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GENERAL INFORMATION
Reunions are a time for all of us to gather together and say “Welcome
Home” and we want each of you to be a part of this great event. The
Troopers of the 1st Cavalry Division Association will be meeting once more
in
Killeen, Texas
to celebrate our 66th Annual Reunion.
Most of the 1st Cavalry Division will be at
Fort Hood during this reunion but we expect some of
our Troopers to be deployed. Come and join us for a fun time meeting old
friends and making new ones. We are planning numerous events and there
will be opportunities for you to go off on your own and see the
surrounding area.
Please register early to assist us in coordinating the best reunion
possible. Some events will have limited seating available due to the size
of available rooms. All members of the Association must register and pay
the Registration Fee in order to attend the reunion. Early registration,
December 2012 through 3 May 2013 is $20 for all members, except those on
active duty. Active Duty Troopers pay $10 to register. Those sending in
Registrations post-marked after 3 May 2013 must pay late registration fee
of $40. Family members attending with an Association member, widows of
1st Cavalry Division Troopers and Gold Star Family members that attend do
not have to pay a registration fee. Registration forms will be added to
this page within the next couple of weeks.
The Shilo
Inn Suites Hotel, located at 3701 South W.S. Young Drive in Killeen, will be our Reunion Headquarters.
The Shilo is located next to the Killeen Convention and Conference
Center which will be the main location for most of our events.
The Shilo will also host our Reunion Room and the
Crossed Sabers Souvenir Shop.
LODGING
The Shilo Inn & Suites has guaranteed a room rate of $99 per night plus tax for
up to 125 rooms on peak nights and there is no charge for parking. Call
(254) 699-0999 reserve a room. The reservation toll-free number is (800)
222-2244. Make sure that you identify yourself as attending the 1st
Cavalry Division Association reunion. The Shilo will provide a voucher
for a breakfast in the restaurant, which will be open to support our
reunion. The hotel does provide a free shuttle service from the Killeen
Airport. Shuttles and rental cars are available at the airport. The
hotel is located at 3701 S. W.S. Young Drive in Killeen. The Shilo
is a non-smoking hotel but accepts pets. Contact the hotel for
details on pets.
We have also blocked rooms at the newly renovated Courtyard Killeen by
Marriott, located at 1721 E. Central Texas Expressway. Many of you may
recognize this as the address of the hotel which we used to use (Plaza)
but this is a much improved and completely renovated hotel with a
different owner. The Courtyard Marriott has been gutted
and completely remodeled and looks brand new with new plumbing and air
conditioning and a fresh new look. To reserve rooms at the Courtyard
Marriott call (254) 615-2000 or (800) 321-2211. Again, the room rate is
$99 per night plus tax with free parking available. This is a
pet-free, non-smoking hotel.
We do not reserve rooms for you and making
and canceling reservations are your responsibility.
As many of you know,
Killeen
has no hotels large enough to hold our reunion so we will be staying in
several different hotels. The Shilo is located next to the KCCC
but the rest of the hotels are not
within walking distance but are located close to each other.
The Association will provide a shuttle bus to move you from one of
our many hotels to the Shilo, the KCCC or to the post for any events being
held there.
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Shilo
Inn & Suites - For Reservations call hotel at (254) 699-0999 or
central reservations
(800) 222-2244
3701 South W.S. Young Drive, Killeen, TX 76542
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Courtyard
Killeen by Marriott - For Reservations call the hotel at
(254)
616-2000
or central reservations (800) 321-2211
1721 E. Central Texas Expressway, Killeen, Texas 76541
The following hotels are also located in Killeen
but we will not be providing bus transportation to or from these hotels.
No rooms have been blocked at these hotels you will pay the regular room rate.
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Holiday Inn (Killeen) - For
Reservations call (800) 465-4329 or (254) 690-5511
300 E. Central Texas Expressway, Killen, TX 76541
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Candlewood Suites - For Reservations call (877) 226-3539 or
(254) 501-3990
2300 Florence Road, Killeen, TX 76541
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Fairfield Inn - For Reservations call (888) 236-2427 or (254)
526-3333
200 E. Central Texas Express Way, Killeen, TX 76541
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Residence Inn - For Reservations call (888) 236-2427 or
(254) 634-1020
400 E. Central Texas Express Way, Killeen, TX 76541
RV PARK INFORMATION
If you are coming in a Recreational Vehicle there is an RV Park directly
behind the Killeen Civic and Conference Center. The fee is $20 per night
and they provide electric, water and dump facilities. Contact the KCCC at
(254) 501-3888 for additional information. If you are active duty or
retired military the West Fort Hood Travel Camp would also work but it is
several miles from the KCCC and they do not take reservations. The RV
Park in Belton is still open but is no longer a KOA facility.
REUNION
EVENT
OVERVIEW
The
Crossed Sabers Chapter welcomes each of you to Killeen
and Fort
Hood
for the 66th Annual Reunion of the 1st Cavalry Division Association.
Please
make sure to bring photo identification to ensure that you have no issues
getting on post for any events scheduled there.
As always, the best part of any reunion is the people that attend. The
1st Cavalry Division Association reunion brings in Troopers from every era
of the First Team’s history. Troopers that rode horses, fought in the
Pacific with MacArthur, occupied Japan, fought in Korea, or stood watch on
the DMZ will spend time with the Sky Troopers of Vietnam and the Troopers
from Operation Desert Storm, Fort Hood, Bosnia, and the latest combat
veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. The equipment and terrain might be
different, but the common bond of serving with America’s First Team binds
us together. Saddle up and join us in Killeen in 2013!
The 66th Annual Reunion
will run from Wednesday, 5 June through Sunday morning, 9 June 2013 and
is full of events and time to visit with one another.
