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KHOWST PROVINCE, Afghanistan " U.S. Army 1st Lt. Jeremy A. Woodard, an engineer officer with 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), sits atop a horse, during a spur ceremony at Camp Clark,...
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KHOWST PROVINCE, Afghanistan " U.S. Army Lt. Col. Thomas T. Sutton, commander of 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), salutes the American Flag during the playing of the National Anthem,...
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KHOWST PROVINCE, Afghanistan " U.S. Army 1st Lt. Jeremy A. Woodard, an engineer officer with 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), rides a horse while holding the Headquarters Troop Guido...
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KHOWST PROVINCE, Afghanistan " U.S. Army Soldiers with 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), salute the American Flag during the playing of the National Anthem, at the beginning of a spur...
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KHOWST PROVINCE, Afghanistan " U.S. Army 1st Lt. Jeremy A. Woodard, an engineer officer with 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), sits atop a horse, during a spur ceremony at Camp Clark,...
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KHOWST PROVINCE, Afghanistan " U.S. Army 1st Lt. Jeremy A. Woodard, an engineer officer with 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), salutes the American Flag from atop a horse, during the ...
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KHOWST PROVINCE, Afghanistan " U.S. Army Pfc. John L. Wempe, a human resources specialist with 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), wears a pair of gold spurs right after they were prese...
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KHOWST PROVINCE, Afghanistan " U.S. Army Capt. Christopher Doering, the Chaplain for 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), kneels on a platform as gold spurs are put on his boots, during ...
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KHOWST PROVINCE, Afghanistan " A U.S. Army Soldier with 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), is held up by his legs as his fellow Soldiers place spurs on his boots, during a spur ceremon...
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KHOWST PROVINCE, Afghanistan " U.S. Army Lt. Col. Thomas T. Sutton, commander of 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), kneels on a platform as gold spurs are put on his boots, during a sp...
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KHOWST PROVINCE, Afghanistan " U.S. Army Sgt. Chanel Gialdini, a human resources specialist with 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), kneels on a platform as gold spurs are put on her bo...
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KHOWST PROVINCE, Afghanistan " U.S. Army Sgt. Candice J. Green, a chaplain assistant with 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), kneels on a platform as gold spurs are put on her boots, du...
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KHOWST PROVINCE, Afghanistan " U.S. Army Pfc. John L. Wempe, a human resources specialist with 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), is handed a pair of gold spurs, during a spur ceremony...
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KHOWST PROVINCE, Afghanistan " Gold spurs are awarded for combat inductions and U.S. Army Soldiers with 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), were inducted during a spur ceremony at Camp ...
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KHOWST PROVINCE, Afghanistan " U.S. Army 1st Lt. Jeremy A. Woodard, an engineer officer with 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), performs a "cavalry charge" to conclude a combat spur ce...
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KHOWST PROVINCE, Afghanistan -- "Today we took a little time out of our schedule to honor traditions of the past and award the gold spurs to all of the Troopers in 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry regiment," said Lt. Col. Thomas T. Sutton, squadron commander of 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).
Being awarded spurs inducts a Soldier in to the "Order of the Spur" which is a tradition conducted by cavalry Troopers dating back to the beginning of the cavalry.
In order to obtain silver spurs, a Soldier must complete a "spur ride" which tests a Soldier's mental and physical fitness. The only other way to earn spurs is to serve, in combat, as a member of a Cavalry Troop and those spurs are gold.
Approximately 300 Troopers with the 1st Sqdn., 61st Cav. Regt., 4th BCT, 101st Abn. Div., stood in formation at Camp Clark, Afghanistan, waiting to be called up and inducted in to the Order of the Spur with the donning of the gold spurs on Oct. 11, 2013.
"I earned my first set of gold spurs in Nuristan (Province, Afghanistan), in 2007, but this was my first spur ceremony as the squadron commander," said Sutton. "We wanted to make this ceremony special so we brought some horses in to give it a little flavor of the past."
One of the Afghan National Army mechanics who works on the adjoining ANA base, Camp Parsa, was kind enough to lend a few horses to them for this ceremony, making it even more memorable for the first-time deployers and inductees.
"This is my first time deploying and it's a great honor receiving gold spurs," said Pfc. John Wempe, a human resources specialist with Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 1st Sqdn., 61st Cav. Regt., 4th BCT, 101st Abn. Div., emphasizing how proud he is to be a part of the squadron and prouder still to be inducted in to the Cavalry community by being presented gold spurs.
"In the past, cavalry Troopers would show expertise in their tasks (in order to earn their spurs)," Sutton explained. "We continue that lineage today."
"It is an honor, I love the tradition (of the spurs)," said Warrant Officer Jason Harcrow, a Soldier with 1st Sqdn., 61st Cav. Regt., 4th BCT, 101st Abn. Div. Now that he has his gold spurs, he hopes he has an opportunity to complete the spur ride, earning him silver spurs.
"It's humbling. I have a tremendous amount of pride for all of these Soldiers and for what they have done here," Sutton expressed. "Not only am I proud, I know their families are proud and the American people are proud as well."
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