Email   Print   Share By 1st Lt. Joan Drammeh, 3rd CR Public Affairs

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Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, sings the tune “Morning Glory” with Col. John Richardson, commander of the 3rd CR, at the conclusion of a leaders professional development session and awards ceremony June 28 at Club 67. Staff Sgt. Michael J. Dator, 3rd CR Public Affairs

Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, shakes hands with Lt. Col. Lynn Downie, commander of “Steel” Squadron, 3rd CR, before the start of a leaders professional development session held June 28 at Club 67. Staff Sgt. Michael J. Dator, 3rd CR Public Affairs

Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, inducts retired Command Sgt. Maj. Harvey Reed, the seventh 3rd Cav. Regt. command sergeant major, into the Order of Saint George (Silver) with the regimental Sabre of Command during a ceremony June 28 at Club 67. Staff Sgt. Michael J. Dator, 3rd CR Public Affairs

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff spent a few morning hours at Fort Hood June 28 as he met with Lt. Gen. Don Campbell Jr., III Corps and Fort Hood commanding general, and then visited his former command and regimental affiliation, the 3rd Cavalry Regiment.

Gen. Martin Dempsey served as the 67th Colonel of the Regiment from 1996-1998 and took the opportunity to pay homage to the illustrious history of the Regiment of Mounted Riflemen.

“There is a tremendous sense of history about the regiment, and it’s important to know that those who served before you are nudging you to live up to the legacy that is the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment,” Dempsey said.

“I appreciate the way the regiment has taken on the task of transitioning from one platform to another while maintaining the rich tradition that you inherited,” Dempsey added, referring to the regiment’s recent

conversion to Stryker armored wheeled vehicles.

The chairman’s visit included a trip to the regiment’s new leaders club, known as Club 67, where he spoke to Brave Rifles leaders. Following the discussion, Dempsey officially knighted retired Command Sgt. Maj. Harvey Reed into the Order of St. George (Silver) and then led the crowd in singing “I wanna be in the Cavalry” and “Morning Glory” alongside Col. John Richardson, current commander of the regiment and his former aide-de-camp.

Dempsey was quick to downplay his role as a former commander of the regiment, saying he didn’t invent anything new in that capacity, but instead was “a continuum of history, with a long line of predecessors supporting him,” he said.

“If you can look back and find that your protégés have taken on the responsibility of the institution, that’s not a bad legacy. In fact, that may be the most important legacy,” he said, acknowledging Richardson and retired Col. David Teeples, the 70th Colonel of the Regiment.

Richardson, however, gives more credit to his former boss.

“The Regimental Leaders’ Club picked up the nickname Club 67 for good reason,” Richardson said. “There are a number of famous and influential former commanders of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment, but the 67th Colonel, Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, is by far the most influential former commander of the regiment.”