Fort Benning Fort Benning is a United States Army post outside Columbus , Georgia . Fort Benning supports more than 120 , 000 active - duty military , family members , reserve component soldiers , retirees , and civilian employees on a daily basis . It is a power projection platform , and possesses the capability to deploy combat - ready forces by air , rail , and highway . Fort Benning is the home of the United States Army Maneuver Center of Excellence , the United States Army Armor School , United States Army Infantry School , the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation ( formerly known as the School of the Americas ) , elements of the 75th Ranger Regiment , 3rd Brigade – 3rd Infantry Division , and many other additional tenant units . Since 1918 , Fort Benning , has served as the Home of the Infantry . Since 2005 , Fort Benning has been transformed into the Maneuver Center of Excellence , as a result of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure ( BRAC ) Commission ' s decision to consolidate a number of schools and installations to create various " centers of excellence . " Included in this transformation was the move of the Armor School from Fort Knox to Fort Benning . History . Camp Benning was established in October 1918 and was assigned permanent status in 1918 . Initially providing basic training for World War I units , post - war Dwight D . Eisenhower served at Benning from 24 December 1918 , until 15 March 1919 with about 250 of his Camp Colt , Pennsylvania , tankers who transferred to Benning after the armistice . On 26 December 1918 , a portion of the Camp Polk tank school was transferred to Camp Benning " to work in conjunction with the Infantry school " . Camp Benning tank troops were moved to Camp Meade from 19 – 21 February 1919 . In February 1920 , Congress voted to declare Camp Benning a permanent military post and appropriated more than $ 1 million of additional building funds for the Infantry School of Arms , which later became the Infantry School . By the fall of 1920 , more than 350 officers , 7 , 000 troops and 650 student officers lived at Camp Benning . The post was renamed to Fort Benning in 1922 . In 1924 , Brig . Gen . Briant Wells became the fourth commandant of the Infantry School and established the Wells Plan for permanent construction on the installation , emphasizing the importance of the outdoor environment and recreation opportunities for military personnel . During Wells ' tenure , the post developed recreational facilities such as Doughboy Stadium , Gowdy Field , the post theater and Russ swimming pool . Doughboy Stadium was erected as a memorial by soldiers to their fallen comrades of WWI . Labor and construction began in late 1924 , and it was dedicated on October 17 , 1925 . One of the Doughboys ' original coaches was a young captain named Dwight D . Eisenhower . Lt . Col George C . Marshall was appointed assistant commandant of the post in 1927 and initiated major changes . Marshall , who later became the Army Chief of Staff during World War II , was appalled by the high casualties of World War I caused , he thought , by insufficient training . He was determined to prevent a lack of preparation from costing more lives in future conflicts . He and his subordinates revamped the education system at Fort Benning . The changes he fostered are still known as the Benning Revolution . Later in his life , Marshall went on to author the Marshall Plan for reviving postwar Europe and won the Nobel Peace Prize . World War II . During World War II Fort Benning had 197 , 159 acres ( 797 . 87 km² ) with billet ing space for 3 , 970 officers and 94 , 873 enlisted persons . Home to the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion , their training began in December 1943 and was an important milestone for black Americans , as was explored in the first narrative history of the installation , " Home of the Infantry " . The battalion , later expanded to become the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion , was trained at Fort Benning but did not deploy overseas . During this period , the specialized duties of the Triple Nickel were primarily in a firefighting role , with over one thousand parachute jumps as smoke jumper s . The 555th was secretly deployed to the Pacific Northwest of the United States in response to the concern that forest fires were being set by the Japanese military using long - range incendiary balloons . The 4th Infantry Division , first of four divisions committed by the United States to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization , reorganized and completed its basic training at Fort Benning ( Sand Hill and Harmony Church areas ) from October 1950 to May 1951 , when it deployed to Germany for five years . The Airborne School on Main Post has three 249 - foot ( 76 m ) drop towers called " Free Towers . " They are used to train paratroopers . The towers were modeled after the parachute towers at the 1939 World ' s Fair in New York . Only three towers stand today ; the fourth tower was toppled by a tornado on 14 March 1954 . During the spring of 1962 General Herbert B . Powell , Commanding General , Continental Army Command , directed that all instruction