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There will be heavy weapons firing on Fort Benning through Sept. 1 in the northeast portion of post. For more information on weapons firing,  

The next Wounded Warrior Horsemanship Program is Oct. 1 at Wetherby Field, not the Fort Benning Hunt Club as previously reported. Volunteers and horses are needed. Email

Get your resumes ready - the Army Career and Alumni Program, along with CivilianJobs.com, is hosting a Career Expo from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 6 at the Benning Conference Center in Building 128 on Morrison Avenue.  

Love Dental Clinic is closed because of fire damage. The fire was Aug. 10. Sick-call patients should report to Bernheim Dental Clinic on Sightseeing Road.

From the Top 

We hear it all the time - BRAC, BRAC, BRAC...we are investing

$3.5 million at Fort Benning in construction and growth to enhance training for America's Army...the Chattahoochee Valley is growing while so many other parts of the country continue to reel from the economic downturn that began in 2008.  

Underlying all of the news we see in the papers and around our military and civilian community is the fact that all of this is about an investment in people.

There is nothing more important than people - our service members, their families, the Army civilian workforce and contractors, and our community outside the gates of Fort Benning. We can have all of the equipment, ranges and facilities in the world, but if we do not have the best people, the best families and the best community support -trust me, we will not succeed.

It is in this spirit, this investment in Fort Benning, that I am happy to announce you are going to see illustrated more and more about the Spirit of Fort Benning. Countless great Americans, leaders and community supporters enriched the grounds of this post with their presence, dedication and commitment to excellence for many years. Fort Benning was a talent magnet attracting the best Soldiers and Leaders in the Army. Examples include Gen. George Marshall, Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, Gen. George Patton, Lt. Gen. James Gavin, Col. Ralph Puckett and Lt. Gen. Hal Moore. That tradition continues today and is growing rapidly as we welcome the Armor team.

So, when you drive around and see all of the construction, when you read in the paper and see on the news the details about the increased training at Fort Benning (and the increased noise which I know rattles some), keep in mind that at the end of the day, we are not just investing in bricks and mortar. We are investing in people - America's best Army, America's very best families and a community second to none.

One Force! One Fight!

Major General Robert B. Brown  

Commanding General  

U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence

News

Benning Soldiers win at TRADOC Soldier of the Year Competition   

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Gone fishin': Free weekend getaways for wounded warriors promote 'healing'  

-------------------------------------------------------------- Career Expo coming to post in October   

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ACAP helps prepare Soldiers for civilian life 

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9/11 ceremony set at museum  

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Officer candidates choose career paths in branching ceremony  

-------------------------------------------------------------- Battalion cadre collide in Mailed Foot Challenge

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Suicide awareness video aimed at first-line supervisors

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Resilience study can help DoD strengthen programs   

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Click here to read this week's Bayonet  

(note:  it may take a few minutes to download the paper)  

Blanchard Leadership Forum 

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice headlines the sixth annual Jim Blanchard Leadership Forum, hosted by Columbus State University's Cunningham Center for Leadership Aug. 29-30 at the Columbus Convention and Trade Center. Rice will speak on "How to Turn Adversity into Advantage in Business and in Life" at 8 p.m.

Themed "Innovative Leadership," the forum's second-day speakers are Patrick Lencioni, business author and president of The Table Group Inc.; Gardiner W. Garrard III, founder of Total Technology Ventures in Atlanta; Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO of ATT Mobility and Consumer Markets; Sen. Johnny Isakson; British author Sir Ken Robinson, a leader in the development of creativity and innovation; and Maj. Gen. Robert Brown, commander of the Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Benning. For more information, call 706-568-5101.    

Panetta: Any retirement changes won't affect serving military

Jim Garamone, American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 22, 2011 -- In his clearest statement on the subject to date, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said today that if the military retirement system changes, it will not affect serving servicemembers. 

"I will not break faith," the secretary said during a roundtable meeting with military media representatives in the Pentagon. 

Panetta's predecessor, Robert M. Gates, asked the Defense Business Board to look at the military retirement system and make recommendations. The final report is due later this month, but Panetta said he is familiar with the outlines of the proposal. 

