113th Cavalry Regiment

113th Cavalry
Coat of arms
Active	1921–1950 1992 – present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Army
Type	Reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition (RSTA)
Garrison/HQ	Sioux City, Iowa
Nickname(s)	Red Horse Squadron
Motto(s)	We Maintain
Colors	Red, Yellow
Engagements	World War II: Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Germany War on Terror: Afghanistan
Commanders
Current commander	Lieutenant Colonel Kent Greiner
Notable commanders	Colonel William S. Biddle, MG Timothy E. Orr

The 113th Cavalry Regiment is a cavalry regiment of the Iowa National Guard, with history tracing back to the 19th century Indian Wars.

It was heavily involved in fighting during World War II against German forces in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany from June 1944 to May 1945. Following a long period of inactivation after World War II, one squadron of the 113th Cavalry was reactivated in 1992. Since being reactivated, the 1st Squadron of the 113th Cavalry Regiment (part of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division) has conducted peace keeping operations in Kosovo, as well as combat deployments during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom.

== History == Iowa had organized the 1st Cavalry Squadron in 1915, a unit with four troops (companies) and which had seen service on the Mexican frontier during the pursuit of Pancho Villa. During World War I, the squadron was split up; Troop A became the division headquarters troop for the 34th Division, Troop B was reorganized as part of the 125th Machine Gun Battalion, 34th Division, Troop C was reorganized as part of the 133rd Infantry Regiment, 34th Division, Troop D was reorganized as part of the 109th Ammunition Train, 34th Division, and the band was reorganized as part of the 301st Cavalry Regiment. The 34th Division shipped to France in late 1918, but did not see any combat, and the 301st Cavalry Regiment was converted to field artillery units in the summer of 1918, but none of these units shipped overseas before the end of the war.

After World War I, the 113th Cavalry was constituted in 1921 as part of the Iowa National Guard and subordinated to the 24th Cavalry Division. The regiment participated in riot control duties during the Cow War in Iowa in 1931, and elements of the regiment suppressed labor unrest in Newton, Iowa, in 1938. The regiment was relieved from assignment to the 24th Cavalry Division in September 1940, inducted into federal service on 13 January 1941, and moved to Camp Bowie, Texas, on 25 January 1941.

The 113th Cavalry Regiment (Horse-Mechanized) sailed to England, arriving on 28 January 1944. In England, the regiment was converted to the 113th Cavalry Group (Mechanized), with the 1st Squadron becoming the 113th Cavalry Squadron (Mechanized) and the 2nd Squadron becoming the 125th Cavalry Squadron (Mechanized). Under the combat group concept, even though the two squadrons were only "attached" to the 113th Cavalry Group headquarters as opposed to permanently "assigned" and could be attached and detached at will as the tactical situation warranted, they served as essentially organic elements of the 113th Cavalry Group. Subsequently, the 113th Cavalry Group served as the XIX Corps' mechanized cavalry group, fighting in Normandy, the Netherlands and the conquest of Germany. The 113th Cavalry Group returned to the New York port of entry on 25 October 1945 and was inactivated at Camp Shanks, New York, on 26 October 1945.

Trooper of the 1-113 Cavalry in Afghanistan, 2011

1-113th Cavalry, September 2010

The 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry was reactivated on 11 September 1992, at ceremonies at Camp Dodge, Iowa, from former elements of the 194th Cavalry. In 1996 the squadron was restructured for the next ten years with the Headquarters and Headquarters Troop (HHT) at Sioux City, Iowa, Troops A and B at Camp Dodge, Troop C at Le Mars, and Troops D, E and later Troop F at Waterloo. With the next reorganization, Troops D, E and F were detached when the 1-113th Cavalry reorganized into a RSTA (Cavalry) and became an organic asset to the 2d Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division. It remains an active duty unit of the Iowa National Guard.

There are three troops that comprise the 1-113th Cavalry and one support unit along with a Headquarters Troop. Troops A and B drill at Camp Dodge, Iowa, and Troop C is headquartered in Le Mars, Iowa. The support unit, Company D, 334th Brigade Support Battalion (BSB), trains in Sioux City, along with the HHT, as well as a detachment from 2168th Transportation Company (TC).

Troop C deployed to Iraq in October 2005 and returned home in October 2006. Troop C was based out of Camp Ashraf, Forward Operating Base Grizzly in the Diyala Province (approximately 30 miles north of Baghdad), where they conducted security escort missions to Baghdad, Logistical Support Area Anaconda, IED route clearance, and combat patrols. They conducted more than 3,000 missions, and sustained more than 80 Improvised Explosive Device (IED) strikes, and discovered more than 25 IED's prior to detonation.

The Troop exclusively provided security escorts for water pump installation to provide improved irrigation and drinking water to the local Iraqi population, and suffered multiple casualties from IEDs in the year-long process. The unit of 155 men received more than 70 Combat Action Badges, more than 10 Purple Hearts, and 20 Bronze Star medals. The Troop sustained one killed in action (KIA), Sgt. Daniel L. Sesker of Ogden, who died April 6, 2006, during combat operations.

Most notably, on May 29, 2006, a Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED) detonated in Baghdad, while Troop C soldiers were several blocks away. Upon hearing the detonation, the Troop C members moved to the location, finding a mass casualty scenario. The blast killed four, and wounded seven. Members of C Troop provided immediate first aid and security following the attack, which involved a CBS News crew that were imbedded with the U.S. Army's 4th Infantry division. The members of C Troop provided lifesaving medical care to CBS reporter Kimberly Dozier, while also attending to several injured and deceased members from the 4th Infantry Division. Among the dead were CBS news crew members James Brolan and Paul Douglas, an Iraqi interpreter, and Captain James "Alex" Funkhouser, of the 4th Infantry Division. There were a number of Iraqi civilian casualties observed as well, but their number is unknown.

A Troop deployed in June 2007, as part of a joint security mission protecting VIPS. The squadron as a whole, including D Company, 334th BSB, and 2-168 TC, deployed to Afghanistan in November 2010 with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. (Further Citations Needed)

Awards and decorations

Campaign credit

Conflict	Unit	Streamer	Notes
World War I	Squadron		Without Inscription
World War II	Squadron		Normandy
World War II	Squadron		Northern France
World War II	Squadron		The Rhineland
World War II	Squadron		Central Europe
World War II	HHT & C Troop		None
World War II	HHT & C Troop		None
World War II	HHT & C Troop		None
World War II	HHT & C Troop		None
World War II	HHT & C Troop		None
World War II	HHT & C Troop		None
GWOT	Squadron		Operation Enduring Freedom CONSOLIDATION III 2009-2011
GWOT	A Troop		Iraqi Surge
GWOT	C Troop		Iraqi Governance
GWOT	C Troop		National Governance

Unit Decorations

Unit	Streamer	Year	Notes
Squadron		Meritorious Unit Commendation Streamer embroidered Afghanistan 2010-2011	None
Squadron		Superior Unit Award	2008
A Troop		Meritorious Unit Commendation Streamer embroidered Iraq AUG 2007- APR 2008	None
C Troop		Meritorious Unit Commendation Streamer embroidered Iraq 2005-2006	None
HHT & C Troop		French Croix de Guerre with Palm, World War II, Streamer embroidered BELVEDERE	None
Group		Belgian Fourragere Croix de Guerre 1940 -1945	1947

See also

• 24th Cavalry Division (United States)
• List of armored and cavalry regiments of the United States Army