End of An Era

So, in reading an article about the current activities of my old unit, I came across this tidbit:

The 3rd ACR is the last unit of its kind in the Army. Upon completion of its mission in Iraq, the unit is scheduled to transform to a brigade combat team equipped with Stryker vehicles, making this the last deployment of a traditional armored cavalry regiment in U.S. history.

And thus ends the Armored Cav.

Cavalry, not being an actual branch of service, is always more subject to the winds of change in the Pentagon. The perceived utility of the stand-alone cavalry regiment waxes and wanes. Read a history of the regiments and you'll see the constant reorganizations and redesignations as the Army struggles with what, exactly, to do with the cavalry.

I have no doubt that in the future, the BCT approach will reveal some shortcomings and an idea similar to the armored cavalry regiment will become useful again. It's how things go in the Army. Ideas that work are shelved in order to try something new, and eventually, they return to what works.

But I still feel a little sad at finding out the Regiment will be reduced to just another Stryker brigade with a funny name and some old traditions.