[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 29 (Thursday, February 14, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1387-S1388]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 72--HONORING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF FORT BENNING IN 
                           COLUMBUS, GEORGIA

  Mr. PERDUE (for himself, Mr. Jones, and Mr. Isakson) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Armed 
Services:

                               S. Res. 72

       Whereas 2018 was the 100th anniversary of Fort Benning, a 
     military installation operating in Columbus, Georgia;
       Whereas Fort Benning is named after Brigadier General Henry 
     Lewis Benning, a resident of Columbus, Georgia;
       Whereas Fort Benning resides on land originally belonging 
     to the Creek Tribe of the Muskogee Nation;
       Whereas, on April 4, 1917, the day after President Woodrow 
     Wilson asked Congress for a declaration of war against 
     Germany, the citizens of Columbus began advocating for an 
     Army camp to be constructed near Columbus, Georgia;
       Whereas the War Department decided to move the Infantry 
     School of Arms at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, to a more spacious 
     site to train soldiers on infantry skills and tactics;
       Whereas, on August 27, 1918, with the help of the Columbus 
     Chamber of Commerce, an 84-acre farm on Macon Road in 
     Columbus, Georgia, was selected as the site for the infantry 
     camp;
       Whereas, on September 18, 1918, the Adjutant General 
     ordered troops from Fort Sill to report to the newly selected 
     site by October 1, 1918;
       Whereas, on October 19, 1918, Columbus native Anna Caroline 
     Benning, daughter of the brigadier general, raised the United 
     States flag over the United States Infantry School of Arms 
     and the site was formally christened Camp Benning;
       Whereas, after the end of World War I, the Committee on 
     Military Affairs of the Senate ordered construction on Camp 
     Benning to be halted on January 9, 1919;
       Whereas Senator Hoke Smith of Georgia strongly advocated 
     for congressional hearings to receive testimony on resuming 
     construction of the post, allowing for Columbus-area 
     supporters, as well as infantry commanders who fought in 
     World War I, to testify about the need for the post;
       Whereas, on March 8, 1919, the Committee on Military 
     Affairs of the Senate voted to resume building Camp Benning;
       Whereas the post quickly outgrew the Macon Road location 
     and, on June 17, 1919, Camp Benning was moved to its present 
     site, which included the 1,800-acre plantation of local 
     businessman Arthur Bussey;
       Whereas, on January 9, 1922, the War Department issued 
     General Order No. 1, making Camp Benning a permanent military 
     installation and appropriating more than $1,000,000 of 
     additional building funds for the Infantry School of Arms, 
     which later became the Infantry School;
       Whereas, on May 12, 1920, 10 Army aircraft were assigned to 
     Camp Benning as the air detachment of the post, marking the 
     first use of aviation at Camp Benning;
       Whereas, on February 8, 1922, Camp Benning was redesignated 
     as Fort Benning;
       Whereas, on June 17, 1932, the tank school of the United 
     States Army officially moved from Fort Meade, Maryland, to 
     Fort Benning;
       Whereas Fort Benning played a critical role in World War 
     II, training thousands of soldiers for the European, African, 
     and Pacific theaters of war;
       Whereas, on June 25, 1940, the commandant of the Infantry 
     School was directed by the Adjutant General to provide a 
     platoon of volunteers for parachute test duty, leading to the 
     formation of the Parachute Test Platoon;
       Whereas, on September 16, 1940, the War Department approved 
     the formation of the first Parachute Battalion at Fort 
     Benning;
       Whereas, on October 1, 1940, the 501st Parachute Battalion 
     was activated;
       Whereas, in July 1941, the modern Officer Candidate School 
     for Infantry was established at Fort Benning to provide a 
     rigorous training venue for new officers;
       Whereas, in December 1943, the 555th Parachute Infantry 
     Company, later redesignated as Company A, 555th Parachute 
     Infantry Battalion, the first African-American parachute 
     unit, which was known as ``Triple Nickles'', was activated at 
     Fort Benning;
       Whereas, after World War II, Fort Benning continued to play 
     a vital role in training soldiers for every conflict 
     involving the United States;
       Whereas the Ranger Training Center was established on 
     October 12, 1950, which trained personnel for the Korean War;
       Whereas, during the Korean War, Fort Benning opened the 
     Officer Candidate School on February 18, 1951, which has 
     trained--
       (1) thousands of infantry officers to serve as leaders in 
     the Army; and
       (2) since 1973, officers of all branches to serve as 
     leaders in the Armed Forces;
       Whereas the 11th Air Assault Division was activated at Fort 
     Benning on February 7, 1963, to test and develop the air 
     mobile concept;
       Whereas the 11th Air Assault Division was inactivated on 
     July 1, 1965, and replaced by the 1st Cavalry Division 
     (Airmobile) and deployed to Vietnam on September 11, 1965, 
     specializing in flying troops in and out of combat zones via 
     helicopter;
       Whereas Fort Benning served as a major staging ground for 
     troops sent to the Middle East during Operation Desert Shield 
     and Operation Desert Storm, and later during Operation 
     Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom;
       Whereas, in 2009, tanks from the Armor School at Fort Knox 
     arrived at Fort Benning, combining infantry and armor at 1 
     post and forming the Maneuver Center of Excellence;
       Whereas, on August 16, 2017, the 1st Security Force 
     Assistance Brigade was activated at Fort Benning and 
     subsequently deployed to Afghanistan to assist forces of the 
     Government of Afghanistan;
       Whereas the Maneuver Center of Excellence consists of--
       (1) the Capabilities Development and Integration 
     Directorate;
       (2) the United States Army Infantry School;
       (3) the United States Army Armor School;
       (4) the 194th Armored Brigade, 316th Cavalry Brigade, and 
     198th and 199th Infantry Brigades;
       (5) the Directorate of Training and Doctrine; and
       (6) additional tenant units;

