Parsons Mounted Cavalry | |
---|---|
Active | 1973 - present |
Country | United States |
Allegiance | Texas |
Type | Cavalry |
Role | Public duties |
Size | 90 cadets 50 horses |
Part of | Texas A&M University Corps of Cadets |
Garrison/HQ | Fiddler’s Green, College Station, Texas |
Nickname(s) | Cav |
Colors | Yellow |
Website | https://pmc.tamu.edu/ |
Commanders | |
Military Advisor | Colonel Jeff Gardner |
The Parsons Mounted Cavalry (PMC) is a cavalry unit of the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets which serves as the only mounted ROTC cavalry unit in the country. This horse combat unit consists of cavalry, artillery and quartermaster elements. The unit represents Texas A&M University at football games, parades, agricultural, and equestrian events throughout Texas, notably firing a field cannon at home football games when their team scores. There are 90 junior and senior cadets and 50 horses in this unit. [1]
PMC traces its origins to the early years of Texas A&M when mounted drill training was a fundamental part of military education. However, this practice ceased in 1943 with the disbandment of the United States Cavalry Branch by the United States Army. The initiative to revive the cavalry tradition was revived at A&M by the junior Class of 1974, in the spring of 1973. [2] That semester, three cadets, Michael Collins, Darrell Williams, and Douglas Latimer, proposed reviving mounted drill training to then Commandant of Cadets. Colonel Thomas R. Parsons. The unit was named after Parsons, who was the only active-duty Commandant at Texas A&M. [3] The unit made its debut in the Corps' march-in at the Wichita State football game in September 1973. Collins served as the unit's first Commanding Officer, with Williams as the Executive Officer and Latimer as a Platoon Leader. By the 1981–1982 academic year, PMC proudly welcomed its first female member. [4]
It has worked with horsemen of the 1st Cavalry Division. [5]
The command of the company consists of the following individuals: [6]
The unit is broken into three of the following basic units:
Each platoon is further subdivided into two squads.
In 1979, it relocated from the Research Annex to a new facility adjacent to Texas A&M University's Vet School, which in 1981, was named "Fiddler’s Green." The name pays homage to a poignant poem embraced by U.S. Army cavalry formations in the late 1800s, which portrayed an idyllic paradise. In 2014, a substantial expansion initiative nearly doubled the original 26-acre space, elevating the total acreage to an impressive 50 acres. [7]
The Half Section (responsible for Field Artillery and Mule Team elements) maintains the "Spirit of '02", a field gun found in the fall of 1974 at a Aggie Bonfire cut site near Easterwood Airport. [3] The cannon is driven by a 4 horse team and a restored caisson to Kyle Field and fired during all home football games, midnight yell practice, and other special events. While Aggie lore states the gun was the runaway that tumbled over a ridge in the film We've Never Been Licked , there is no conclusive evidence. [8] It is affectionately known as "The Spirit of ‘02," in honor of its 1902 origins. [9]
The PMC Association is a non-profit organization designed to support those in PMC. [10]
Military ranks are a system of hierarchical relationships, within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies or other institutions organized along military lines. The military rank system defines dominance, authority, and responsibility in a military hierarchy. It incorporates the principles of exercising power and authority into the military chain of command—the succession of commanders superior to subordinates through which command is exercised. The military chain of command constructs an important component for organized collective action.
The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer training centre. It is located in the town of Sandhurst, Berkshire, though its ceremonial entrance is in Camberley, Surrey, southwest of London. The academy's stated aim is to be "the national centre of excellence for leadership". All British Army officers, including late-entry officers who were previously Warrant Officers, as well as other men and women from overseas, are trained at the academy. Sandhurst is the British Army equivalent of the Britannia Royal Naval College and the Royal Air Force College Cranwell.
Sergeant (Sgt) is a rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, serjeant, is used in The Rifles and other units that draw their heritage from the British light infantry. Its origin is the Latin serviens, 'one who serves', through the Old French term serjant.
The Texas A&M University Corps of Cadets is a student military organization at Texas A&M University. Established with the university in 1876, it is the oldest student organization on campus.
A drill team can be one of four different entities:
The Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets (VTCC) is the military component of the student body at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Cadets live together in residence halls, attend morning formation, wear a distinctive uniform, and receive an intensive military and leadership educational experience similar to that available at the United States service academies. The Corps of Cadets has existed from the founding of the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College in 1872 to the present-day institution of Virginia Tech, which is designated a senior military college by federal law. As of August 2021, about 1,200 cadets are currently enrolled in the program.
