17th Cavalry Regiment (United States)

17th Cavalry Regiment
17th Cavalry Regiment coat of arms.
Country	United States
Branch	United States Army
Type	Cavalry, aviation
Motto(s)	"Forward"
Colors	Yellow
Engagements	World War II Vietnam War Operation Urgent Fury Operation Just Cause Operation Desert Storm Operation Restore Hope Operation Iraqi Freedom
Insignia
Distinctive unit insignia
Unit beret flash worn by 1st Squadron, 17th Cavalry
Background trimming worn by 1st and 2nd Squadron, 17th Cavalry

The 17th Cavalry Regiment is a historical organization within the United States Army that began as a regiment of cavalry after the Pancho Villa Expedition. The unit was constituted on 1 July 1916 in the Regular Army as the 17th Cavalry at Fort Bliss, Texas and originally inactivated 26 September 1921 at the Presidio of Monterey, California. Formerly a part of the 1950s Combat Arms Regimental System, it was reorganized as a part of the U.S. Army Regimental System, an ongoing effort to maintain the lineage and history of the U.S.Army through its units. Today, the 17th Cavalry Regiment is found across the army within the combat aviation brigades, where the squadrons, now constituted as attack/recon helicopter squadrons, carry on the legacy of the 17th Cavalry Regiment.

The 17th Cavalry Regiment was organized under the provisions of the National Defense Act of 1916 at Fort Bliss, Texas on 30 June 1916 and constituted on 1 July 1916. Brigadier General John J. Pershing had taken his columns into Mexico only a short time before and the need of cavalry troops was pressing. Thirty-two officers and seven hundred and ninety-one veterans from the 1st, 3rd, 6th, 8th and 14th Cavalry Regiments were transferred as the nucleus of the new regiment. Many of these were recalled from the Mexican Punitive Expedition and since all were experienced troopers, little time was spent in whipping the organization into shape. The regimental commander, Colonel Willard A. Holbrook, assumed command on 9 July 1916, on which date the men from the 8th joined the 17th Cavalry Regiment. Colonel Holbrook held command until he was promoted to the rank of major general.