Blackhorse
In The Gulf
(Boots and Saddles)
The Gulf Crisis:
The unexpected surprise Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on 2 August 1990 triggered the Gulf Crisis that gripped the world's attention.
The Regiment was not deployed into the Gulf as a unit. The first deployment of 200 troopers included aircrews, mechanics, truck drivers, physician's assistants, intelligence analysts and others. The scout platoons of Troop E and Troop K deployed as units. In the brief, but violent ground campaign that routed Saddam Hussein's Army, one group of Blackhorse scouts, the 1st Platoon of Troop E distinguished themselves. While fighting as part of the 3rd ACR, led by 1st Lt. Tom Johnson and Staff Sergeant Richard Shelton, Troop E moved over 325 Kilometers in less than 60 hours, finishing the war just south of the Iraqi City of Basra. This one platoon captured thirteen enemy prisoners and destroyed thirteen trucks, two command bunkers, and the communications bunker. None of the scouts of Troop E, nor any other Blackhorse trooper, suffered any casualties.
The end of the actual hostilities in the Gulf did not result in a return to normalcy. Far from it, the aftermath of Saddam Hussein's defeat triggered an uprising of Iraq's oppressed Kurdish minority. The Iraqi military bloody suppression of the Kurdish uprising sent hundreds of thousands of Kurds fleeing into the mountainous wastes of southeastern Turkey and western Iran. The world watched in horrified wonderment when the United States took the lead in responding to this intolerable situation. American and Allied military units were directed to deliver relief supplies to the refugees.
The morning of 10 April 1991, V Corps directed the Blackhorse to deploy an aviation task force to supervise the relief operations in Turkey. This was no different than the "No-Notice" deployment to join General "Black Jack" Pershing, in 1916 in Mexico. The Regiment responded quickly and deployed for Operation PROVIDE COMFORT. Within 70 hours of receiving first warning orders, Task Force Thunderhorse, under the command of Major John Mainwaring, launched from Fulda and landed in Diyarbakir, on an austere and remote airfield in southeastern Turkey. Fourth Squadron played a leading role in PROVIDE COMFORT. Fourth Squadron was the foundation from which massive allied helicopter fleets emerged: flying hundreds of sorties, delivering supplies, flying Special Forces teams and relief workers in and out of refugee camps, evacuating the sick and wounded, and inserting the Allied forces to protect the Kurds from Iraqi interference.
In orders dated 16 May 1991, as part of the Operation POSITIVE FORCE, the Joint Chiefs of Staff directed the 11th ACR to deploy immediately to Kuwait in order to sustain a presence there.
13 June, only two weeks after the first Blackhorse soldier had arrived in theatre, the Regiment assumed from 1st Brigade, 3d Armored Division the responsibility for defending Kuwait. The Regiment's new base camp was a sprawling complex surrounded by an eight-foot high wall.
The three line squadrons took turns pulling "Z Cycle", a designation that included responsibility for security. Manning gates, towers, the Z Squadron kept a platoon-size Quick Reaction Force (QRF) on alert around the clock, seven days a week. The QRF deployed off the compound without notice at least twice daily, a muscle-flexing exercise.
On the morning of 11 July a defective vehicle heater triggered a motor pool fire in the north compound of Blackhorse Base Camp. Despite valiant efforts to extinguish it, the blaze burned out of control and began detonating ammunition stored in and around the Regiment's vehicle fleet. The resulting shower of shrapnel and unexploded ordnance forced the evacuation of the entire compound and caused extensive damage.
Some fifty Blackhorse troopers suffered injuries that day, a number that would have been far higher had it not been for numerous individual acts of heroism and the Regiment's disciplined response to the emergency. Miraculously, there were no fatalities.
Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, Commander-in-Chief of the United States Central Command, visited the Regiment. He presented the Soldier's Medal for Heroism to three Blackhorse soldiers:
Major Ricky Lynch
Staff Sergeant Charles Rogers
Private Eric Tomlinson
As the Regiment returned from the Gulf in September 1991 it had to confront this period of change with an odd mixture of uncertainty and unpredictability. The "good guys" and "bad guys" could not be identified, as before. In a world wracked by religious and ethnic passion, economic rivalry, and the frustrated aspirations of hundreds of millions of people, the prospects for lasting peace and harmony seemed remote. Prudent nations and wise soldiers would "keep their powder dry".
Regiment INACTIVATED – 15 October 1993 – 15 March 1994, Germany:
It is always a time of great sorrow when a Regiment with such distinction is ordered to furl its colors. As the military was standing down the Regiment was inactivated, but not for long.
The Regiment ACTIVATED, 16 October 1994, Fort Irwin, California:
THE BEST OF THE BEST,
ALLONS!
In August of 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait. 1st Platoon, E Troop, 2nd Squadron went to war with the 3rd ACR. On 10 April 1991, the Regiment deployed an aviation task force to support the U.S. Kurdish relief efforts in Turkey and Northern Iraq (Operation Provide Comfort). On 16 May 1991, the Regiment deployed to Kuwait for Operation Positive Force to secure Kuwait as it struggled to rebuild from the war. By October, Task Force Thunderhorse’s mission in Turkey was over, and its remaining troopers returned to Fulda. As the need for U.S. forces in Europe decreased, the Blackhorse Regiment was inactivated in a very emotional ceremony on 15 March 1994.
The 11th ACR was reactivated again on 26 October 1994, at the National Training Center, Fort Irwin, California. The Blackhorse continues the tradition of "finding the bastards, then piling on" while serving as the Army’s premier training unit, the NTC’s Opposing Force (OPFOR). The Blackhorse now sets the standard for training the world’s greatest Army, while remaining ready to respond to any contingency.
26 October 1994- the Inactivation of the 177th Armored Brigade and the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment Reactivation ceremony took place at Fort Irwin, California. The last time the Regiment was stationed in the U.S. for any extended time was 1964-66.
The Regiment now serves as the opposing force (OPFOR) in exercises designed to train Army battalion and brigade task forces in tactical and operational level skills under near-combat conditions. The Regiment also publishes the "Red Thrust Star", a quarterly magazine to disseminate accurate and current information regarding the doctrine, organization, equipment, and tactics of all potential adversary military forces.
Most knowledgeable leaders and soldiers consider the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment the best-trained mechanized force in the world. Continuing in the NTC tradition of Lead, Train, Win, the Blackhorse stands ready to respond to any mission to which it may be called.
NOTE: Famous writer Tom Clancy wrote a book entitled Executive Order, in which he mentions the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment as being the premier regiment in the U. S. Army and that they went into the Gulf region again to stop a dictator. It was based on the training and experiences acquired at Fort Irwin, California.