This year we will be running our usual events but have added a Golf
Tournament (four-person team, best-ball scramble) that will provide
support to our Scholarship Foundation on Wednesday. The golf tournament
will be held on the Courses of Clear Creek on Fort Hood. We are seeking
sponsors to help off-set costs to maximize our income for the Foundation
and its scholarship programs. We will have some teams from the active
duty Troopers and hope that many reunion attendees will also want to play
and enjoy this new addition to our reunion program.
As usual, we will also have our Welcoming Mixer, War Era Lunches, Unit
Lunches, Gold Star Family Breakfast, Ladies Tea, Sweetheart Dance, Annual
Association Banquet, Group Breakfast and Memorial Service. We will have
meetings of the Chapter Presidents, Foundation and Museum Foundation
Trustees, the Board of Governors and our General Membership meeting.
During our General Membership meeting on Saturday morning, we will hold
elections for the Association and both Foundations and select the location
for the 2016 reunion. We have bids from several Chapters to host the 2016
reunion and will have specific details to provide at the reunion.
Seating for all events is open with the exception of the Reunion Banquet
on Saturday night. If you are attending the banquet, you must get your
tickets marked with a table number at the Banquet Seating table when
picking up your registration packet. If you want to sit with specific
people, we recommend that you all go to the Banquet Seating table together
with your tickets available. Don’t wait until the last minute or we may
not be able to accommodate your needs.
Cavalry casual attire is appropriate for all reunion events. We are
always questioned about attire for the banquet. Wear what you feel
comfortable wearing; a coat and tie, your uniform (if it still fits),
casual clothing with open collar, or jeans or shorts. We want you to
attend and aren’t overly concerned with what you wear, as long as it isn’t
indecent!
The Association will provide a Reunion Room in the Shilo Hotel during the
reunion for you to gather together and enjoy yourself. Drinks in the
Reunion Room are free but we ask that you generously donate to help us pay
for this room.
The
Crossed Sabers Chapter Souvenir Shop
will set up a gift shop in the Shilo to sell all kinds of First Team
merchandise including shirts, hats, Stetsons, pins, decals and other items
to numerous to mention and it’s home location will also be open in
the 1st Cavalry Division Museum on post. In past years, the CSCSS
has created Reunion T-Shirts to purchase at the reunion. Figuring
out the correct number and sizes has proven difficult so Michelle will
offer you the chance to pre-order your reunion T-Shirt and ensure that you
will have one in the size you desire. You can pick the shirt up at
reunion or have it shipped to you prior to the reunion if you pay extra
for shipping.
A Reunion T-shirt may be
ordered and the order form will be added to this page soon.
Much of the leadership of the 4th Brigade Combat Team will be deployed in
Afghanistan but we will have Troopers from all of our units at Fort Hood.
The Division leadership is coordinating a special event on the evening of
Friday, 7 June entitled “Spirit of the Cav” and other events on post
during that day as well. Busses will transport reunion attendees from the
two hotels and KCCC to Fort Hood on Friday for a vehicle display, visits
to the 1st Cavalry Division Museum and barn tours of the Horse Cavalry
Detachment. Visits to some of the unit areas will also be available and
you can get a first-hand look at today’s Army. If you haven’t been to
Fort Hood for a reunion, make sure you attend and see the great Troopers
of today’s First Team.
TRANSPORTATION
If
you don’t like making your own travel arrangements and do not have a
travel agent that you regularly use, we recommend one of the two following
travel agents in our area that we know are reputable.
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Casa
Blanca Great Escapes Travel - Toll free (866) 833-0327 or local (254) 526-5555 (web
site under construction)
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All
Country Travel - Toll free (800) 226-1990, local (254) 547-9090, web
site www.allcountrytravel.com/
If you
send a message to either of these travel agencies please remember to
provide them with your telephone number and e-mail address so they can
contact you!
Air
Travel – You can fly directly into the Greater Killeen/Fort Hood
Regional Airport (GRK) through
Dallas,
Houston
or
Atlanta
on American Eagle, United Airlines or Delta Connection.
While some of the flights into and out of
Killeen
are still on small prop airplanes most of the service is by commuter jet.
Lines in the airport are small by comparison to the major airports
and we highly recommend that you choose to fly into and out of the
Killeen/Fort Hood airport. The
airport is co-located with Robert Gray Army Airfield and the runway can
handle all commercial aircraft.
Austin’s
Bergstrom
Airport
is located on the other side of
Austin, about 1˝ hour drive to
Killeen, and the Dallas
Fort Worth
Airport
is 3 hours north of Killeen. All airports offer numerous
rental car companies. The
Killeen
airport has Advantage, Avis, Enterprise, Hertz, National, and Thrifty rental car agencies on site.
Taxi and shuttle service are also available in Killeen. Check with your hotel to see
if they provide a free shuttle from the Killeen
airport.
Train/Bus
Travel – AMTRAK serves
Temple,
Texas
which is located about 20 miles east of Killeen. You can make reservation
with AMTRAK by calling (800) 872-7245 or visiting their web page at
www.amtrak.com.
The Trailways Bus Station is located at the corner of 4th Street
and Avenue C in
Killeen
and in
Austin at 916 E. Koening.
Automobile
Travel – Those traveling to the reunion by automobile can
expect to find construction on the Interstate highways leading to the
central
Texas
area. There has been and will
continue to be construction and some delays on IH-35. You
may wish to check for possible problems on your planned route by calling
the Texas Department of Transportation at (800)
452-9292
or visiting their web page at
www.dot.state.tx.us/travel/road_conditions.htm
prior to leaving home for the reunion.
Make sure that you have your
Drivers License, automobile registration and proof of insurance and a
photo ID to preclude any problems. Those
with rental car must have their Drivers License and the rental contract.
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