Final issue: Bayonet & Saber newspaper enters the history books

The printing of the Bayonet & Saber this week and its distribution on Friday marks the end of an era.

The military publication — the official communication tool of Fort Benning and its commanding general — has published its final edition after a 74-year run as a print newspaper. It was in September 1942 that The Bayonet was launched by then-Ledger-Enquirer Publisher Maynard Ashworth and subsequently printed via a contract by the Columbus newspaper through all but a decade of that period.

“But take heart, while the newspaper will no longer exist from its roots as the Infantry School News in 1922, you’ll still get the same great coverage of life at Fort Benning you’ve come to expect. Instead of print, however, we’re going digital as benningnews.org,” said Monica Manganaro, Fort Benning’s director of public affairs, in the final Bayonet & Saber edition dated Oct. 26, 2016.

The last publication includes a commemorative touch, with the front page featuring a collage of major events covered by The Bayonet and its staff through the decades. The page includes snippets of coverage showing Fort Benning winning Army-wide awards, Rangers returning from combat, a soldier risking his life and earning a medal, and plans for a new National Infantry Museum. A headline at the top of the front page simply reads: “Thanks for the Memories!”

Manganaro, in her column, notes times have changed for the newspaper industry and points out that most people — younger soldiers and family members in particular — are absorbing their news from online sources, which include computers, tablets and smartphones. Thus, she said, the decision was made to transition to the website, www.benningnews.org, which will allow virtually unlimited coverage including photos and videos.

“While the prospect of the new online version is exciting, the feelings are bittersweet,” she said. “I grew up with newspapers and am comfortable folding and flipping the pages to read front-to-back or just scan the headlines and pictures. But I’m also adaptable and I am embracing the lure of what online news sources offer.”

Manganaro, a longtime Fort Benning civil servant, asks that readers also embrace the changes and the move to the online site, as well as let the staff know what they think and submit news items themselves.

Maj. Gen. Eric Wesley, Fort Benning’s commanding general and head of the U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence, also pointed out in his column that like the Army, the military publication has adapted through the years. That includes six name changes for the newspaper, including the one from The Bayonet to the Bayonet & Saber in 2013 after the U.S. Army Armor School relocated from Fort Knox, Ky., to the local military installation.

The world is changing, Wesley said, and thus the news and information source for Fort Benning’s soldiers, retirees and family members is changing as well.

“This transition will ensure the legacy of the Bayonet and Saber continues many years into the future and will allow our community to access it online anytime, in real time, from anywhere in the world,” Wesley said. “We look with anticipation toward the new www.benningnews.org.”

This story was originally published October 28, 2016 at 10:30 AM with the headline "Final issue: Bayonet & Saber newspaper enters the history books."