U.S. Army Airborne School (2013)

The United States Army Airborne School at Fort Benning, Georgia is an institution rooted in tradition. Far from being a relic of the past, it continues to produce some of the best soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines in the armed forces.

Fort Benning: Home of the Infantry...and a Lot More

By JIM PURCELL

Fort Benning, Georgia has always been, at least since the place was built in 1918, the Home of the U.S. Army Infantry. The property for the post includes 182,000 acres of real-estate. The installation is situated in Chattahooche County, Georgia, by 93 percent, and Russell County, Alabama, by 7 percent. Right outside the front gate for the post is Columbus, Georgia, and a host of ways for young men to get in trouble, as I recall from younger days.

Untold hundreds of thousands of soldiers began their military careers right there amongst the red clay and sweltering summers of Benning. Today, it continues as the Home to the U.S. Army Armor School, as well as Airborne School, Ranger School, Officers Candidate School, the Henry Caro Non-Commissioned Officer Academy, and I am sure that I am leaving quite a bit out...but there is a lot of training happening at Ft. Benning.

Reportedly, today, the fort is the garrison for the 198th and 199th Infantry brigades, respectively; the 194th Armored Brigade; 316th Cavalry Brigade; 14th Combat Support Hospital; 44th Medical Brigade; Task Force 1-28; the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team; the 75th Ranger Regiment; Army Marksmanship Unit; 17th Air Support Operations Squadron; the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation; and, of course, Martin Army Community Hospital.

I will never forget my first introduction to Benning. I was all of 17 years old in June, 1983. I had joined the Army as an infantry private and mortarman. Back then, Benning did not have a reception center, so myself and the rest of the young men going to the school there were first processed into the Army at Fort Jackson, in South Carolina, and then transported via bus to Benning.

We were wearing our new, heavy BDUs, which were not made with the summer time in mind and had not even put the first good coat of polish on our boots when we made the sojourn to Benning. All of us were brought directly to the Sand Hill barracks, where we were received by a swarm of barking drill sergeants. It was a surreal event. People were being dropped for push-ups randomly, drill sergeants letting them know that everything from the way they were wearing their uniform to their parentage was absolutely wrong. I must have sweated two full buckets worth by the time 20 minutes had gone by.

The Army changes over time, though. No one gets received to training at Benning with a swarm of drill sergeants barking at them anymore. It is one of many things that is a memory but no longer a reality there. In '83, I didn't enlist into the 'brown shoe' Army of my father during World War II, just as he didn't enlist in the World War I Army of his Dad. Like everything else, the Army transitions in various ways. I do not believe that because one way of doing things is discarded over time that it means it was not successful. Rather, the Army is a reflection of the society we live in. Over time, societies change, and with them the armies that serve them.

Before it was a "fort," Benning was a camp. Camp Benning opened up for business in October, 1918. President Woodrow Wilson was a great advocate for Benning. In 1913, President Wilson called a special session of the Congress, which culminated in the creation of the Revenue Act of that year. The Revenue Act of 1913 did several things, such as re-introduced the income tax (well, they could have left that one out in hindsight), created tariffs-a schedule of rates or charges of a business or a public utility, and raised revenue to create a permanent base to train and house Regular Army units...and Camp Benning was born.

A familiar scene at the Sand Hill barracks on Ft. Benning, GA

In February or 1920, the U.S. Congress saw fit to recognize Benning as a permanent military post. Sometimes, camps were abandoned by the military service. This was not going to be the case with Benning, though. In fact, the Congress appropriated an additional $1 million for building the structures and training areas that would be so essential for the newly christened Infantry School.

The Army, wasting no time in the matter, had 350 officers, 7,000 soldiers and 650 officer candidates living on the post by 1920.

The fort is named for a Confederate general during the Civil War, Henry L. Benning. In 1924, the fourth commandant of the Infantry School, Brigadier General Btriant H. Wells, was charged with the mission of make the temporary accommodations on Ft. Benning permanent and created the "Wells Plan" to construct permanent structures throughout the post.

Everyone who graduated from Basic Training or AIT at Ft. Benning, or any one of the other courses offered there, can tell you the tradition of excellence that resides at the post and the deep-seated sense of mission that is brought into every detail of life there.

For so many of us, Benning is a fond memory of a time long ago. Yet, it continues to play a vital role in the defense of our nation. And, that tradition began with the firm commitment of President Wilson.

The Birth of the United States Army Airborne

BG Billy Mitchell, father of The Airborne

By JIM PURCELL

The history of United States Airborne Forces did not begin on the training fields of Fort Benning, Georgia, as some believe. In fact, the origin of Airborne Forces in the U.S. military began with a familiar name to American military history, Brigadier General William L. "Billy" Mitchell (1879-1936).

