Fort Benning unveils hotel at dedication ceremony

An Army leader from the past was recognized Friday when the new 960-room Abrams Hall was dedicated in honor of Gen. Creighton W. Abrams Jr. at Fort Benning.

---- The 450,000-square-foot structure replaces lodging offered in Building 399, Olson Hall, through the Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation. At a cost of $110 million, the massive hotel on Ingersoll Street behind the Benning Conference Center is considered the largest hotel in the region.

 Military officials at the Maneuver Center of Excellence joined community and business leaders for the 3 p.m. dedication in front of the hotel. Among them was Gen. Robert B. Abrams, the 22nd commanding general of the U.S. Army Forces Command and son of Gen. Creighton W. Abrams.

- The elder Abrams was a 1936 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. He served as a tank commander with the 37th Tank Battalion during World War II. He also served as chief of staff for the U.S. Army from October 1972 to September 1974 during the Vietnam War. He led the Army in the final stages of the war, supervised force reductions and oversaw organizational restructuring. Gen. Creighton Abrams died in September 1974. His portrait was unveiled just inside the lobby of the new hotel.

---- The new structure will serve soldiers assigned to the post for temporary duty, training schools, family members moving to the post on permanent change of duty station and other visitors.

---- Retired Maj. Gen. Jerry White, a former commander at Fort Benning, was impressed with the new structure, which features a mix of three- and four-story buildings with a Spanish Mission architectural theme.

---- “It’s going to serve a lot more folks,” White said during a reception.

This story was originally published October 30, 2015 at 9:05 PM with the headline "Fort Benning unveils hotel at dedication ceremony."