9th Cavalry Regiment "We Can, We Will"

The regiment was constituted 28 July 1866 in the Regular Army as Company F, 9th Cavalry. On 3 August 1866, Major General Philip H. Sheridan, commanding the Military Division of the Gulf, was "authorized to raise, among others, one regiment of colored (African-American) cavalry to be designated the 9th Regiment of U. S. Cavalry".

The regiment was organized on 21 September 1866 in New Orleans, Louisiana, and mustered between September 1866 and 31 March 1867. Its first commanding officer was Colonel Edward Hatch. The men enlisted for five years and received $13 per month, plus room, board and clothing. Later they were dubbed "Buffalo Soldiers". The regiment's motto was, and remains, "We Can, We Will".

The mustering, organized by Maj. Francis Moore, 65th U. S. Colored Infantry, formed the nucleus of the enlisted strength, and was obtained from New Orleans and its vicinity. In the autumn of 1866 recruiting was also established in Kentucky, and all the men of the 9th were obtained from that state and Louisiana. The horses were obtained at St. Louis, Missouri. About the middle of September all recruits were assembled in New Orleans, where empty cotton presses were used as barracks. An epidemic of cholera caused the camp to be moved to Carrollton, a suburb of New Orleans. By the end of March 1867, the 9th Cavalry was at nearly full strength with a total of 885 enlisted men, or an average of over 70 to a troop, and was ordered to San Antonio, Texas, where it arrived early in April for three months of training. However, Troops L and M went directly to their duty station at Brownsville, Texas.

The Regiment saw action in Indian Wars, Spanish-American War, WWI, WWII, Vietnam as Air Cav, Operation Just Cause and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

During OIF, Troop B ("Bloody Knife"), 9th Cavalry, 3rd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, was deployed from Fort Carson, Colorado, to Iraq in April 2003. After arriving at Camp Wolfe, Kuwait the unit moved to Camp New Jersey in Northern Kuwait. The lead elements of the Brigade Reconnaissance Troop (BRT) then crossed into Iraq, covering a distance of over 300 kilometers. This combat operation was the first for the 4th Infantry Division since Vietnam. The BRT has operated in Samarra East Airfield, Samarra, Ad Dawr, Tikrit East, Tuz Khurmat, Jalula, MEK, Daquq, Kirkuk, Taza Khormatu, Al Huwayjah, Ad Duluyah, At Tarmyia, Ad Dujayl, and Balad South.
On 23 October 2003, the soldiers of Troop B/9th Cavalry were issued their combat patches (e.g., the authorization to wear the division patch on the right shoulder) for conducting combat operations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. The troop consisted of two platoons of scouts and one platoon of COLT (combat observation lasing Teams). The unit deployed under the command of CPT William Sachse and redeployed under the command of CPT Clinton Fuller. The Bloody Knife Troop became the quick reaction force for one of the largest logistics bases in Iraq while still conducting operations where ever the brigade needed them. The unit had several platoon leaders rotate in and out but maintained its platoon sergeants from start to finish during OIF 1. 1st Platoon - SFC Olvera, 2nd Platoon - SFC Baird, and 3rd Platoon - SFC Noga. The Bloody Knife Troop was one of the last reconnaissance troops to fall directly under a brigade headquarters.