1CDSB surpasses two thirds a century

FORWARD OPERATING SITE POWIDZ, Poland- For 67 years, the 1st Cavalry Division Sustainment Brigade, or 1CDSB, has exemplified sustained excellence, whether it's at home station Fort Cavazos, Texas or its current location on NATO's eastern flank.

The brigade provides the 1st Cavalry Division with essential supplies, maintenance, transportation, and field service. Despite multiple organizational changes and rebranding over the years, 1CDSB, also known as Task Force Wagonmaster, or TF Wagonmaster, continues to be a crucial divisional asset more than two-thirds of a century after its inception.

The unit's history dates back to the aftermath of the Korean War, when Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 1st Cavalry Division Trains, was constituted on Aug. 22, 1957. Although the concept of "Trains" under a controlling headquarters was new to the division at the time, it had been successfully employed by Armor units during World War II to provide Troopers in the field with essential supplies, including food, clothing, ammunition and transportation.

Today, the brigade continues this proud tradition. To celebrate its founding, the current Troopers of 1CDSB hosted a full day of events at Forward Operating Site Powidz. The day included a physical readiness training, or PRT, event, a sports tournament, a soldier recognition and awards ceremony and, as tradition demands, a cake-cutting ceremony with a ceremonial military saber.

"We ask you as teams to compete together … because that's how we win. We win as teams, not as individuals," said Col. Christopher Jones, the 1st Cavalry Division Sustainment Brigade and Task Force Wagonmaster Commander, during his opening remarks.

The celebration began early in the morning with Soldiers forming up by their respective battalions and companies. Dressed in Army Combat Uniforms and carrying 35-pound rucksacks, they were divided into groups to tackle a series of challenging PT events themed around the number 67, marking the brigade's years of service.

"I'm not asking you to have been born strong or born tough, but I'm asking you to have grit because grit is what's going to take you through everything in life," Jones told his Troopers before they started the PT event.

The PT course included seven stations, with each event following the '67' theme, whether it was through repetitions or seconds. At the first station, Soldiers completed 67 hand-release 'T' push-ups as a team. They then ran to the second station, where they worked together to push gym weight plates across a sports field, alternating between the bear crawl position and carrying the plates on their backs.

At the next station, the Soldiers completed 67 'ruck squats' using their rucksacks as quasi-medicine balls. Station four required them to hold a plank position for 67 seconds. At station five, they conducted rucksack presses. The penultimate station featured 67 '8-count push-ups,' and the final station had them complete 67 repetitions of the 'Rower' exercise before returning to their starting point.

After the PT event, Col. Jones recognized and awarded the group that finished first.

"It pays to be a winner," Jones said as he presented each group member with a brigade coin.

The day's festivities continued with a cake-cutting ceremony. Col. Jones recognized additional Soldiers for outstanding service before inviting the brigade's youngest and oldest Soldiers to join him in cutting the cake observing the time-honored Army tradition.

After celebrating their organization's birthday, the Soldiers and leaders of the brigade soon set their focus on conducting platoon live fire exercises, continuing its mission as the deployed rotational sustainment brigade. Throughout its history, Soldiers of the Wagonmaster brigade have served honorably and will continue to provide the sustainment needs of the 1st Cavalry Division, at home or abroad.

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