[[Page S1388]]

       Whereas some of the most respected United States military 
     leaders in the 20th century were stationed at Fort Benning, 
     including--
       (1) General Omar Bradley;
       (2) General Dwight Eisenhower;
       (3) General George Marshall;
       (4) General George Patton;
       (5) General William Livsey; and
       (6) General Colin Powell;
       Whereas Fort Benning has helped foster changes in the role 
     of women in the military;
       Whereas, on December, 14, 1973, Privates Joyce Kutsch and 
     Rita Johnson became the first women to graduate the Basic 
     Airborne Course, and later, the United States Army 
     Quartermaster School Parachute Rigger Course;
       Whereas, on August 21, 2015, Captain Kristen Griest and 1st 
     Lieutenant Shaye Haver became the first 2 women to graduate 
     from the Army Ranger School at Fort Benning;
       Whereas, on December 1, 2016, 13 women became the first 
     ever to graduate from the Army Armor Basic Officer Leader 
     Course at Fort Benning;
       Whereas, on May 19, 2017, Company A, 1st Battalion, 19th 
     Infantry Regiment, 198th Infantry Brigade, graduated 137 new 
     Infantry soldiers, including 18 women who completed the first 
     inter-gender Infantry One Station Unit Training at Fort 
     Benning;
       Whereas, on June 22, 2017, 4 women became the first ever to 
     graduate from the Cavalry School of the Army at Fort Benning;
       Whereas Fort Benning is the sixth largest military 
     installation in the United States covering approximately 
     182,000 acres, with a $5,500,000,000 economic impact to the 
     ``Tri-Community'' and approximately 120,000 military and 
     civilian personnel;
       Whereas the Columbus Chamber of Commerce, the Rotary Club 
     of Columbus, Columbus 2025, and other partnering groups 
     fought to establish and have continued to support Fort 
     Benning from its inception;
       Whereas the people of the Tri-Community fought to establish 
     and have continued to support Fort Benning from its 
     inception; and
       Whereas the following visionary citizens displayed the 
     foresight, vision, and leadership to fight to establish Camp 
     Benning near Columbus, Georgia:
       (1) Mr. John Betjeman.
       (2) Mr. Rhodes Browne.
       (3) Mr. John Ralston Cargill.
       (4) Mr. Lucius H. Chappell.
       (5) Mr. Henry B. Crawford.
       (6) Mr. J. Homer Dimon.
       (7) Mr. Robert Ernest Dismukes.
       (8) Mr. W.J. Fielder.
       (9) Mr. Reynolds Flournoy.
       (10) Mr. Frank U. Garrard.
       (11) Mr. Ralph Curtis Jordan.
       (12) Mr. Albert Kirven.
       (13) Mr. A.F. Kunze.
       (14) Mr. Frank G. Lumpkin.
       (15) Mr. Leighton W. MacPherson.
       (16) Mr. H.R. Mcclatchey.
       (17) Mr. T.T. Miller.
       (18) Mr. Marshall Morton.
       (19) Mr. Roger M. Page.
       (20) Mr. T.G. Reeves.
       (21) Mr. Walter A. Richards.
       (22) Mr. H.C. Smith: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) honors Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia, on its 100th 
     anniversary;
       (2) commends the thousands of men and women who have worked 
     and trained at Fort Benning;
       (3) honors the people of the ``Tri-Community'' including 
     those in Columbus, Georgia, and Phenix City, Alabama, for 
     their continued support of Fort Benning; and
       (4) encourages Fort Benning to continue its instrumental 
     role in preparing the brave men and women of the United 
     States for the battlefield.

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