Nov 17 2020

Video: Troops from NATO eFP Battlegroup Poland earn their spurs

Last year, the 278th Armoured Cavalry Regiment of the US Pennsylvania national guard stationed at NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) Battlegroup Poland conducted its third multinational ‘Spur Ride’. Candidates from Croatia, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States completed multiple soldiering tasks while cold, tired and hungry to earn their silver spurs in this cavalry unit rite of passage.

The tradition of having to ‘earn your spurs’ reaches back to the beginning of the US Cavalry. When inexperienced Troopers first arrived at their new cavalry assignments, they were assigned a horse with a shaved tail. This led to the nickname ‘shavetail’ for newly assigned, spur-less soldiers.

The footage, shot prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, includes troops from NATO’s eFP Battlegroup Poland taking part in the Spur Ride and receiving their spurs.