Unit History
The unit was initially
organized 9 July, 1916 as D Troop, 17th
Cavalry Regiment at Fort Bliss, Texas.
On 1 June, 1966, it
reorganized at Fort Benning, Georgia as
an armored cavalry troop and redeployed
to Vietnam 13, December 1966 as an
element of the 199th Infantry Brigade.
The unit inactivated in
Vietnam 12 October 1970.
On 15 December, 1971, it
reactivated in Vietnam as a separate air
cavalry troop using assets of D Troop,
3rd Squadron, 5th cavalry (9th infantry
division).
It again inactivated on 10
march 1972.
The Squadron then reactivated
on 30 April 1972 as a separate air
cavalry troop, using the assets of D
Troop, 1st Squadron, 15th Cavalry. The
Cavalry departed
Vietnam and deactivated 26
February, 1973.
In the summer of 1987, Task
Force 118 was created. The Joint Chiefs
of Staff tasked the four services to
identify a unit that could operate from
U. S. Navy vessels to deter small boat
attacks and mining operations in the
Arabian gulf.
On 26 February 1988, the unit
deployed to the Arabian gulf to conduct
Operation Prime Chance. During Operation
Prime Chance and Earnest Will, the Task
Force patrolled the entire Persian Gulf
and the northern Gulf of Oman, protecting
shipping and providing timely
intelligence to the U.S. Navy.
On 2 August, 1990 when Iraq
invaded Kuwait, the unit continued
operations in the gulf as a part of the
maritime interdiction force in support of
Operation Desert Shield. On 16 January 1991, 4thSquadron,
17thCavalry
Regiment was born in Bahrain from Task
Force 118.During
Operation Desert Storm, the 4/17th
Cavalry distinguished itself by capturing
the war's first Iraqi prisoners and
recapturing the first piece of Kuwaiti
territory. The squadron also participated
in the liberation of the U.S. and British
embassies in Kuwait city.
When it redeployed to Fort
Bragg in October 1991, the Squadron had
flown over 6500 night vision goggle
hours, escorted 500 ships, and operated
from 47 naval combatants in the north
Arabian gulf. The 4/17th cavalry stood up
and stood ready for it's world wide
contingency mission as the "Eyes and
Ears" of the XVIII Airborne Corps.
The unit was redesignated as
the 4/2d Armored Cavalry Regiment January
16, 1994. This opened new frontiers in
the development of Joint Operations
Doctrine. This doctrine was put to the
test as the Squadron deployed to Haiti in
support of Operation Uphold Democracy.
The Squadron conducted the first
reconnaissance in the country and
supported the JTF 180 Commander directly
with reconnaissance, psyops, and
command/control assets during the initial
phase of the operation, 4th Squadron was
the only army aviation unit to perform
joint operations. The unit redeployed to
Ft Bragg to continue training with it's
Prime Chance mission. With their
achievements, the men and women of the
4th Squadron are proudly upholding the
distinguished heritage of the 2nd Armored
Cavalry Regiment.
In May of 1997, the Unit
relocated to Ft.Polk, LA where they
joined up with the 2d Armored Cavalry
Regiment. 4th Squadron then began
training with the Regiment in preparation
for it's up coming deployment to Bosnia
and it's role in Operation Joint Guard.
Currently, the unit has been deployed for
six months.
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