Garage sale at the Pring house
Tuesday, July 17th, 2007 by AaronBefore Tuesday’s relinquishment of responsibility ceremony, soldiers from the 11th ACR presented outgoing Command Sgt. Maj. Ricky Pring with a branding iron in the shape of the iconic Blackhorse regiment’s shoulder sleeve insignia.
“This is the greatest thing,” Pring said holding the branding iron up during the ceremony. “It was made by soldiers, made from scrap.”
Pring holds up the branding iron during the ceremony.
Pring thanks the Blackhorse soldiers.
And according to Pring, it will be the centerpiece of his home. He warned his wife, Petra, that he would sell all of the furniture in the house that did not go with his new branding iron. If that happens, there will be a garage sale at the Prings’ house, he said, where his son will let you name your price so he doesn’t have to stand out in the sun all day.
The insignia, approved on May 1, 1967, during the regiment’s deployment in Vietnam, features a rearing black horse on a red and white shield. Red and white are the traditional cavalry colors and the black horse alludes to the regiment’s nickname, “Blackhorse,” according the 11th ACR’s pocket-sized history handbook.
11th ACR soldiers lead a cavalry charge across Fort Irwin’s soccer field at the conclusion of Tuesday’s ceremony.
