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Video by Eric Franklin

Soldiers Train to Win: 1st Cavalry Division Hosts Live-Fire and Media Day

Fort Cavazos Public Affairs Office

April 10, 2025 | 3:54

Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, conducted day and night live-fire training April 10, 2025, at Fort Cavazos, Texas, using the Army’s most advanced main battle tank—the M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams.

The training emphasized lethality, leader development and combat readiness while testing crews on fueling, maneuvering, targeting and sustaining operations over a 24-hour cycle.

Lt. Col. David C. Smith, commander of 1-9 Cav. Regt., 2nd ABCT, 1st Cav. Div., emphasized the importance of building confident leaders through repetition and complexity, saying, “We owe them experiences like this — where we challenge them with complexity, prepare them through repetition and give them feedback to build confident leaders.”

The event also included local media engagement, providing journalists with a firsthand look at how III Armored Corps trains its formations. FOX 44 reporter PJ Heussner described the experience as eye-opening, saying, “Getting a chance to put yourself in their shoes — that’s what hit me. This is their job, every single day.”

Col. Kamil Sztalkoper, director of public affairs for III Armored Corps, added, “Bringing media out builds trust. It shows the public their Army is trained, sharp and proud to serve.”

The video includes b-roll of Abrams tanks firing, Soldiers conducting maintenance and media interactions during the event.