Airborne Cavalry receives highest honor

By Staff Sgt. Joshua FordMay 26, 2011

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FORT BRAGG, N.C. — Maj. Gen. Jim Huggins, commanding general of the 82nd Airborne Division, attaches the Presidential Unit Citation streamer on 5th Squadron’s, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, colors during a ce... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT BRAGG, N.C. " They were the first reconnaissance, surveillance and acquisition targeting squadron to be activated in the 82nd Airborne Division.

With just more than 400 Paratroopers, they were half the size of a full strength battalion and the smallest battalion in the Brigade.

That did not deter command from giving Task Force 300 the largest area of responsibility during their deployment to Iraq in August 2006. They were responsible for a more than 200-kilometer stretch on the Iraq-Iran border that had not had a U.S. presence in almost a year.

Nearly two months later, 5th Squadron would get their first taste of combat in a series of operations dubbed “Turki Bowl”.

5th Squadron, 73rd Airborne Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation May 25 during a ceremony for launching the Turki Bowl campaign from November 2006 to January 2007 against insurgent groups in Diyala Province.

The citation is the highest honor a unit can receive.

“The honor that the nation bestows on this squadron by giving them this Presidential Unit Citation was earned through sacrifice. And we can’t say thanks enough,” said Maj. Gen. Jim Huggins, 82nd Airborne Division commanding general, who also presided over the ceremony.

Over the three month period, 5th Squadron conducted 14 squadron and troop-level operations resulting in the killing of more than 250 insurgents and the finding of more than 100 weapons caches.

The squadron’s success came at a high price though. During the 15-month deployment the squadron lost 22 Paratroopers.

Col. Andrew Poppas, who commanded 5th Squadron during operations in Diyala, and is now the commander of 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, said they couldn’t have been as successful if it weren’t for every Paratrooper in the squadron “who argued to stay in the fight despite those terrible consequences. Who would not let the memories of their brothers that had fallen go to waste.”

“Every person fought hard. Every person contributed,” said Poppas. “It wasn’t about individual accolades. It was about the team.”

1st Sgt. Robert Cobb, then a platoon sergeant for Troop B, recalls the events during Operation Turki Bowl.

“After the operation and the full impact was starting to be realized, a sense of accomplishment spread across the Squadron,” said Cobb, now the first sergeant for Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Brigade Special Troops Battalion.

Task Force 300 realized what they had stumbled upon was a training camp that was turning out highly trained and motivated insurgents that were using the Turki village area as a safe haven to launch operations from.

“Knowing that we had a part in dismantling that training camp and giving the population in that area a chance to have a normal life took a little of the sting out of the loss we all suffered,” said Cobb. “I think you would be hard pressed to find another unit that went through so much and came out on the other side not only intact but stronger than ever.”