PINEVILLE, La. - Twenty-nine Soldiers from the Louisiana National Guard’s 2nd Squadron, 108th Cavalry Regiment, 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, competed in the unit’s annual spur ride at Camp Minden to earn their silver spurs Aug. 24.
“The spur ride is an examination, both physical and mental, of a trooper’s ability to execute those tasks necessary of all cavalrymen,” said Maj. John Waller, the 2-108th’s executive officer. “It is a rigorous event that is comprised of land navigation, common Soldier tasks, a road march, and numerous other requirements that set the recipients apart from other troopers and Soldiers. It is akin to the expert infantryman badge for the infantry.”
Historically, cavalrymen had to prove their ability to handle their horses and sabers to earn their spurs. The tradition of awarding gilt spurs, rooted in knighthood, signifies entry into the ranks and fraternity of the mounted warrior. Today, Soldiers may earn two types of spurs: gold spurs, earned in combat, and silver spurs, earned outside of war by completing a spur ride.
Waller said earning spurs is a rite of passage for a cavalryman and a way to measure the willingness of fellow Soldiers to accept a challenge and accomplish a task.
“To me, the spurs are a symbol of a trooper being proficient in their craft,“ he said. “I view it as essentially the same as an infantryman earning the EIB or a medic earning their expert field medical badge. I have always been of the mindset that a leader does not ask a Soldier or trooper to do anything that he or she is not willing to do themselves. This was an opportunity to put that mindset into practice.”
Soldiers must serve in a drilling status with their unit for at least one year, complete at least one annual training period with their squadron, pass the Army Combat Fitness Test, meet Army standards for height and weight and be in good standing with their unit to participate in a spur ride.
“It was a mental game for sure. I just had to keep putting one foot in front of the other,” said Staff Sgt. Hunter Stebbins, readiness noncommissioned officer for D Company, 199th Brigade Support Battalion.
Soldiers were tested at stations that included disassembly, reassembly and functions checks of different weapon systems; hand and arm signals; assembling and performing voice communications and medevac requests over radio systems; tactical combat casualty care and knowledge of cavalry history.
“The weapons pile can be a challenge because typically you do not work on assembling four weapons at the same time from one pile of parts, all intermixed with each other,” Waller said. “Also, as I have moved higher up in position, my likelihood to utilize all these weapons has diminished. This, like many other things, is a perishable skill.”
Upon completion of the spur ride, all candidates, cadre, and current spur holders joined the 19 candidates who completed the spur ride for dinner and the presentation of their spurs at the Spur Banquet.
“It was a great accomplishment for me to get my spurs, and I proved to myself that I could do it,” Stebbins said.
Waller, one of the oldest Soldiers in 2-108th history to earn his spurs at age 49, explained that he wanted to earn his spurs to show the Soldiers that he was willing to take on the challenge and that there was no reason why they couldn’t complete it as well.
“It shows that I have put in the time and effort to learn and be proficient at the common Soldier tasks that are paramount to the success of the squadron,” said Waller. “It shows that I not only can tell someone to do it, but I can do it myself if needed. It shows Soldiers that I am willing to give my all to earn their respect as a common Soldier, not just as a leader who is unwilling to lead from the front.”