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News
High Desert Warrior May 2022
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San Jose student delivers cavalry artifact to 11th ACR
Story by Capt. Evan Cain
11th Armored Cavalry Regiment
On April 22, 2022, Jackson Spilker, a student at San Jose State University, de- livered a copy of the Cavalry Drill Regu- lations, published by the United States Army in 1916, to the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (ACR) command team at the General Robert W. Cone National Training Center (NTC) and 11th ACR Heritage Center.
During that time, Cavalry Drill Regu- lations was circulated to instill uniformity throughout the Army. It included general provisions for dismounted and mounted movements, individual and collective instruction regarding cavalry, task or- ganization, ceremonies, inspection, and more. The book was obtained by Jackson’s partner, Celeste Gonzalez, who acquired it from a friend’s attic in early April 2022.
“Celeste said they found something that I might be interested in, and what they brought me was the 1916 Cavalry Drill instruction manual,” recalled Jack- son. “I asked them where they got it and they said their friend had it in their attic. The actual origin of how the object came about is something we don’t know.”
Jackson, who is currently majoring in history as part of his undergraduate degree, felt that the book was of histori- cal value and needed to be preserved. He took it upon himself to get into contact with those who it may have belonged to.
“I thought it was in pretty great condi- tion for a 106 year old book,” said Jack- son. “The inside of the book was labeled ‘11th Cavalry.’ I looked up the unit and saw that the 11th Cavalry was still active and stationed at Fort Irwin.”
In 1916, the 11th Cavalry would have been participating in the Punitive Expedi- tion in Mexico before withdrawing from the country in February 1917. Shortly
afterward, the 11th Cavalry was stationed on the West Coast at the Presidio of Monterey, California, from 1919 to 1940.
Jackson called the Fort Irwin Visitor Center, and eventually made contact with Col. Todd W. Hook, the current com- mander of the 11th ACR, who confirmed that the book would be a great addition to the Regiment’s history exhibits at the General Robert W. Cone NTC and 11th ACR Heritage Center.
Jackson drove over 400 miles to hand deliver the artifact to the 11th ACR, where it will be displayed at the General Robert W. Cone NTC and 11th ACR Heritage Center. Before his departure, Jackson was presented a certificate of appreciation from Col. Todd Hook and Command Sgt. Maj. Ryan McLane, Senior Enlisted Advisor to Col. Hook.
“I figured for something this impor- tant, this rare, it was only appropriate to take it by hand,” said Jackson. “I wanted to do the best thing I could and do what I felt was right. I have always professed a love for history. This is just another way of proving that to myself.”
The 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment currently serves as the Opposing Force, providing a near-peer adversary in a complex and multilayered exercise. In ad- dition to force-on-force armored engage- ments, the 11th Armored Cavalry Regi- ment also conducts dismounted urban operations; electronic and information warfare with drones, jammers, and radar; and mounted reconnaissance as well as all the supporting operations needed to keep a brigade-sized force functional.
A digital copy of the 1916 United States Army Cavalry Drill Regula- tions can be viewed at the following link: https://play.google.com/books/ reader?id=1NxEAAAAIAAJ&pg=GBS. PP1&printsec=frontcover
Jackson Spilker is presented a certificate of appreciation from the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment command team, Col. Todd Hook, and Command Sgt. Maj. Ryan McLane, at the General Robert W. Cone National Training Center (NTC) and 11th ACR Heritage Center.
Command Sgt. Maj.
Ryan M. McLane, the
11th Armored Cavalry Regiment Senior Enlisted Advisor, inspects the Cavalry Drill Regulations manual hand-delivered to the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment by Jackson Spilker at the General Robert W. Cone National Training Center (NTC) and 11th ACR Heritage Center.
From ARMY, Page 1
Brig. Gen. Curtis Taylor, Commanding General of the National Training Center, stressed the importance of providing tough and realistic training for visiting units in his brief to the Secretary. “We’ve designed our rotations in a way that units face their hardest day in combat here so that they are better prepared to face any threat on future deployments,” Taylor said.
With more than 1,200 square miles of unencumbered terrain, the NTC is the U.S. Army’s largest Combat Training Center and has ensured Army Readiness for more than 40 years. Its remote location provides combat formations the ability to face realistic training scenarios on the land, in the air, and in cyber and space domains that their home stations cannot provide.
Wormuth stated that she was incredibly impressed with how the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, the NTC’s professional Opposing Force, have adapted its training to prepare units for the future battlefield.
“With the establishment of Task Force Reaper, we are constantly observing and adapting to replicate future threats,” said Cpt. Trevor
Brown, 11th ACR INFOWAR Planner. “By rapidly gaining and maintaining the information advantage we are able to provide multi-domain challenges for BCTs.”
During her multiday visit, Wormuth took the time to view several of Fort Irwin’s quality of life initiatives and met with spouses, families, and children. “We recruit Soldiers, but we retain U.S. Army families,” Wormuth later said at the Cactus Corner Child Development Center stressing the importance of putting people first.
With the Army’s creation of the Quality of Life Task Force, the NTC and Fort Irwin have seen significant investments towards its people and infrastructure to include a new post library, Starbucks drive-thru, and remodeled post “Reel-Time” theatre. A recent BAH increase ensures on-post housing re- mains modern and an assignment incentive pay of $4,800 is available to Soldiers who preference Fort Irwin in the AIM 2.0 and ASK-EM portals. “To train the best, we have to be the best,” said Taylor. “We’ve seen close to $17 million in projects have been
completed, around $35 million in progress, and over $300 million programmed over the next decade. We’re thankful for the Secretary coming to visit the NTC.”
For more information go to home.army.mil/irwin