HEADHUNTER UPDATE: 26 Feburary
A gracious note from Ms Luciana Herman, Apache 6's Chief of Staff (Wife) and the Apache Troop Family Readiness Group Leader at Fort Hood.
The families and friends of the 1st Cavalry Division, 4th Brigade, 1-9 CAV Squadron, Apache Troop, Veterans, Bullwhip members, and civilians have done the best that they can to support the families of the fallen and wounded in a myriad of ways. Each family's needs are different, and we have tried to accommodate them as such, ensuring that each of our efforts has been aimed at shortening the distance on the path of healing. The soldiers of Apache Troop have been cared for by their leadership and fellow brothers in arms, and we have received nothing but positive feedback on their improved work ethic and resiliency. Thank you to all who have and will continue to support our community as the grieving process is long and arduous.
Sergeant Fierro's condition is improving!
Sergeant Robert Fierro of Alpine, TX has been responsive and making progress on his road to recovery and is in good condition. Today (25 Feb) he had a pass and was able to join a former HEADHUNTER for lunch and sharing outside of medical facilities. It is amazing to hear how he has been blessed in his recovery but he and his family still have a long road ahead of them. The Family is by his side and please send any get well cards to the Squadron as noted further down the page. Donation details for the Fierro Family are below the address card to the Squadron.
Here is a link to a video story about the January 15th attack from a local Fort Hood, Texas TV station, KWTV
This past week’s Army Times had an article (page 22) and if you want a digital viewing click here. 
If you're unable to open the Army Times link from here go to: www.armytimes.com and click the link "Bronze Stars for 3 Who Downed Rogue Iraqi" on the home page (it's in the list of articles in the center of the home page).
The HEADHUNTER Memorial services took place on 11 February 2011 at Fort Hood. The ceremonies were very moving and did an outstanding job of properly Honoring our Fallen and the Bartley and LaMar Families. Apache Troopers that were able to attend were; Apache 6, Paul Funk - Apache 29, Ron Livingston - and Apache Red, Joe Bowen. We had the Honor of being able to pay our respects to our Fallen Troopers and their Families. Memorial Pictures will be posted later this week. Apache Red
We have been provided an address to send condolences for the LaMar and Bartley Families and get well for SGT Fierro who was wounded and is at The Richland, VA Medical Center A sample envelope is provided below:
UPDATE 27 Jan 2011: Donation info for Sgt Fierro and Family. First National Bank, Texas P.O. Box 937. Killeen, TX 76540-0937 Direct deposit routing number# 111906271. The account is under Lisa Fierro as an account that will be assisting Robert Fierro, his wife and two sons.
26 February 2011 Update: Sergeant Fierro's condition is improving!
Sergeant Robert Fierro of Alpine, TX has been responsive and making progress on his road to recovery and is in good condition. Today he had a pass and was able to join a former HEADHUNTER for lunch and sharing outside of medical facilities. It is amazing to hear how he has been blessed in his recovery but he and his family still have a long road ahead of them. The Family is by his side and please send any get well cards to the Squadron as noted further down the page. Donation details for the Fierro Family are below the address card to the Squadron.
The HEADHUNTER Memorial services took place on 11 February 2011 at Fort Hood. The ceremonies were very moving and did an outstanding job of properly Honoring our Fallen and the Bartley and LaMar Families. Apache Troopers that were able to attend were; Apache 6, Paul Funk - Apache 29, Ron Livingston - and Apache Red, Joe Bowen. We had the Honor of being able to pay our respects to our Fallen Troopers and their Families. Memorial Pictures will be posted later this week. Apache Red
Letter from HEADHUNTER 6 in Iraq Notifying us of the tragic news of January 15th:
Headhunter Friends and Families,
We are writing you to inform you of the tragic loss of two of our Headhunter Troopers and the wounding of another. On January 15th, during a training exercise with our Iraqi partners, a member of the Iraqi Army opened fire on a group of Apache Troop Soldiers. Although the investigation is not complete, all indications are that this was a deliberate attack by a violent extremist who had infiltrated the ranks of the Iraqi Army. Apache Troopers reacted swiftly and killed the gunman, but in the exchange of fire we lost two members of the Headhunter Team and one was seriously wounded. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Family and friends of our fallen Soldiers, who will forever be a part of the Headhunter Family. We stand ready to assist in any way possible.
