Fort Benning

A few weeks ago we discussed what happens during the first three weeks of basic training, or red phase. Now it’s time to go over what takes place during weeks four through six, or white phase. The major difference between the two is leniency. The first three weeks drill sergeants supervise the 24-hours a day. During white phase, the drill sergeants go home at night and rather than giving the Soldiers explicit instructions for each task, they encourage them to make their own decisions.

You’ll notice this is a common theme for basic training. As the Soldiers progress, they are given more and more freedoms and opportunities to lead, which is part of outcomes based training. The Army has trained Soldiers this way for the last decade. Basically we’re teaching Soldiers how to think rather than what to think.

The majority of white phase is focused on the Soldiers’ mastery of the assault rifle with 13 periods of basic rifle marksmanship instruction and six periods of advanced rifle marksmanship instruction. They also become familiar with the M-203 Grenade Launcher, the M-2 Machine Gun and hand grenades, as well as learn fighting techniques both on the ground and with Pugil sticks. They practice land navigation, take their second Army Physical Fitness Test and complete both four- and six-mile road marches. So they’re spending a lot of time outside, which isn’t too bad this time of year in southwest Georgia, but it can get pretty toasty outside during the summer months.

Posted bymichelle.gordon under192nd, 198th Infantry Brigade, Basic Training 192nd, 198th, Basic Training | Comments (0)

What hotel should I stay at when I attend graduation?  What are some good restaurants around Fort Benning?  Should I fly into Atlanta or Columbus? What should I get my Soldier for Christmas?  These are just some of the questions posted daily on the Fort Benning Facebook page and no matter the subject, all of them get answered.

Since its creation in June, the page has become a great way for parents, spouses and other family members to support one another and share information, especially the family members of Soldiers in basic training. However, besides sharing information, these families are also forming friendships as they cope for nine or 14 weeks without their Soldier. Just ask the family members of D Company, 2nd Battalion, 47th Infantry Regiment, who started a discussion group just 33 days ago when their Soldiers arrived at Fort Benning. In a little more than a month, they went from a group of 30 strangers to cyber-buddies who are making plans to meet each other at the airport and sharing cabins at Uchee Creek. They “talk” everyday and when one of them gets a phone call or receives a letter from their Soldier, they all celebrate and when a Soldier gets hurt or sick, they all send thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery.

During the last five months the Fort Benning Facebook page has really become a support system for families, so if your Soldier is heading to Benning or even if he’s already here, take the time to visit www.facebook.com/fortbenningfans and connect with the other members of your Army family.

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The mission of Army Public Affairs is to tell the Army story and to do so we use several different avenues such as The Bayonet, Fort Benning TV, the local news stations and most recently social networking Web sites. All of these are great for transmitting information to large amounts of people. However, we also have a lesser-known, more personal way of telling the Fort Benning story – installation tours.

Our Community Relations staff plans all post tours and just like snowflakes, no two are identical. The process starts when the tour group coordinator calls the office to discuss dates. It’s usually a good idea to have a few dates to choose from when calling because we can’t have more than one tour per day and it’s on a first-come, first-served basis. It’s also a good idea to book a tour as far out as possible, not only because you’re more likely to get the date you want, but also because tours have to be coordinated with several different units and agencies around post. Once dates are worked out, the Community Relations officer will build a custom itinerary, which depends on the day of your visit, what’s happening and the weather.

Yes the weather is a HUGE factor for the Fort Benning tour program because several of our most popular stops are outside. Don’t get me wrong, we have some entertaining indoor activities too, but if you want to see Airborne School, Soldiers in basic training or any of our demonstrations then the weather must cooperate. However, even if it rains, the tour will still go on because we always have an inclement weather alternative. The alternative plan may not be as fun, but at least you’ll be dry.  

It’s really that easy and best of all it’s free! Groups are responsible for their own transportation and money for lunch, but there is no cost to receive a guided tour of Fort Benning. Just this past week, we hosted more than 50 high school students from Childersburg High School in Alabama and next week 40 World War II veterans are coming back to check out their old stomping grounds.

