Parsons Mounted Cav

Issue No. 1 Texas A&M University Army ROTC Fall Semester 2020 PARSONS MOUNTED CAVALRY

Story by Cadet Cindy Jezierski, PMC Public Relations Officer

Have you ever considered riding horses while attending college in these days and age? Some Cadets at Texas A&M do just that while being a member of the Corps of Cadets. "PMC is a student run organization." Cadet Abel Vidaurri who serves as the First Sergeant for PMC commented.

At the end of the WWI, cavalry warfare ended due to changes in technology. The development of machine guns and tanks made charging enemies on horse backs with sabres obsolete. With the birth of mechanize mounted forces in WWII, the U.S. Army disbanded its horse operations in 1943 and ceased mounted drill requirements at Texas A&M.

As a young cadet, Thomas R. Parsons '49 missed the opportunity learning the cavalry drills. He went on to earn his commission as a Field Artillery officer. After 28 years of service with multiple combat tours of duty overseas to include Korea and Vietnam, he returned to Texas A&M as the Commandant of the Corps, Colonel Parsons revived the cavalry tradition starting with the class of 1974 and that special unit was named after its founder.

Parsons Mounted Cavalry (PMC) remained to be the only collegiate drill-and-ceremony horse combat unit in the nation and served as a special unit within the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets. Membership of junior and senior cadets filled the unit with more than 90 members. According to Cadet Chase Laux, the unit consists of cavalry, artillery, and quartermaster elements. Members assigned to the cavalry element are the most senior members, they are the lead element in the parade and often with their sabers. Following the cavalry element are the artillery. They trail formation with their canon in-tow. At the start of every March - In, the artillery crew members fired the canon signified the beginning of the event. The quartermaster element travels at the tail end of the formation. The riders rode on wagons with shotguns protecting the supply for the mounted operations. PMC served a ceremonial unit that reflects the period between 1935-40, the height of the cavalry in the U.S. Army.

Thomas R. Parsons '49 Colonel, U.S. Army

"Most of these horses are donated from the State of Texas prison systems" Cadet Laux informed.

This unit applied military horse training to enhance cadets self-discipline, confidence, leadership, and decision-making skills. Learning to manage an animal much larger than themselves and with a mind of its own in challenging conditions developed many of the skills necessary for modern business and military leadership.

Each Tuesday, Cadets in the program meet at the facility known as “Fiddlers Green”, a tribute to the legendary afterlife imagined by cavalrymen. There, they repaired leathers, polished sabers, and provided feeding and caring of more than 90

animals.