The 8th Cavalry Regiment has a history that spans nearly over 140 years. The Regiment traces its lineage to 28 July 1866 when the unit was constitution on Angel Island, located in the San Francisco Bay, California. Elements of the Regiment fought honorably in the Indian Wars, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, Desert Storm, and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Since 1886, ninety-nine troopers of the 8th Regiment have been awarded the Congressional Medal Of Honor, many of which were earned during the time when America was expanding westward, and the Cavalry was tasked to provide security to the settlers, combat hostile Indians and bandits attacking American towns and outposts from areas south of the border.

The 8th Cavalry Regiment saw action throughout the American West during the Indian Wars. It participated in campaigns against the famed Comanche and Apache warriors, winning its first streamers in Arizona, where it battled regularly for the first three years after its creation. In this short period eight troopers of the Regiment earned the Medal of Honor. The 8th Cavalry Regiment went on to serve in Oregon, New Mexico, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Texas. In 1905 it participated in an expedition to the Philippines, and in 1916 it participated in another expedition against Mexican bandits. During the first part of the 20th century, the Regiment experienced organizational changes, including assignments to the 15th and 1st Cavalry , and a re-designation as an infantry unit. On 1 February 1928 the Regiment was disbandment.

After America's entry into the Second World War, the 8th Cavalry Regiment was reconstituted in the Pacific Theater where it served gallantly while fighting at New Guinea and Leyte, invading and taking the Bismarck Archipelago, and finally winning Presidential Unit Citations from both America and the grateful Philippine nation for liberating Luzon in the last year of the war. After the war, the 8th Cavalry was stationed in Japan. When communist forces invaded nearby South Korea, the 8th Cavalry was once more deployed to fight. There the unit won another Presidential Unit Citation, as well as multiple awards from allied nations for combat actions. In total, the 8th Cavalry qualified for nine Korean campaign streamers, from the first UN Defensive through the Third Korean Winter. It was in Korea that another 8th Cavalry soldier, 1LT James L. Stone, earned the Medal of Honor.

In 1957, shortly after the Korean Conflict, the 8th Cavalry was again inactivated; however, its services would be required a decade later when the US became involved in the Vietnam conflict. On 1 April 1968 the 8th Cavalry was reconstituted, and assigned to the 23rd Infantry Division. In Vietnam, the 8th Cavalry won 16 streamers for campaigns, to include a streamer for action related to the Tet Counteroffensive. In 1973 the Regiment was again inactivation, only to be reconstitution in 1977. The 8th Cavalry served in Operation Desert Shield/Storm, in both the defense of Saudi Arabia and the liberation of Kuwait.

The 6th Squadron, the newest element of the 8th Cavalry Regiment, was constituted on May 28th, 2004 at Fort Stewart as an Armored Ground Reconnaissance Squadron of the new 4th Brigade (Vanguard) of the 3rd Infantry Division. The 6th Squadron stood-up in less than nine months and deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom III in January 2005. Once in Iraq, the Squadron conducted a relief in place with one of its sister units, the 1st Squadron of the 8th Cavalry Regiment, and assumed the mission of conducting counter insurgency operation in the urban and rural areas south of Baghdad. When insurgent activity in the squadron's sector was defeated, the Squadron was tasked to stand-up and begin training the newly formed 5th Iraqi Army Brigade. Once the Iraqi Brigade and its four battalions were trained and handed over to other US battalions for employment in and around the Green Zone, the squadron assumed the mission to provide security to the Airport Road area, known then as the most dangerous stretch of road in Baghdad. In just a short time, the squadron, along with supporting Iraqi Security Forces, eliminated nearly all AIF activity along the route, and as a result of conducting persistent ISR and precision operations in the adjacent neighborhoods, AIF activity throughout the sector was significantly reduced. In January 2006, the Squadron conducted a relief in place, and redeployed back to Fort Stewart to begin preparation for future operations.