at the Infantry School after 1 July reflect Reorganization Objective Army Division structures . Therefore , the Infantry School asked for permission to reorganize the 1st Infantry Brigade under a ROAD structure . Instead , the Army Staff decided to inactivate the Pentomic - structured brigade and replace it with a new ROAD unit , the 197th Infantry Brigade , which resolved a unit designation issue . With the designation 1st Infantry Brigade slated to return to the 1st Infantry Division when it converted to ROAD , the existing unit at Fort Benning required a new title . The staff selected an infantry brigade number that had been associated with an Organized Reserve division that was no longer in the force . For the new ROAD brigade at Fort Benning , Georgia , the adjutant general on 1 August 1962 restored elements of the 99th Reconnaissance Troop , which thirty years earlier had been organized by consolidating infantry brigade headquarters and headquarters companies of the 99th Infantry Division , as Headquarters and Headquarters Companies , 197th and 198th Infantry Brigades . Fort Benning was the site of the Scout dog school of the United States during the Vietnam War , where the dogs trained to detect ambushes in enemy terrain got their initial training , before being transferred to Vietnam for further advanced courses . Controversy . Between 1963 and 1964 , in Fort Benning , Luis Posada Carriles received CIA training in explosives and sabotage . In 1984 , following the signing of the Panama Canal Treaty , the School of the Americas relocated from Fort Gulick ( Panama ) to Fort Benning . After criticism concerning human rights violations committed by a number of graduates in Latin America , the school was renamed " Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation " . In 1988 Timothy McVeigh , Terry Nichols and Michael Fortier ( the Oklahoma City bombing conspirators ) met while in training at Ft Benning . Mission . Fort Benning and The Maneuver Center provide Agile , Trained , Adaptive , and Ready Soldiers and Leaders for an Army at War , while developing Future requirements for the Individual Soldier and the Maneuver Force , and providing a World Class Quality of Life for our Soldiers and Army Families ! The Infantry School transforms civilians into disciplined INFANTRYMEN that possess the Army Values , fundamental Soldier skills , physical fitness , character , confidence , commitment , and the Warrior Ethos to become adaptive and flexible Infantrymen ready to accomplish the mission of the Infantry . The Armor School educates , trains , and inspires America ' s Armored Soldiers and Leaders for a lifetime of service to the Nation ; prepared to close with & destroy the enemy by fire and maneuver as part of a combined arms team . Post Information . There are four main cantonment areas on Fort Benning : Main Post , Kelley Hill , Sand Hill , and Harmony Church . Main Post . Main Post houses various garrison and smaller FORSCOM units of Fort Benning such as 36th Engineer Group , 988th Military Police Company , the 43rd Engineer Battalion , and the 29th Infantry Regiment , as well as a number of TRADOC - related tenants , e . g . the Officer Candidate School , the Non - Commissioned Officers Academy , and the Airborne School . McGinnis - Wickham Hall ( formerly known as Infantry Hall ) is the post headquarters and Maneuver Center of Excellence . Adjacent is a monument , the Ranger Memorial . Kelley Hill . Kelley Hill houses the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team of the 3rd Infantry Division ( Mechanized ) , the parent unit of two combined armed battalions ; First Battalion , Fifteenth Infantry , Second Battalion , Sixty - ninth Armor , as well as Third Squadron , First Cavalry Regiment , First Battalion , Tenth Field Artillery Regiment , and two support battalions ; 3 - 3 BSTB , and 203rd BSB . Sand Hill . Sand Hill is the primary location of the Infantry Training Brigade ( 198th Infantry Brigade ) and the Basic Combat Training Brigade ( 192nd Infantry brigade ) . Sand Hill is also the location of the 30th AG Reception Battalion at Fort Benning . Harmony Church . Harmony Church area houses the 2 / 29 Infantry Regiment Sniper School , the 1 / 29th Infantry Regiment ( training support for Bradley Fighting Vehicles and Strykers ) , the United States Army Reconnaissance and Surveillance Leaders Course ( RSLC ) and the first phase of Ranger School , 4th Ranger Training Battalion ( RTB ) . After the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure ( BRAC ) Commission ' s decision to create the Maneuver Center of Excellence ( MCoE ) , Harmony Church was designated as the new home of the US Army Armor School . Command Group . Current Command Future . Fort Benning was selected by the Base Realignment and Closing Commission to be the home of the new Maneuver Center of Excellence ( MCoE ) . This realignment has co - located the United States Army Armor Center and School , formerly located at Fort Knox , Kentucky , with the Infantry Center and School . This transformation was completed September 2011 . In popular culture . Movies . Many movies and a number of documentary films have been filmed at Fort Benning . Among the notable ones :