Does it jingle and jangle when you walk?

FORT STEWART, Ga. - Does it jingle and jangle when you walk? It does now, at least figuratively speaking, for 74 newly-recognized troopers of the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division.

The 3rd Squadron, 7th U.S. Cavalry Regiment "Garryowen," just completed a Spur Ride, an approximately 24-hour event, which culminated in 74 of 83 candidates being awarded their coveted set of Silver Spurs here at the squadron's motor pool April 30.

While military-issued spurs don't actually jingle and jangle, it is hard not to imagine the stereotypical iconic scene of a cowboy stepping in to a saloon slowly, ringing out each step by the jingle of his spurs, when thinking of a set of spurs.

In the Army, there are two types of spurs, and neither make a sound. Gold spurs are earned by serving in a cavalry unit while in combat, while silver spurs are earned by making it through a Spur Ride, explained 1st Sgt. Noel Sawyer, senior enlisted leader of Troop A "Apaches," 3-7th CAV.

Sawyer is the subject-matter expert when it comes to most things dealing with the 3-7th Cavalry, due to the fact that, besides a two-year assignment at Fort Knox, he has been in the squadron since 2002, and deployed with the squadron for 2003 invasion of Iraq, OIF III, OIF VII/Operation New Dawn, and for the squadron's most resent deployment to Afghanistan.

Given the amount of experience Sawyer has had with the unit gives him a unique perspective when discussing the squadron's history. One thing that Sawyer mentioned about the squadron's history is that in the last 12 years, the squadron has only held four Spur Rides, including the one in December of 2002, in which he earned his spurs a month before deploying to the Kuwait/Iraqi border, and also including the one just held.

"The funny thing is that we haven't had that many Spur Rides simply because we have deployed so much over the last 12 years," said Sawyer.

The Spur Ride is a cavalry tradition that can have its origins traced all the way back to medieval times, when part of becoming a knight meant the earning of spurs. In today's practice, the Spur Ride is an organizational program that can vary in form from unit to unit. However, generally, they all test cavalry skills, physical strength and endurance, and technical and tactical proficiency, and, when culminates, ends with troopers being awarded their silver spurs.

"The Spur Ride has always involved multidiscipline testing, has always been mentally, physically and emotionally exhausting, and designed to test a trooper's professional knowledge," explained Lt. Col. Jason Kidder, commander, 3-7th CAV.

There were many things that made this Spur Ride significantly different from all other Spur Rides. The focus of this one is one thing that set it apart from the other Spur Rides that the Squadron had conducted in the past.

"For this ride [more than our past Spur Rides] the emphasis was on team work and causing a gut-check in the troopers," said Sawyer. "While you certainly had to perform at the stations, it was more about enduring them, rather than testing out at each station like it is for an Expert Infantryman Badge test or something like that - it was about having heart, and proving how badly you wanted it."

This fact was not what made this Spur Ride so significant however. In fact, this may have been one of the most historically significant Spur Rides in the History of the U.S. Army.

Kidder explained that historically, the 3-7th Squadron is unique in that it is one of only three units in the military that has a pure lineage that traces all the way back to one of the three troops of the original 7th Cavalry Regiment, established in 1866, most famously commanded by Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer.

What made this Spur Ride so charged with historic significance is that it appears to be the last Spur Ride to ever be conducted by the 3rd Squadron.

Due to the current draw down within the Army, the Garryowen Squadron has been designated as one of the units that needs to inactivate, and is scheduled to do so in January of 2015.

In only a month's time, the squadron is set to begin the process of sending troopers else where, whether it be to different units here on Fort Stewart, or a different duty station, effectively conducting their own mini draw down. Because of this, the personnel needed to hold a Spur Ride won't be available by the time the weather is conducive for a Spur Ride again in the fall.

"This was the last opportunity to earn spurs with a certificate that has the 3-7th Cavalry on it for the foreseeable future," explained Kidder. "This one was for all the marbles; there is no doing it again next year ... there is not going to be a next year for this squadron."

If anyone is feeling the sting of inactivation, it is Sawyer, as he has devoted so much to the unit over the course of the last 12 years.

It's killing me, this has been my home," said Sawyer. "I'm definitely really sad about it - you know, you don't want to talk badly about other units, but there are some other units out there that definitely really needed to be rolled up before this one."

This sentiment seems to go across the board.

"It's a damn shame this is the [unit] selected for inactivation ... but it's the Army and that's what we serve ... so if shutting down this unit is what's required, that's what we have to do - but that doesn't mean everybody is real happy about it," said Kidder.

It seems that part of what makes the inactivation hard to believe is just the absolutely superb nature and character of the unit itself.

"We've always been the guys to go to for a short-fuse, no-notice, vague-guidance, mission execution - that's what we did, what we've always done since I've been in this squadron," explained Sawyer. "When you needed something done you went to [3-7 CAV] and we would just execute."

Indeed, Kidder, who has spent nearly the entirety of his military career in cavalry units, agrees with this assessment.

"This squadron is without question one of the most disciplined, finest cavalry organizations I've ever served in through ought my entire career," Kidder said.

Despite the bitter loss that comes with the dissolution of such a fine organization, the Spur Ride has given hope to those saddened by the imminent inactivation.

"The good news is that every Soldier that has learned things here during this Spur Ride will be able to take that with them in their ruck sack of knowledge to their next unit, and show others what right looks like. Hopefully in this way, 3-7 will live on in memory and, in turn, infuse the rest of the U.S. cavalry with its excellence," Kidder elaborated.

Hopes are definitely riding high as 74 cavalry troopers have recently earned their spurs, and the squadron turns its focus to its draw down and inactivation. Sawyer's hopes are just as high.

"This unit is not going to be forgotten ... this squadron deserves the reputation it has worked so hard to build ... but I hope people remember we we're just as squared away when it was time to shutter the doors and windows as when we were crossing the berm in March of 2003," said Sawyer.

While the Spur Ride is complete, and the Garryowen Squadron begins to turn its gaze on its final days, Kidder is quick to point out that the fat lady has not quite started her song yet.

It was a good ride, its not quite over yet - but it is coming to a close.