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 On behalf of BG Bryan Owens and CSM Steve McClaflin, lnfantry
Commandant and Infantry School CSM, Command Sergeant Major Hardy and I
invite you to attend the 2010 Infantry Warfighting Conference, September
13-15, 2010.
The conference will be held at the Iron Works Trade and
Convention Center, approximately five miles from Fort Benning in
downtown Columbus, Georgia.
This year's Conference theme is "Developing the
Maneuver Force for Wide Area Security and Combined Arms Maneuver."
Though we are in exciting times of transition to the Maneuver Center of
Excellence, this conference will primarily focus on our efforts with the
Infantry. as well as showcase the Maneuver Force.
Some of the Army's
top leadership will give presentations that will provide a basis for
opportunities to share lessons learned, tactics, techniques, and
procedures from across the operating force, deployed environments,
generating force, and
training centers.
This year we will also include
our progress in establishing the Maneuver Center of Excellence (MCoE)
and an update from the Armor School.
Some of the Army's top leadership both Military
and Civilian will give presentations. We will also ask our
Infantry/Stryker/Heavy Brigade Combat Team Commanders and Command
Sergeants Major to provide their lessons learned in combat. On the
evening of September 14, we will host the Doughboy Award Ceremony and
Banquet, honoring Major General Jerry A. White (Retired) and Command
Sergeant Major Andrew McFowler (Retired) as this year's Doughboy
Recipients.
Fort Benning is a valuable source for our Army's
best trained, equipped, and led Soldiers. Your participation will add to
the training and leadership of Infantry, Armor, and Cavalry Soldiers
today and in the future. We look forward to hosting you at the MCoE in
September.
One Force, One Fight!
One Force, One Fight!
MICHAEL FERRITER
Major General, U.S. Army
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 Join the conversation!
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NEWS75th Ranger Regiment streamlines selection process
 The 75th Ranger Regiment has refined its assessment and selection
process to expand the training and evaluation windows for potential
candidates.
The unit is sending some Soldiers straight to Ranger School from the
Ranger Assessment and Selection Program and Small Unit Ranger Tactics
course, instead of to a battalion and deployment. The first two to take
that route -- Sgt. Joshua Fish and Spc. Brendan Smith -- graduated Aug.
27.
more
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Gates, Karzai discuss way ahead in Afghanistan
 KABUL, Afghanistan (Sept. 2, 2010) -- There are now enough resources in
Afghanistan to deliver "tangible and lasting results," Defense Secretary
Robert M. Gates said during a joint news conference with Afghan
President Hamid Karzai here today.
The two leaders had met earlier in the day to discuss issues such as
combating corruption in the Afghan government, civilian casualties and
the U.S. military's gradual transition of responsibility for security to
Afghan forces beginning in July 2011.
more
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'The Warrior Pose': Army considers yoga to treat Soldiers' pain
 FORT MEADE, Md. -- Sgt. 1st Class Felicie Spencer takes medication for the pain she experiences from an injury.
But for a few months this spring, Spencer attended yoga classes at
Gaffney Fitness Center. A member of Fort Meade's Warrior Transition Unit
at Kimbrough Ambulatory Care Center, Spencer said the practice soothed
her discomfort.
"It eases the joints where there is pain," she said. "It's excellent. Sometimes I don't want to leave, I'm so comfortable."more_______________________________________________________________________________ Restoring Hope: You can save a life Suicide Prevention:
"People have to be bold and step in... You can't just passively sit and watch this happen.""What
I ask is that each of you mentor young people coming along. That is the
strength of the organization. We take care of each other. We treat
people like we want to be treated with dignity and respect."- U.S. Navy Adm. Mike MullenChairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staffmore_______________________________________________________________________________
'Grey Eagle' weaponized UAS slated for Afghanistan
 WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Sept. 3, 2010) -- Army unmanned aircraft
systems officials said success was so great with the integration and
testing of the Hellfire missile aboard the Grey Eagle UAS that the Army
would begin deployment of four weaponized systems to Afghanistan in the
fall.
