The commander of 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Col. Keith Benedict, left, helps case the colors during an authority transfer ceremony at Hanson Field House on Camp Casey, South Korea, Feb. 29, 2024. (Luis Garcia/Stars and Stripes)
CAMP CASEY, South Korea — A Texas-based cavalry regiment took over as the 2nd Infantry Division’s rotational force in South Korea during a ceremony roughly 15 miles from the Demilitarized Zone that divides the Korean Peninsula.
The 3rd Cavalry Regiment, of Fort Cavazos, Texas, assumed its new role from 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team in front of about 350 troops gathered Thursday at Hanson Field House on Camp Casey.
The Stryker team returns to Fort Carson, Colo., having completed its nine-month deployment.
The rotational force supports 2nd ID, headquartered at Camp Humphreys, about 40 miles south of Seoul and the largest U.S. military base overseas. Roughly 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in the country, most of them at Humphreys.
The commander of 3rd Cavalry Regiment, Col. Jeffrey Barta, leads a formation during an authority transfer ceremony at Hanson Field House on Camp Casey, South Korea, Feb. 29, 2024. (Luis Garcia/Stars and Stripes)
The 3rd Cavalry consists of about 3,500 troops and 1,500 vehicles, roughly the same size as its predecessor, and is headquartered at Casey.
Known as the Brave Rifles, 3rd Cavalry traces its roots to its creation in 1846, followed by service in the Mexican-American War in 1847, according to the regiment’s homepage. It rode with Gen. William T. Sherman in the Civil War and fought in the Spanish-American War and World Wars I and II.
In the modern era, 3rd Cavalry served in the Persian Gulf and Iraq wars and in Afghanistan. Since 2011, it too rides to the fight in Stryker combat vehicles.
During the ceremony, 2nd ID commander Maj. Gen. William Taylor congratulated the outgoing Stryker team for its “tough and high tempo training” during its tour.
The team took part in numerous exercises with South Korean troops and on Sept. 26 participated in South Korea’s first military parade in a decade on the streets of Seoul.
Members of 3rd Cavalry Regiment take part in an authority transfer ceremony at Hanson Field House on Camp Casey, South Korea, Feb. 29, 2024. (Luis Garcia/Stars and Stripes)
The Stryker commander, Col. Keith Benedict, described the U.S.-South Korea partnership as “one of the world’s premier alliances” and said his soldiers “unquestionably return to Fort Carson as better warfighters.”
“Thanks to a litany of joint, combined and interagency civilian and military partners, we discovered … a host of training and experiential opportunities that only service on the peninsula can deliver,” he told the audience.
Thursday’s ceremony marks the 3rd Cavalry Regiment’s first deployment to South Korea, said Col. Jeffrey Barta, the incoming regimental commander.
“We’re excited today to start writing this next chapter in our history … with our [South Korean] army teammates and serve as an incredible part of the 2nd Infantry Division,” he said.
The Army replaced its rotational armored brigade combat teams with Stryker teams beginning in 2022 to “maintain capabilities on the Korean Peninsula to respond to any acts of aggression,” according to a service news release.