LTC John Cushing
CSM Duane Detweiler
Headhunter Command Team
SGT Michael Bartley
Click on the Apaches Flag to go to the local news picture coverage of SGT Bartley's Funeral
SGT Bartley being escorted by his Apache Troop Brothers on Friday, 28 January 2011 (Photo by Jeremy Hogan, Son of Jerry Hohan - B Troop 69-71)
SGT LaMar's funeral was on Saturday, January 29, 2011 in Sacramento, CA. Bullwhip attendees were Mike and Susan Perry (B Troop Scouts 70-71), Jack Bracamonte (A Troop Scouts, 70-71) and Joe Bowen (Guns, B and A Troops 68-69). The same HEADHUNTERs that attended SGT Bartley’s funeral supported SGT LaMar’s funeral. I can’t imagine the emotional strain these great Troopers endured going through all the preparation and then compressed mission timelines to properly Honor and then bury their comrades in Illinois and California – over 2,000 miles apart.
SGT LaMar Picture taken at his deployment 15 Sep 2010 at Ft Hood
Members of the Patriot Guard Riders Line the Entrance into the Saint Rose Church
Sergeant Dehany Secures Sergeant LaMar's Flag During the Funeral Mass
Honors, Farewells and the Burial of SGT Mick LaMar on January 29, 2011
Captain Wade Presents the Gold Star Flag to Mrs. LaMar after the Funeral
We have been provided an address to send condolences for the LaMar and Bartley Families and get well for SGT Fierro who was wounded and is at Bethesda National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. A sample envelope is provided below:
Our 1st Squadron 9th Cavalry HEADHUNTERS Departed Fort Hood, Texas for Iraq 15 and 16 September. Our Prayers and Best Wishes go with all the Troopers and their Families!
Click to go to the Squadron Facebook Photo page: www.facebook.com/photo.php
Apache Troop Formation for Deployment 15 Sep 2010
CPT Patton presenting the Apache Troop Coin to the wife of an Apache Trooper at the Apache Troop Deployment 15 Sep 2010
HEADHUNTERS Marching in Review at the Color Casing Ceremony, 31 Aug, FT Hood, TX.
HEADHUNTER Command and Staff May 2010, FT Hood, Texas
Some Pictures in the HEADHUNTER Conference Room at FT Hood, TX
In Memory of our Fallen Comrade
1LT Michael T. Jue
1st Lt. Michael Thomas Jue's memorial, 15 March 2010
Photo credit Spc. Terence Ewings, 4th BCT, 1st Cav. Div. PAO
FORT HOOD, Texas-LTC. John Cushing, commander of the 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, places a battalion coin of achievement on 1st Lt. Michael Thomas Jue's memorial during the remembrance ceremony at the Fort Hood Operation Iraqi Freedom Veteran's Chapel on March 15. Jue died March 2 after collapsing during morning physical fitness training.
"Even after we returned from Iraq, Michael continued to do what he did best, he led from the front," said LTC John Cushing, the squadron's commander. "Everyone that he touched and led benefited from it."
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RELEASE No. 20091027-01 Oct. 27, 2009
Headhunters continue CAV tradition with spur ride
By Sgt. 1st Class Kap Kim
1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs
FORT HOOD, Texas – In the old days, a cavalry trooper was given an inexperienced horse with no tail as a way to show his own inexperience.
Today’s cavalry trooper is no different … except for the horse.
Command Sgt. Maj. Donald Felt, the Fort Hood Garrison sergeant major, and a former command sergeant major for the squadron, shared that story with the candidates -- nearly 60 of them throughout the 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, set out last week during three days of intense testing and a display of their physical prowess.