In a Pentagon bloggers roundtable Aug. 25, Col. Greg Gonzalez, program
manager for Army UAS said in recent user tests at the National Training
Center, Soldiers had fired eight missiles with eight hits.
more
_______________________________________________________________________________  CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE SPEICHER, Iraq - It took more than a year to
plan, but now there are 157 Iraqi Air Force cadets, who will soon start
training on Contingency Operating Base Speicher, Tikrit, Iraq. The
cadets began arriving to the base Sept. 1.
Class 76 will be the first cadets to go through the newly reopened Iraqi Air Force College, which closed in 2003.
"The Iraqi Air Force College will gradually increase its footprint,"
said U.S. Air Force Col. David Blanks, the Expeditionary Mission Support
Advisory Group commander. "The Iraqi Air Force has approximately 5,000
airmen (officer and enlisted) today. That number is projected to grow to
nearly 12,000 by the end of 2012." more________________________________________________________________________________ Master Resilience Training course catches on in Army Master resilience trainers are a growing presence on Sand Hill.
In the past year, more than 1,300 Soldiers, including about 20 drill
sergeants from Fort Benning, have taken the Master Resilience Training
course, part of the Army's Comprehensive Soldier Fitness program.
Modeled after the University of Pennsylvania's "Penn Resilience
Program," the 10-day course is designed to equip Soldiers with the
skills needed to better manage traumatic events - from money and
relationship problems to major accidents and combat horrors - and teach
others in their units to do the same.more_______________________________________________________________________________ Soldiers take different paths to 75th Ranger RegimentSGT Joshua Fish said tales from a former platoon sergeant he served with
in Germany lured him into the 75th Ranger Regiment. SPC Brendan Smith
was a college graduate looking to escape his desk job.
They now have the distinction of being the first Soldiers to vault
directly out of the unit's Ranger Assessment and Selection Program and
graduate from Ranger School without first joining a battalion.more_______________________________________________________________________________ |
"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Online Inbox
What is it?
On Sept. 2 the Army launched a "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Online Inbox on
Army Knowledge Online available to Soldiers worldwide. The purpose of
the inbox is to provide Soldiers the opportunity to share their comments
and opinions on how repeal of Don't Ask, Don't tell law might affect
military and family readiness, effectiveness, unit cohesion, and
recruiting and retention.
What has the Army done?
The Army set up the inbox and will evaluate responses. Control measures
will be used to safeguard identity of respondents. Inbox users are
reminded that current "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law remains in effect.
Complete instructions for inbox use can be found on the inbox entry page
on AKO. The inbox will remain open until Sept. 30, 2010, or until
leadership decides the inbox has fulfilled its purpose.
What does the Army have planned for the future?
The Army and the Defense Department regularly ask for feedback on a wide
range of topics to better understand Soldier attitudes and opinions.
In addition, DoD recently distributed a survey on "Don't Ask Don't Tell"
and an online inbox similar to the Army's online inbox.
Why is this important to the Army?
Army leadership, at all levels, values the input of the service's
greatest resource, the Soldier. Army leaders want to know what Soldiers
are thinking. It is vital the Army hears from as many Soldiers as
possible to accurately gage opinions and perceptions of the impact of a
repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law should current law be repealed.
Leaders are encouraged to promote the inbox at their units, commands,
and installations.
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Watch the latest episode of The Benning Report
In this episode:- COL Owens Promotion to BG
- 3rd Bridgade Redeployments
- Basic Training Changes (part 1)
- Absentee Voting
- Remote Tag Office Open on Kelley Hill
- Live Fire: Tanks Arrive on Fort Benning
- 11th Engineer DFAC Opening
click here to watch
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Family embodies Army Strong legacy
By
Kristin Molinaro, The BayonetSFC Maureen Houston (right) clasps her son Caleb's hand at family day Sept. 1 while his girlfriend, Meghan, and great aunt, Meg, look on. Maureen and her older son, SPC Brion Houston, traveled from Afghanistan this week to make it to Caleb's basic training graduation. The pair are deployed to Bagram with the 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the Vermont National Guard.  | PVT Caleb Houston's graduation from basic training Sept. 2 turned into a family reunion for the Vermont National Guardsman.
His mother, SFC Maureen Houston, and older brother, SPC Brion Houston,
traveled from Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, where they are deployed with
the 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, to attend his graduation.
