I had the opportunity to attend the Annual Chattahoochee Valley Region Reception at Fort Benning recently. I was glad that Maj. Gen. Michaelk Barbero moved the reception from his lawn to the Benning Conference Center.
As a field artilleryman I spent many hours in the rain providing fire support for infantrymen and tankers. My most memorable Army meal, in fact, was mashed potatoes on a paper plate in the rain and in the dark as a forward observer with an airborne Infantry rifle company at Fort Bragg in November 1975.
Eating a meal of mashed potato soup with a plastic spoon is a lasting recollection. So I was very happy to be eating meatballs and drinking iced tea with the lights on at Fort Benning.
We are fortunate to have a strong relationship that binds the Fort Benning community with the local area.
Support of local schools by Fort Benning units was one highlight of the reception. Educators are critical for our children to acquire the knowledge they need to become productive citizens. This relationship with schools has special challenges and opportunities for military families.
Moving children is always difficult. My children attended 18 schools from kindergarten through 12th grade during my 26-year career. My youngest two daughters did not attend any school longer than two years before I retired.
My children’s educational experiences were different than my wife’s and mine, as Marilyn and I are products of the Muscogee County School District. After wandering around the world for all those years, we are sensitive to the needs of military children. Fortunately, many local educators also are concerned about those same issues.
Our joint military and civilian community also is about to undergo a major change.
Fort Benning has been the home of the Infantry for a long time. Now Fort Benning is about to become the home of the Armor branch as well.
This is going to bring some level of culture shock to all of us because of different branch cultures and customs. The leadership of both schools has spent many hours coordinating the move of the Armor School to Fort Benning. I don’t believe that there will be any major challenges, but some aspects of training and style will be a little different.
At a minimum, those of us who live in the Midland area are going to hear tank firing that we have not heard or noticed before this move.
I always tell my family when I hear gunfire on the north side of the installation now that the noise is simply the sound of freedom. I actually find the sound comforting because it reminds me of those wonderful young people who are ready to stand guard for the rest of us.
We need to continue to maintain this close relationship between Fort Benning and the surrounding area. We also need to be ready to welcome the Armor family into our community.
The Maneuver Center of Excellence will be a great local addition and good for the Army. I’m confident that our tradition of support across both sides of the Fort Benning boundary will continue.
John M. House is a retired Army colonel who lives in Midland, Ga. His e-mail is housearmylife@aol.com.
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