Cavalry regiment at Fort Drum ‘inactivated’

FORT DRUM, New York (WWNY) - After 20 years of service at Fort Drum, the 1st Brigade, 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment was inactivated Friday morning.

The 71st Cavalry of the United States Army was constituted in 1941.

In 2004, the cavalry regiment was activated at Fort Drum.

“Foundationally, cavalry exists to serve as the eyes and ears of an army or a formation,” Matthew Schardt, Commander, 3-71 Cavalry Regiment said Friday.

But as the world is changing, the army must change with it, according to Schardt.

“The how and why we do things that is continuously changing and evolving, so that’s part of what this inactivation is,” he said.

The cavalry was deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Jordan during its time at Fort Drum. It is perhaps best known for the Medal of Honor awarded posthumously to one of its soldiers, Jared Monti, who was killed while repeatedly trying to save a fellow soldier after they were attacked by insurgents in Afghanistan.

“We’re just fortunate enough to be able to call him part of 3-71,” Schardt said Friday.

So what does the inactivation mean for the soldiers who are a part of the 3-71?

“Most in fact of our soldiers will stay within, at Fort Drum, as part of the 10th Mountain Division,” Schardt said.

During Friday’s ceremony, the regiment’s colors were cased, an official acknowledgement that for now, the 3-71 is inactivated.

The commander, however, does not think the time of the 371 is over.

“I have no doubt at some point the nation is going to call upon us again,” he said.

https://www.wwnytv.com/2024/07/26/cavalry-regiment-fort-drum-inactivated/