Fort Benning
Fort Benning is a US Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) installation. Fort Benning?s vision is to be "First in training, First in readiness, and First in quality of life; to provide best training to Infantrymen and other Soldiers who pass through Fort Benning?s school system; to provide the same high quality training to FORSCOM and SOCOM units stationed at the Home of the Infantry; to provide training to Fort Benning installation staff, support, and training units to maintain the world?s best training base and force projection platform; to provide requisite doctrine and training products, leverage the latest technology and look to the future; and to provide the Army with the best trained soldiers possible." Fort Benning?s mission is to "provide the world?s best Infantry Soldiers and trained units; to provide a power projection platform that can deploy soldiers and units anywhere in the world on short notice; and to provide the Army?s premier installation and home for Soldiers, families, civilian employees, and military retirees." There are five types of infantry at Fort Benning. They are mechanized, light, airborne, air assault, and ranger.

Fort Benning was established is 1918 and is named for Major General Henry L. Benning. Known as the "Home of the Infantry," the installation spreads over 182,000 acres and is home to the U.S. Army Infantry Training Brigade, U.S. Infantry School, Ranger Training Brigade, Airborne School, and School of the Americas. The Fort Benning military community has several major units. The U. S. Army Infantry School produces the world's finest Infantry combat leaders by preparing officers and enlisted Soldiers to perform Infantry duties required in both peace and war. Functional courses comprise the second major area of training Fort Benning. These courses are designed to train military personnel in specialized, Infantry-related skills.

From 1918 until present the development of Fort Benning has been proportional to the schools progress. Through out the years, the mission of Benning and the Infantry School has remained fundamentally the same. "To produce the world's finest combat Infantrymen". Although Benning is a Training and Doctrine command installation, units of Forces Command make up 50 percent of permanent party personnel on post. They are the 3rd Brigade, 3d Infantry Division , and the 36th Engineer Group. The 3d Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, and its Regimental Headquarters are also located at Benning.

Fort Benning is south of Columbus, Georgia on U.S. highway 27. It has an active duty population of 34,834. This includes both reserve components. To get to Fort Benning from the North, take Interstate 85 South, to Interstate 185 south, then take a right onto Dixie Road (leads to Main Post) or a left onto 1st Division Rd (leads to PX, dental, hospital)

Fort Benning covers 73,533 hectares (181,626 acres) of land with 93 % in west central Georgia and the remaining 7 % in east central Alabama. Major portions of land lie in 3 counties: Muscogee and Chattahoochee counties Georgia and Russell county in Alabama. There are about 124 hectares of open water, including ponds, streams, and rivers. The Chattahoochee River divides Fort Benning between Georgia and Alabama.

The natural and manmade features of Fort Benning reflect the quality and diversity of its military missions. Most of the reservation is undeveloped and is used for military training, weapons ranges, drop zones, and landing zones. Rolling, pine-covered hills are predominant, and grasslands are intermingled with forested areas. There are 63 action firing and non-firing ranges. Averages of 20,000 troops are in the field daily per year. There are currently 17,454 ha (43,128 ac) of mechanized training area out of 46,210 ha (114,184 ac) of total available training area. In addition, 14,225 ha (35,149 ac) are established impact areas and 6,866 ha (16,967 ac) are restricted dud areas. Approximately 5,759 ha (14,231 ac) of land comprise four cantonment areas.

Fort Benning is fortunate in its relationship with what is fondly called the Tri-Community. This consist of Fort Benning; Columbus, Georgia and Phenix City, Alabama. Alabama's capital, Montgomery, and Georgia's capital, Atlanta are both only an hour and a half away. Fort Benning is also only a few hours' drive from Florida's Gulf shores and the mountains of North Georgia. Columbus, Georgia is a growing, thriving community with more than 275,000 people in its metropolitan statistical area. It is a city where old and new have been brought together with a sense of new city growth and old city charm and love of life. Also, neighboring Fort Benning is Phenix City, Alabama. The city is located on the western banks of the Chattahoochee River and completes the Tri-Community. History buffs will enjoy seeing many of the city's original homes from the 1800's which have been preserved in their classic form, in the 30-block Columbus Historic District. Opportunities to enjoy activities like productions at the Springer Opera House, performances by the Columbus Symphony, special events at the Columbus Museum, and many other cultural activities await those interested.

On September 18, 1918 the Adjutant General directed that the Infantry School of Arms with all personnel, property and equipment move to Columbus, Georgia by October 1, 1918. The first troops from Fort Sill arrived on October 6, 1918, and occupied a temporary camp three miles east of town on Macon Road. The next day the camp was officially opened. At the request of the Columbus Rotary Club, the camp was named in honor of Confederate General Henry Lewis Benning, a Columbus native many thought was the area's most outstanding Civil War officer.

The search for a permanent location for the camp settled on a plantation site south of Columbus owned by Mr. Arthur Bussey. The Bussey land featured the kind of terrain considered ideal for training Infantrymen. The plantation would serve as the core of the camp, and the large frame house, known as Riverside, would serve as quarters for a long line of commanders.

After years of struggling for appropriations and attention from the makers of Army policy, Benning enjoyed a construction boom in the mid-1930s as a result of federal work projects during the great depression. The boom continued into the 1940s with the eruption of war in Europe. Troop strength swelled with the arrival of the First Infantry Division and the establishment of the Officer Candidate School and Airborne training.

Fort Benning secured its final vestige of permanence during the 1950s. Infantry demonstrations became a common occurrence as the newest developments were unveiled to civilian and military leaders from home and abroad. The trend of instruction at the Infantry School became increasingly combined-arms oriented. In 1963, the 11th Air Assault Division was formed at Fort Benning to test the air assault concept that led to the airmobile concept of the First Cavalry Division.

As the post proved its significance locally, it also began to make its mark nationally in the quality of the leaders it produced. The Infantry School has either trained in its officer courses or honed in its command structure some of the nation's most prominent military figures. Leaders like five-star generals Omar Bradley, Dwight Eisenhower, and George Marshall and others like George Patton and Colin Powell, learned their craft at Fort Benning.

With the Infantry, as the nucleus, Fort Benning has added other very significant missions as the years progressed. Among them, Airborne School, where soldiers learn to engage in battle from the sky; Ranger School, where soldiers learn advanced tactics and skills warfare; the 29th Infantry Regiment teaches soldiers how to operate and maneuver the Bradley Fighting Vehicle in combat. Fort Benning's 36th Engineer Group has been at the forefront of the Army's post-Cold War mission of providing aid.

The National Infantry Museum at Fort Benning houses thousands of interesting and unique items and reflects the role played by Infantrymen in the defense of the nation. More than two hundred years of proud history are on display. The museum collections is continually growing. There are some 1,500 firearms ranging from a 16th century Spanish cannon, and an early Japanese matchlock musket to the Gatling Gun and the nation's smallest atomic weapon, the Davy Crockett. The museum also has memorabilia of many distinguished Infantrymen. The museum features temporary displays of contemporary art works, military badges and equipment.