newly activated unit is the Army's first Reconnaissance & Surveillance Squadron (R&S Squadron) within the newly formed Battlefield Surveillance Brigade (BfSB)s, Cox said. "Scouts, Snipers, Paratroopers, artillerymen, tactical air controllers, combat medics, coupled with communications and intelligence personnel, can just about accomplish any mission", Cox said. The squadron soon will add unmanned aerial vehicles, Cox said. The commander is Lieutenant Colonel Jim Gaylord, who graduated from West Point in 1992 and was commissioned as an armor officer. Earlier this month, he made his first parachute jump in more than 17 years, Cox said. "So he is no longer referred to as the item attached to the back of a chicken, that being a dirty, nasty leg", Cox said. "Leg" is a disparaging term used by some Paratroopers for non-airborne personnel. "Although we are activating a new unit, we have a wealth of experience in the ranks", Gaylord said. Of the squadron's Soldiers, 128 have been deployed and served a combined 1,560 months in combat zones, he said. Four have Purple Hearts for combat wounds, and four have valor awards. "I'd also like to point out we have at least one cavalryman who can ride a horse", Gaylord said. Command Sgt. Maj. Eric Dostie, who was trained as a cavalry scout, is the senior noncommissioned officer. He was a Sheridan tank gunner in the 194th Separate Armored Brigade at Fort Knox, Ky. The 282nd Army Band from Fort Jackson, SC, played "Gary Owen", a traditional cavalry tune, as the Soldiers marched off the parade field. Transformation Former units consisted of one active component and two inactive detachments, there are now both Active-duty and National Guard Surveillance Brigades, each having a specific Table of Organization and Equipment. The changes made were all part of an Army-wide transition to the Army Modular Force, future-concept ("Grow The Army Plan" of modernization) proposed by US Army Chief of Staff General Peter Schoomaker in 2007. The plan calls for ten Surveillance Brigades, three of which are active units: the 504th BfSB at Fort Hood, Texas; the 525th BfSB at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and the 201st BfSB at Fort Lewis, Washington. The planned fourth active BfSB to have been stationed at Ft. Polk, Louisiana, had its activation cancelled. The remaining seven BfSB's are designated to the Army National Guard: the 58th BfSB from Maryland, the 67th BFSB from Nebraska, the 71st BfSB from Texas, the 142nd