Staff Sgt. Daniel Krouse, 27, of Phoenix, pours fruit punch — a symbol of the cavalryman’s blood — into a “grog bowl” during a golden spur ceremony at Forward Operating Base Iskandariyah in Iraq on Saturday. (Monte Morin / S&S)
Staff Sgt. Daniel Krouse, 27, of Phoenix, pours fruit punch — a symbol of the cavalryman’s blood — into a “grog bowl” during a golden spur ceremony at Forward Operating Base Iskandariyah in Iraq on Saturday. (Monte Morin / S&S)
Spc. Cole Cutler, 22, of Costa Mesa, Calif., earns his spurs during a special golden spur ceremony Saturday evening. (Monte Morin / S&S)
Scout platoon soldiers mount symbolic horses — dining facility chairs turned backward — during the ceremony. (Monte Morin / S&S)
MUSAYYIB, Iraq — In keeping with a long, colorful tradition of the U.S. Cavalry, members of a 4th Infantry Division scout platoon were recognized as combat cavalrymen Saturday in a “Golden Spur” ceremony.
Three dozen members of Scout Platoon, Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division celebrated the occasion by drinking from a nonalcoholic “grog bowl” containing a variety of drinks and spices that were symbolic of blood, sweat, sand, diesel fuel and other substances of military life.
“This means a lot to the scouts,” said Capt. Kristopher Waldhauser, 26, of Midlothian, Va., prior to the ceremony. Golden spurs are awarded scouts and cavalry soldiers who have served in a combat deployment.
While the soldiers will not actually receive their golden spurs until they return home to Fort Hood, Texas, they were given certificates for them after “mounting” their symbolic horses — chairs turned backward. The ceremony was held in the dining facility of Forward Operating Base Iskandariyah.
“You have earned your spurs along the Euphrates,” Lt. Col. Patrick Donahoe, the battalion commander, told the soldiers.
