STORCK BARRACKS, Germany - Air Cav Soldiers with the 615th Aviation Support Battalion, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, tested their will with fellow troopers in the Oberdachstetten training area located just outside of Storck Barracks, Germany, Mar. 16-17, as part of a time-honored tradition known as the Spur Ride.
Over 100 Soldiers were challenged during the training event that was spread out over 48-hours as they fought to earn the right to don silver spurs and join the legacy of cavalry troopers that have done so before them.
"The Spur Ride honors and continues our cavalry traditions," said 1st Lt. Matthew Ravert, the battalion communications officer with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 615th ASB. "It tests a Soldier's ability to complete warrior tasks and battle drills, but it is heavily focused on team building and welcoming our newest Soldiers into the cavalry."
Spur Rides date back to nearly 200 years ago as Soldiers serving with cavalry units (referred to as troopers) are inducted into the Order of the Spur after successfully completing a "Spur Ride" or for having served during combat as a member of a cavalry unit.
When green troopers first arrived at their new cavalry assignments, they were in need of training, especially in the area of swordsmanship from atop a horse. Only when they were able to prove their ability to perform with their horse and sword were they awarded spurs.
Today's Army has since shifted its Spur Ride events to modern, combat related tasks.
The spur candidates were split into teams before they navigated their way through the series of day and night training lanes. Each lane tested their ability to work as a team, but also allowed cadre members to evaluate each spur candidate's leadership potential and individual technical and tactical proficiencies.
"They learned very fast that if one person struggles, the whole team struggles," said Command Sgt. Maj. Daniel Snyder, 615th ASB's command sergeant major. "The Spur Ride is a right of passage for troopers to earn their spurs and most importantly, it teaches them that they have to work together to earn them."
The teams pushed each other and worked together to complete a confidence-building obstacle course as well as reflexive fire, room clearing and vehicle recovery training lanes.
Other lanes tested the troopers' medical, communications, reconnaissance and survival abilities and knowledge.
Traveling to each lane was no simple task, as Soldiers ruck marched anywhere from 2-4 miles to each event in cold- and wet-weather conditions.
Capt. Curtis Cornelius, a spur candidate and the battalion's intelligence officer, said that the Spur Ride was physically and mentally demanding.
"It was great training and it was everything I thought it would be and more," Cornelius explained. "Last night, we were rucking through this cold and nasty rain and the Spur Ride showed all of us what we have deep inside of ourselves."
While each candidate's individual grit was tested throughout the Spur Ride, the most important test was the ability to work as one unit.
"Spur Rides provide a unique opportunity to mix a variety of ranks from junior enlisted all the way up to senior officers to train together," Ravert said. "It's really good to see commanders and leaders working with, struggling with and facing these challenges together with the Soldiers they lead everyday."
Candidates were not allowed to earn their spurs unless each team member successfully completed all of the events.
"The biggest takeaway from this experience was the team work," Cornelius added. "My team, as well as the others I'm sure, started the ride as individuals and we struggled a lot. As we grew together and operated with one common goal, our success rate went up and things got a lot easier."
Having fulfilled all of the necessary requirements of their Spur Ride, the candidates had earned the right to wear their spurs after working so hard to obtain them. A ceremony was held in the battalion's hangar Mar. 17 as spur candidates became spur holders themselves.
Candidates moved into the push-up position, or commonly known as the front-leaning rest position across the Army, as spur holders and leaders of the battalion placed spurs on their boots.
"I am very proud of these hungry and motivated Soldiers," Snyder said. "They worked together to overcome some fears and truly embraced being members of a team. I hope that they will remember this day for the rest of their lives as personally, when I earned my silver spurs, it was one of the proudest moments of my military career."
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