I like the tour program because it really captures our PAO mission of telling the Army story, but it also allows me to get out of my office a few times a month to showcase all of the great things we do here at Fort Benning.

For more information about installation tours, visit our frequently asked questions page and to see a slideshow of past tours click here.

Posted bymichelle.gordon underPublic Affairs Office PAO | Comments (0)

When I walked into the Fort Benning Commissary Director’s office, he was at his desk on the telephone, but he motioned for me to sit down. As I waited I couldn’t help but overhear his part of the conversation. He was talking to a customer about purchasing ground beef in bulk and he told him of course he’d sell it, saying “That’s the business we’re in, customer service. I’d sell you this desk if I thought you’d buy it.”

To me, that pretty much sums up Gary Hensley – he’d do anything to help the customer and he goes out of his way to avoid saying “no.”  That is also why he will be missed now that he retired.

Yep, last night after nearly 35 years in the commissary system, Mr. Hensley closed the store and locked the doors – just like any other Monday night – only this time he turned in his keys. I guess it makes sense that he would retire at Fort Benning, after all this is where it all started. In 1975 Mr. Hensley came to visit his older sister who lived in Columbus. A native of West Virginia, he liked it here and enjoyed the weather so took a job as a cashier at the Fort Benning Commissary. Always a hard worker he quickly moved up within the system. His career took him to Fort Meade, Md., Fort Bragg, N. C., back to Benning, Fort Polk, La., and even the frontlines of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Then in 2001 he returned to Fort Benning to become the store director, promising to stay two years. He ended up staying eight.

During those eight years Mr. Hensley worked tirelessly to help Soldiers and their families. He increased truckload sales and the frequency of sidewalk sales. He entered every contest and promotion offered by vendors to win prizes and money that could be returned back to the Fort Benning community. He’s particularly proud of the 2005 Wisk Laundry Detergent “Win a Dream Field” contest, when Fort Benning beat all of the other commissaries, as well as national retail chains to win money to renovate a baseball field and a visit from baseball legend Cal Ripkin Jr.

“We beat Walmart,” he said with a smile. “And we won $20,000 to fix Gowdy Field.”

However, after 34 years with the Defense Commissary Agency he knew it was time to move on. He kept his retirement quiet, but that didn’t stop MG Michael Ferriter from honoring his service at the quarterly Excellence Breakfast Friday, where he received a bayonet plaque and a standing ovation. He said he was thankful, but ever humble, Hensley said he’s not big on that sort of thing.

“I get paid to do a job and it’s an honor to serve Soldiers,” he said. “This has been a really fun job and we’ve done a lot during my time here. We’ve had two huge welcome home celebrations and even though they’re a headache to plan, when the Soldiers come home and you see all the smiles, it’s worth it.”  When I asked him what he planned to do during his retirement he smiled and said he was looking for a job. “There are a lot of places that need help with customer service and I think I can teach them a thing or two.”

He’s right. There are a lot of places that need help with customer service and there are even more managers and directors who have forgotten that they aren’t too good to do the jobs they ask of their employees. Just ask any of the 147 plus commissary employees and they’ll tell you it wasn’t uncommon to see Mr. Hensley mopping floors, picking up trash, bringing in shopping carts or stocking shelves – nothing was beneath him. For the past 35 years he’s devoted his life to the betterment of the quality of life for our Soldiers and their families and he will surely be missed by the entire Fort Benning community.

Posted bymichelle.gordon underUncategorized commissary | Comments (0)

You know that feeling of frustration you get when you get lousy customer service? That feeling of wanting to voice your opinion to someone who can then take appropriate actions and make the necessary changes? That’s exactly how a group of Army spouses felt back in the 80s when they started a grassroots effort to identify the concerns of Soldiers and their families and communicate those issues to the highest level of command. Now known as the Army Family Action Plan, the program is used around the world to let Army leaders know what works, what doesn’t and what they think will fix it.