As well as being considered the spiritual father of the United States Air Force, which he advocated for fiercely during his tenure in the military, BG Mitchell was the first to imagine airborne tactics and sought the creation of U.S. Airborne Forces.

It is not recorded exactly when he organized a demonstration of Airborne Infantry for U.S., Russian and German observers. However, according to records at Ft. Benning, Georgia, it is confirmed that BG Mitchell held the demonstration "shortly after World War I" at Kelly Field, in San Antonio, Texas. During the demonstration, six soldiers parachuted from a Martin Bomber. After landing safely, the soldiers assembled their weapons and were ready for action in less than three minutes after they exited the aircraft.

Oddly enough, U.S. observers were not favorably impressed by the demonstration. However, the Russian and German observers were very impressed by the demonstration. In fact, both countries proceeded to create Airborne forces within their respective militaries.

It was actually the Soviet Union that created the first airborne unit, which it used for the first time in August, 1930, when it held maneuvers at Veronezh, Russia. The display was reportedly so impressive that it was repeated about a month later in Moscow.

Meanwhile, the Germans developed airborne forces in their military and, at the outset of World War II, used paratroopers to spearhead Nazi invasions throughout Europe. Back in the United States, the concept of airborne soldiers languished until the War Department was informed of the success of German paratroopers in Nazi invasions.

Just how the United States would implement the airborne concept was an issue in Washington DC also.  Though it was ultimately discarded, some of the leaders in U.S. Air Power offered a suggestion that Airborne Infantry should be called "Airborne Grenadiers" and create a new service called the "Marines Air Corps."

Finally, in April, 1940, the War Department approved the formation of an Airborne Test Platoon for infantrymen. The War Department approval gave permission to "...form, equip and train under the direction and control of the Army's Infantry Board. So, in June, the names of 40 men were selected from a pool of 200 volunteers from Ft. Benning's 29th Infantry Regiment and the Test Platoon was born.

Uniform worn by Test Platoon members

Later in 1940, the 2nd Infantry Division was given the mission to conduct necessary tests to develop reference material and operational procedures for "air-transported personnel."

When training first began for the Test Platoon, it still wasn't on the hallowed training fields of Ft. Benning, though. LTC William C. Lee was a staff officer for the Chief of Infantry at the time. He recommended the platoon be moved to the Safe Parachute Company, of Hightstown, New Jersey, for training on the parachute drop towers there. They had previously been used during a World's Fair held in New York.

At Hightstown, training with the towers worked out so well that the Army bought two of them immediately. A short time after that, they bought two more.

The platoon returned to Ft. Benning and began training in earnest, especially in developing Parachute Landing Falls. As well as jumping from atop physical training platforms, those early paratroopers also practiced PLFs from jumping out the back of moving 2-1/2 ton trucks, to simulate the shock of landing.

In less than 45 days, the Test Platoon was ready to begin airborne operations. The first-ever official parachute jumps by members of the U.S. Army took place on August 16, 1940, when 1LT William T. Ryder, the platoon leader for the test platoon, and Private Will N. "Red" King jumped from a Douglas B-18 over Lawson Army Airfield, at Ft. Benning. On August 29th, the entire platoon conducted a mass jump.

Following the successful Test Platoon jumps, the 501st Parachute Battalion was officially formed. It was commanded by Major William M. Miley, who went on to later command the 17th Airborne Division during World War II. The Test Platoon soldiers then became the cadre for the new outfit.

While still a fledgling unit, the 501st adopted the slogan "Geronimo!" after Private Aubrey Eberhart started yelling it out when he jumped, to prove to his fellow soldiers that he had his faculties together when he exited the door of the aircraft.

Subsequently, the 502nd Parachute Infantry Battalion was formed and LTC Lee took the new command, which was activated on July 1, 1942. Badly under-manned, LTC Lee accepted 172 volunteers from the 9th Infantry Division, then stationed at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina.

Though Airborne Forces would have to be used for a wide array of missions throughout the globe, it was decided that Ft. Benning would become the centralized training facility for all servicemen to be trained for airborne duties. This was made official on May 15, 1942, when The Airborne School was christened. Through the years, the name of the school has changed several times, from The Airborne School to The Airborne Department, then the Airborne-Air Mobility Department, and then to the 507th Parachute Infantry of the School Brigade to the 1st Battalion of the 507th Infantry, among others. However, regardless of the name, the mission then was the same as the mission today -- to prepare military personnel for airborne operations.