Col. Timothy Price, left, receives the 2nd Cavalry Regiment colors from V Corps leader Lt. Gen. Charles Costanza symbolizing the assumption of command during a ceremony at Tower Barracks in Grafenwoehr, Germany, on June 5, 2026. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)
GRAFENWOEHR, Germany — Col. Timothy Price took command of the Army’s only Europe-based Stryker regiment on Friday, returning to the unit nearly a decade after serving as one of its senior operations officers.
Leadership of the Vilseck-based 2nd Cavalry Regiment formally passed from Col. Donald Neal to Price during a change-of-command ceremony at Tower Barracks in Grafenwoehr.
The regiment serves as one of the Army’s key combat formations in Europe. It also has become one of the Army’s leading formations for experimentation and modernization, helping develop emerging drone, counterdrone and other autonomous capabilities.
Price was an operations officer with the unit at the squadron and regimental levels from 2016 to 2018, giving him firsthand experience with the mission he now leads.
“For 190 years, the 2nd Cavalry Regiment has answered the nation’s calls (with a) clear lineage of innovation and global impact,” Price said Friday.
Col. Timothy Price, commander of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, addresses soldiers and family members during a change of command ceremony in Grafenwoehr, Germany, on June 5, 2026. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)
Col. Donald Neal, outgoing commander of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, talks to attendees at a change of command ceremony in Grafenwoehr, Germany, on June 5, 2026. Neal relinquished command of the regiment to Col. Timothy Price. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)
Lt. Gen. Charles Costanza, commanding general of V Corps, stands with Col. Timothy Price, left, and Col. Donald Neal, right, during a change of command ceremony at Tower Barracks in Grafenwoehr, Germany, on June 5, 2026. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)
The ceremony featured one of the regiment’s long-standing cavalry traditions, with more than 100 soldiers wearing the black Stetson hats often associated with U.S. cavalry units.
The unit has also produced the winners of the U.S. Army Europe and Africa Best Squad Competition for four consecutive years, earning the opportunity to represent the theater at the Army-wide competition.
The 2nd Cavalry Regiment remains an important part of the Army’s mission, said Lt. Gen. Charles Costanza, commander of V Corps, the Army headquarters that oversees the unit and other U.S. forces in Europe.
“We are in a critical period right now in Europe. The security environment continues to be dynamic, complex and volatile,” Costanza said.
Soldiers assigned to the 2nd Cavalry Regiment stand in formation during a change of command ceremony at Tower Barracks in Grafenwoehr, Germany, on June 5, 2026. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)
Col. Donald Neal, outgoing commander of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, passes the regiment’s colors to Lt. Gen. Charles Costanza, commanding general of V Corps, in Grafenwoehr, Germany, on June 5, 2026. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)
The 2nd Cavalry Regiment has repeatedly faced questions about its long-term presence in Germany under President Donald Trump.
In 2020, Trump proposed to pull the regiment out of Germany and transfer its soldiers elsewhere. That course of action was scrapped a year later by former President Joe Biden.
Recent Pentagon plans to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany renewed concerns about regiment’s future. But no changes have been made to the training schedule or operational activities, defense officials have said.
During Neal’s tenure, the regiment played a prominent role in several Army initiatives. Among them is Transforming in Contact, a program aimed at speeding battlefield innovation.
Another example is Project Flytrap, an effort to improve the military’s use of drones and counterdrone systems. It also continued to support NATO deterrence missions across Europe.
In his remarks Friday, Neal highlighted the unit’s contributions to the evolving Army approach to warfare.
“Over the last two years, the regiment has embodied what it means to be ... always ready, always on the frontier’s edge and lethal,” he said.