The silver spurs the candidates were vying for was a trophy they’d earn after completing an Army Physical Fitness Test, in which they’d be graded in youngest age group and would have to achieve 75 percent in order to move on to a written exam. From there, they’d start their night and day land navigation.
If they passed, the rest would be attainable, said Lt. Col. John Cushing, the squadron’s commander of Rochester, Mich.
“If you’ve made it this far, you should be able to make it the rest of the way,” Cushing told the candidates just before their night land navigation.
The rest of the testing consisted of more than a dozen different Cavalry Scout-related tasks and a 12-mile road march.
The Squadron returned from a year-long deployment to Iraq and most of its members earned the golden, “combat spurs.”
For most of the troopers who already have their combat spurs, earning the silver spurs was something they believed was a “right of passage.”
Yet, a few, who are new to the unit, earning the silver spurs is the only set they’ll get a chance to have.
For Sgt. William Farmer, a Troop B Cavalry Scout, who just arrived to the unit two weeks before the spur ride, testing for the silver spur was something he felt he had to do.
“Not everyone has it, and the ones who have it take great pride in having them,” Farmer said.
Farmer’s commander, Capt. Ben Jackman, of Princeton, N.J., joined the unit during their deployment. This was the first opportunity for the Ranger-tabbed Infantry officer to test for his silver spurs. He said wanted to go through the spur ride to be out with his Soldiers.
“It’s fantastic training,” he said. “It’s a great way for Soldiers, who are proficient in Scout skills, to show their excellence in a realist and physically tough environment.”
That’s exactly what attracted Sgt. Victoria Talveras, of Boston, to the spur ride. “I feel pumped up,” she said after the road march. “I just like all the physical stuff … and keeping up with the guys.”
Talveras, who is a food service sergeant assigned to the Squadron’s support unit, Company D, Forward Support Company, was one of only two females to enter the spur ride.
Looking back, she said the toughest part of the spur ride was the sleep deprivation they would all encounter in the three days … and, oh, yeah, the rain.
“It sucked … during the Claymore mines, it was two in the morning in the rain,” she recalled. “Even though it was cold, windy and pouring rain, I kept on going because I don’t like to quit; it would have eaten away at me if I’d quit.”
And for retired Col. Joe Bowen, a former member of the Squadron during the Vietnam War, being able to watch today’s Headhunter was “humbling.”
“Being out here with these young guys … for us old guys, it’s very humbling to see what this generation is doing to carry on our traditions,” said Bowen, who serves as the 1st Sqdrn., 9th Cav. Regt.’s Bullwhip Association president.
Bowen, along with a handful of other former Squadron members were invited to the spur ceremony and dinner at the Elijah Military Operations on Urbanized Terrain facility on Fort Hood.
The Bullwhip Association paid for all the spurs and beverages during the spur ceremony dinner at the MOUT site.
During the dinner, Felt, as the guest speaker, reminded the candidates that he was proud of them for stepping up and taking the challenge of not only the spur ride, but also on the global war on terrorism. He reminded them that by earning their spurs, they have proven that they have earned the right of passage.
“Some of you have earned combat spurs, and now you have earned silver spurs,” said Felt. “You’ve crossed that line from inexperienced to experienced … you’re authorized full tale and spurs.”
 who fought in B Troop in 1968-69.JPG)
CPT Ben Jackman, Commander, B Troop 1-9 Cav, gets his spurs from 1-9 Cav Bullwhip Association member Art Price, a B Troop Cobra Pilot (Saber 22) who fought in B Troop in 1968-69
CSM Donald Felt, Fort Hood Garrison sergeant major, speaks to the newest inductees of 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry's Spur Ride
SP4 Terry Kemp, listens to his favorite tunes during the 12-mile road march
Sgt. William Farmer, a scout assigned to Troop B, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, watches out for enemy activity