Caleb, 18, graduated from high school in May without any immediate
family attending but knew his mother was hoping to coordinate her 15
days of environmental morale leave to fall during the week of his basic
training graduation.
"I missed his high school graduation, I missed his 18th birthday, I said
I wasn't going to miss this," said Maureen, who raised her three
children as a single mother after a divorce.
The children's father died last year.
"When I got divorced and the kids were little, I had no male influence
and I had to be strong so I went by the Army values," Maureen said.
"That's how I raised them. I wasn't strict or lenient; it was 'this is
what I expect.' No less, no more."
Maureen said the example she's set over the years encouraged her
children's interests in joining the military. Maureen's oldest daughter
was an Army medic before leaving the military to start a family.
Brion is an Infantryman with the Vermont National Guard and worked for a
local police department before he deployed. Maureen is a postal worker
in civilian life. She's learned to juggle her military and civilian
careers as a citizen-Soldier and said her children followed in her
footsteps because they saw how she made it work.
Caleb enlisted in the Guard as an information systems operator and will
join the 86th IBCT after his advanced individual training at Fort
Gordon, Ga.
As a belated birthday surprise - his birthday was last week while
Maureen and Brion were in transit from Afghanistan - Maureen flew
Caleb's girlfriend, Meghan Poissant, down for the graduation. Caleb's
grandparents, Ralph and Meme Lemnah, and his great aunt, Meg, also
traveled from Vermont for the ceremony.
"We tried to keep it a secret," Maureen said. "But the excitement was to
much. I would be writing e-mails and type 'Brion and I are so excited
to be coming' and then I'd have to backspace, backspace, backspace."
By family day Sept. 1, Caleb knew all of his family would be there, with
the exception of his girlfriend, who surprised him when he spotted her
sitting next to his mother during the brief ceremony before the Soldiers
were dismissed to spend the day with their families.
Caleb said he appreciates that his mother and brother could be there.
"It was special to me," Caleb said. "I think before coming to (basic
training) I took them for granted. I didn't realize how much they
appreciated me, there's more of a bond now."
Maureen and Brion are due to redeploy in December. Caleb will be reunited with them in Vermont following his 17-week AIT. |
Join The Pistol Club
The Fort Benning Junior Pistol Club is looking for new
members. The club is growing more every year and qualified one shooter last
year to compete in the National Junior Olympic Open Championships held in
Colorado Springs at the Olympic Training Center.
The club meets
on Wednesdays during the school year from 4:30 pm to 6 p.m. at the Pool Indoor
Range Complex, home of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit. Juniors will be taught
pistol shooting in accordance with USA Shooting and International Olympic rules
by members of the USAMU's International Pistol team, including a three-time
Olympian.
To be
eligible, children must be between the ages of 10-18. No experience is
necessary and equipment will be provided. The season runs from Sept. 8 to May
11, 2011. Dues are $100 for the entire season with no cost for the first 30
days.
For more
information contact Sgt. 1st Class Daryl Szarenski at
(706) 545-1027 or email him at Daryl.Szarenski@usaac.army.mil.
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VFW Job Fair 22-23 Sept.
Army Community Service
EMPLOYMENT READINESS Program in partnership with Department of Labor and VFW Post 665 is hosting a Job
Fair on 22 & 23 September 2010, at the VFW Post #665, 1824
Victory Drive 0900-1300. This job fair is geared for military veterans,
military retirees, DA civilians, their family members and any other job
seekers. Up to 40 different businesses
will be represented, each day, with most from the local area. It is recommended that interested parties
bring a MINIMUM of 15 copies of their resumes for possible on-site
interviews. For more information contact
Mark Mills, Miguel Flores or Shawn Whitehorn, Employment Readiness Program,
Bldg 7, (706) 545-2836, (706) 545-5385 or 706-545-3402.
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Thank you for taking the time to look through the Fort Benning E-Newsletter. We will continue to tell our Soldiers' great stories through this and other mediums. The Benning E-Newsletter will be sent out weekly. Please support us by forwarding this email to a friend via the "forward email" link at the bottom of the newsletter.
Sincerely,
Fort Benning Public Affairs Office |
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