The Fightin' Texas Aggie Band is the official marching band of Texas A&M University. Composed of over 400 men and women from the school's Corps of Cadets, it is the largest military marching band in the world. The band's complex straight-line marching maneuvers are performed exclusively to traditional marches.
Texas A&M University at Galveston (TAMUG) is an ocean-oriented branch campus of Texas A&M University offering both undergraduate and graduate degrees. Students enrolled at Texas A&M University at Galveston, known affectionately as 'Sea Aggies', share the benefits of students attending Texas A&M University (TAMU) campus in College Station. TAMUG is located on Pelican Island, offering benefits for its maritime focused majors.
In the United States Armed Forces, a guidon is a military standard or flag that company/battery/troop or platoon-sized detachments carry to signify their unit designation and branch/corps affiliation or the title of the individual who carries it. A basic guidon can be rectangular, but sometimes has a triangular portion removed from the fly.
Norwich University – The Military College of Vermont is a private senior military college in Northfield, Vermont. It is the oldest private and senior military college in the United States and offers bachelor's and master's degrees on-campus and online. The university was founded in 1819 in Norwich, Vermont, as the American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy. It is the oldest of six senior military colleges and is recognized by the United States Department of Defense as the "Birthplace of ROTC".
The traditions of Texas A&M University are a key aspect of the culture of Texas A&M University. Some of the school traditions date to the 1890s, shortly after the opening of the school, while others have been introduced more recently. These traditions encourage current students and alumni (Aggies) to cultivate the Aggie Spirit, a sense of loyalty and respect for the school, and dictate many aspects of student life, including how to greet others, how to act at an A&M sporting event, and what words a student may use in conversation. The most visible tradition among senior class students and alumni is the wearing of the Aggie Ring, whose design has been relatively unchanged since its introduction in 1894. Not all Aggie traditions are recognized by the university, and some, like Bonfire, have been discontinued for safety reasons. Texas Monthly states that the students' respect for school traditions and values is the university's greatest strength.
The Ross Volunteer Company is the military escort of the governor of Texas and a unit of the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets.
The 23rd Cavalry Division was a cavalry formation of the United States Army National Guard during the interwar period.
Many terms are unique to, or hold a special meaning connected with, Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. The university, often called A&M or TAMU, is a public research university and is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. It opened in 1876 as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, the first public institution of higher education in that state. In 1963, the Texas Legislature renamed the school to Texas A&M University to reflect the institution's expanded roles and academic offerings. The letters "A&M" no longer have any explicit meaning but are retained as a link to the university's past.
The Denbighshire Hussars was a Welsh Yeomanry regiment of the British Army formed in 1794. It saw service in the First World War before being converted into a unit of the Royal Artillery. The lineage has been continued by 398 Squadron, Royal Logistic Corps.
The Sam Houston Sanders Corps of Cadets Center is a museum on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, dedicated to the school's Corps of Cadets.
The 211th Military Police Battalion is a unit of the Massachusetts Army National Guard. Its Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment is descended from the First Corps of Cadets, initially formed in 1741. It is one of several National Guard units with colonial roots. Its motto is Monstrat Viam – "It Points the Way." While it has served in five wars, the sub-unit's primary contribution to Massachusetts and to the United States was as an officer-producing institution for new regiments from the Revolutionary War through World War II.
For more than a century the Military Parade of Chile or Great Military Parade of Chile has been a tradition within the Independence Day holidays in Chile. It is held in Santiago, Chile's O'Higgins Park on September 19 yearly in honor of the Glories of the Chilean Army with a military parade involving not just the ground forces but by the rest of the Chilean Armed Forces: the Chilean Navy, the Chilean Air Force, and the Carabineros de Chile. It is also in honor of the anniversary of the formal inauguration on that day in 1810 of the First Government Junta, which witnessed the first military parade of the independent nation at the Plaza de Armas, Santiago. It is the final act of the national independence celebrations, which are broadcast through TV and the Internet and radio.
Oregon State University Army ROTC is an ROTC Battalion assigned to Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon. Its mission is to train Cadets in basic military leadership and commission them as 2nd Lieutenants upon the completion of a bachelor's degree. Founded in 1873, the ROTC Battalion has continued to serve the nation and US Army Cadet Command and was given the nickname, "The West Point of the West" after it produced more commissioned officers than any other ROTC Battalion in the USA during World War II.
Polish Armed Forces were the armed forces of the Second Polish Republic from 1919 until the demise of independent Poland at the onset of Second World War in September 1939.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)