MNBG-East Cavalry Scouts Earn Their Spurs on Bondsteel

Photo By Staff Sgt. Adeline Witherspoon | U.S. Army Soldiers, assigned to Multinational Battle Group-East’s Forward Command Post, are inducted into the Cavalry’s “Order of the Spur” after completing a spur ride on Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo, June 3. As per cavalry tradition, the Soldiers endured mud and rain, performing a series of grueling mental and physical tasks designed to test their ability to work as a team. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Adeline Witherspoon, 20th Public Affairs Detachment)  

KOSOVO

06.04.2017

Story by Spc. Adeline Witherspoon      

KFOR Regional Command East

CAMP BONDSTEEL, Kosovo— The Army loves it’s traditions. It loves nothing more than to watch it’s Soldiers crawl through the mud, and endure the cold and bad weather, in order to uphold those traditions. Luckily, the cavalry scouts of Multinational Battle Group-East’s Forward Command Post have shown they have what it takes to be inducted into the “Order of the Spur,”
during a spur ride held on Camp Bondsteel, June 3.
As lightening cracked overhead, followed by the low grumble of thunder, the spur-candidates prepared for what would be a grueling 12 hour ordeal . The tradition of “earning your spurs” dates back to the early days of the Cavalry, before Humvees replaced horses. New Soldiers were not awarded their spurs until they had been adequately trained in all methods of horsemanship, for fear they would injure their animals.
Now, Soldiers had the chance to put their tactical skills to the test. The teams would ruck to each of the 10 stations, performing tasks ranging from weapons assembly to casualty evacuation. Each lane was specifically designed to test leadership, technical and tactical proficiency, physical fitness, and the Soldier’s ability to operate as members of a squad under high levels of stress and fatigue. The Calvary doesn’t give their spurs away, the Soldiers have to earn them.
"I was so tempted to give up, but knowing that I completed something so difficult gives me more self confidence,” said Pfc. Wesley Peppers, a Soldier assigned to MNBG-East’s FCP. I finally feel like I'm part of Cavalry family.”
The rain kept coming down. The weather being as much of an inconvenience for the spur-candidates as it was for the spur-holders who, when not unleashing a torrent of fury upon an unlucky Cavalry scout, huddled miserably around camp fires.
If it’s one thing the spur-candidates carry with them, next to the tourniquets in their cargo pockets, it’s pride. Pride makes the rain less bone-chillingly cold, the mud less like cement drying on their boots, and the long, long hours of the night that much shorter.
“The spurs are the number one symbol of what it means to be a Cavalryman,” said Pfc. Edward Murphy, a Cavalry scout assigned to MNBG-East’s FCP. “Having our spurs means we earned our spots in the Cavalry world.”

• Date Taken: 06.04.2017
• Date Posted: 06.08.2017 08:29
• Story ID: 236834
• Location: ZZ