Every installation has an AFAP representative who collects issues throughout the year, plans the annual installation conference to discuss the issues, then ensures those issues are worked until they are either resolved locally or forwarded to a higher command.   

The 2009 Fort Benning AFAP conference was held last week and 70 issues were discussed by five working groups, each of which focused on a specific theme, such as medical and dental or post housing. The purpose of the working groups is to take the submitted issues, look at the proposed solutions and discuss if those resolutions fully address the problems. If more information is needed the groups can consult subject matter experts, who are available to answer questions on what is and is not feasible.

No issue is too small or too large to be submitted through AFAP, for instance this year’s working groups addressed questions about everything from reducing prices at the Fort Benning movie theater to increasing the insurance coverage for Army family orthodontic care. Both are legitimate concerns, but obviously one can be handled by Fort Benning leaders, while the other needs to be addressed at the DA level.

The program is great because it allows you to not only say what you think is wrong, but also weigh-in on how you would fix it. Fort Benning Commanding General MG Ferriter said he was encouraged by the enthusiasm and activism of the AFAP volunteers. He thanked them for finding a way to contribute and he wants them to stay involved because they are the experts and they know the issues.

Posted bymichelle.gordon underACS, DFMWR ACS, DFMWR | Comments (0)

The below story comes to us from the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, one of Fort Benning’s FORSCOM units. The Soldiers of 3rd HBCT are currently in Kuwait en route to Iraq. This is the unit’s fourth deployment since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Periodically we will feature blog entries to chronicle their deployment. This story was written by Sgt. Ben Hutto, 3rd HBCT Public Affairs Office.

 

CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait – Mercedes Figueroa has a ritual every night before she goes to sleep at her home in Phenix City, Ala., her father, Staff Sgt. Freddie Figueroa, reads her at least three books.

“She loves to be read to,” Figueroa said. “It’s something that is really special for both of us.” Figueroa’s recent deployment to Iraq with the rest of his fellow Soldiers in Company D, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment will delay story time for the next year, but a program offered by the USO at Camp Buehring will allow the father and daughter to stay connected.

The United Through Reading Program allows deployed service members to record themselves reading a book to their children and then mails the recording and book back home to the service member’s family for free.

“This is a great program and the books really become family heirlooms,” said Malcolm Marson, duty manager at Camp Buehring’s USO. “I try to relax the Soldiers and tell them to imagine that they are in their living rooms with their family sitting there with them. You see some really hard boiled guys come here with scowls on their faces and leave with the biggest grins.”

The program focuses on giving Soldiers’ families a visual interactive form of communication said Marson. “It’s much more in-depth than a phone call because a child can see their parent and actually hold the same book their parent was holding,” he said. “They can replay that DVD as many times as they want to. It just doesn’t end when the phone hangs up.”

Soldiers from every battalion in the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team have taken advantage of the program. As their time at Camp Buehring begins to shorten and their movement to Iraq is set to begin, Soldiers are trying to get in multiple sessions to tide their children over until they can come home and read to them personally.

“I have five children and I’m trying to make sure they all have a book,” said Spc. Jeremy Bills, a Soldier in Company D, 2nd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment. “I’m reading everything from Dr. Seuss to Harry Potter to make sure all my kids have a book. It means I’ll be up here at least five nights to get it in, but it is worth it.”

Both Figueroa’s and Bills’ wives are reading to their children in their husband’s absence. “Hopefully, this can give her a break for a night,” said Bills. “I’m hoping to surprise her with these books coming in the mail. Having a large family with me away from home is tough, but anything I can do to help her is a big deal for me.”

Figueroa thinks by sending these books home, he is letting his wife and daughter know he is still thinking about them. “Things like this help you take care of home,” he said. “If home is taken care of you can focus on your mission. I know my wife and daughter know that I love them, but it never hurts to do something to let them know that you are still thinking about them.”

 

“If home is taken care of you can focus on your mission,” – Staff Sgt. Freddie Figueroa

Posted bymichelle.gordon under3rd HBCT 3rd HBCT | Comments (0)