 14th Tank Battalion was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation . The 14th Tank Battalion again attained fame on 7 March 1945 by unexpectedly seizing the Ludendorf railroad bridge at Remagen and helped establish the first Allied bridgehead over the Rhine River . A Company led the advance across the bridge and established fighting positions on the eastern side , repelling multiple German counterattacks by armor and infantry . After ten days of withstanding enemy attacks by ground , air and waterborne forces , the Ludendorf bridge fell ; however , by this time , additional pontoon bridges had been established and the bridgehead reinforced , allowing the unimpeded movement of US forces into Germany . For their actions , four soldiers from the 14th Tank Battalion were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and the battalion was awarded its second Presidential Unit Citation . After World War II , the group was reorganized as the 14th Constabulary Regiment and served as a police unit until 1948 , when it as again reorganized as the 14th Armored Cavalry Regiment and served until 1972 as such on " Freedoms Frontier " at Fulda , Bad Kissingen and Bad Hersfeld , Germany , performing reconnaissance and border duties for NATO until its colors were cased and it was replaced by the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment . Iraq deployments . The regiment was reactivated on 15 September 2000 as the US Army ' s first reconnaissance , surveillance and target acquisition ( RSTA ) squadron in the Stryker Brigade Combat Team . The 1st Squadron deployed to Northern Iraq in 2003 . The mission was assumed by the 2nd Squadron in October 2004 and , in turn , by the 4th Squadron under the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team in September 2005 . The 1st Squadron returned to Iraq in August 2006 and the 4th Squadron ' s tour was extended an additional 120 days . The 2nd Squadron was reflagged as the 2nd Cavalry squadron in June 2006 . Upon finally returning from Iraq in December 2006 , the 4th Squadron was reflagged as 5th Squadron , 1st Cavalry . The 1st Squadron returned from their second tour in Iraq to Fort Lewis in September 2007 . The newest addition , the 5th Squadron , was activated at Schofield Barracks , Hawaii on 13 October 2005 and was redesignated as the 2nd Squadron in December 2006 . The 2nd Squadron served in Iraq from December 2007 to March 2009 . Again in Iraq from June 2010 to June 2011 in the Diyala Province . Afghanistan Deployments . From December 2011 to December 2012 , TF 1 - 14 CAV deployed to Zabul Province , Afghanistan working with ANA , ANP and local government to conduct wide area security and build the legitimacy of the Afghan government . Bronco Troop was detached working alongside TF 5 - 20 in the Horn of Panjui then the Afghan - Pakistan border . Apocalypse Troop was also detached to partner with the Australian Army in Uruzgan Province to secure the region . By the end of the deployment , the Squadron successfully trained and mentored local forces , placing them in the lead and paving the way for future units . Recent deployments . 1st Squadron 2nd Squadron Heraldry . The black Moro Kris commemorates more than forty engagements and expeditions in which the 14th participated during the Philippine - American War . The regimental coat of arms briefly tells part of the history of the unit . The coiled rattlesnake pays tribute to the patrol accomplishments along the Mexican Border during 1912 – 1918 . The blue bend and gold background represent the traditional cavalry color and the uniform of the horse cavalry soldiers .