"I certainly haven't made any decisions" on retirement, he said. 

"People who have come into the service, who have put their lives on the line, who have been deployed to the war zones, who fought for this country, who have been promised certain benefits for that -- I'm not going to break faith with what's been promised to them," Panetta said. 

People in the service today will come under the current retirement system, which gives retirees 50 percent of their base pay after 20 years of service. 

"Does that stop you from making changes?" Panetta asked. "No, because obviously you can 'grandfather' people in terms of their benefits and then look at what changes you want to put in place for people who become members of the all-volunteer force in the future." 

One aspect of the retirement issue is one of fairness, the secretary said. Most servicemembers do not spend 20 years in the military and therefore do not get any retirement benefits when they leave the service. 

"They are not vested in any way," Panetta said. "The question that is at least legitimate to ask is, 'Is there a way for those future volunteers to shape this that might give them better protection to be able to have some retirement and take it with them?'" 

Health care is another area that has to be dealt with, the secretary said. In fiscal 2001, the DoD health care bill was $19 billion. It is more than $50 billion now, he said, and it soars to the neighborhood of $60 billion in future years. Among proposals Congress is contemplating is an increase in some TRICARE military health plan premium payments. 

"I think those recommendations make sense," Panetta said. "Especially with tight budgets, it does make sense that people contribute a bit more with regards to getting that coverage." 

The Defense Department -- which is responsible for a large part of the nation's discretionary budget -- will do its part to reduce the budget deficit, the secretary said. But while Defense has a role to play, he added, Congress has to deal with the more than two-thirds of the federal budget that represents the mandatory spending. 

"If you are serious about getting the deficit down," Panetta said, "you have to deal with the mandatory side of the budget and taxes." 

DoD has a responsibility to look at all aspects of the budget, the secretary said, and officials at the Pentagon are doing that. 

"This is not because it is necessarily going to hurt areas," he added, "because frankly, a lot of this can be done through efficiencies, a lot of it can be done looking at the administrative side of the programs: what can we do to make these programs more efficient?" 

The secretary said he believes the budget crunch can represent an opportunity to make DoD a more efficient, effective and agile force that still can deal with the threats of the future. 

The department also needs to ask how to provide benefits for troops and their families that will be effective at ensuring the nation always has a strong volunteer force, Panetta said. 

"That's a debate and discussion that it's important for the Defense Department to have, the White House to have, the Congress to have and the country to have," he said. "[We] need to have that debate about 'How are we going to do this in a way that maintains the best military in the world?'" 

The Defense Department will face some tough choices, Panetta acknowledged. 

"I think the bottom line is this can be an opportunity to shape something very effective for the future that can still represent the best defense system in the world," he said.

Fort Benning Airborne School week one, ground week.

by Fort Benning TV 

Fort Benning Airborne School week one, ground week.

By Social Media Division, U.S. Army Office of the Chief of Public Affairs

WASHINGTON, July 12, 2011 -- You just signed up for a Facebook profile and a four-star general already wants to be your friend. Good thing right? Not likely. 

Fake profiles, impostors and online scams litter the social media landscape, and as social media evolves, so do the tactics of online crooks. As social media use becomes more prevalent in today's Army, many Army leaders and Soldiers recognize that effective social media education is the best way to keep Soldiers from falling into the traps set by social media scam artists.  

"It's still the wild west out there," said Staff Sgt. Dale Sweetnam, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the Online and Social Media Division, or OSMD, in the Office of the Chief of Public Affairs. "You have to stay vigilant, protect your information and always be on the lookout for social media scams." 

The Army authorizes the use of social media in both official and personal capacities, but Sweetnam said the threats are always present so education is key. Social media scam artists work tirelessly to steal personal information, impersonate Soldiers and try to acquire sensitive information. 

"We are all familiar with the Nigerian money scam emails that used to plague our email accounts a few years ago, right? Well now that our online use has evolved, so have scammers," said Maj. Juanita Chang, the Army's director of OSMD. 

"If you are a scammer who wants to build someone's trust and then con them into sending you money, doesn't it make sense to steal the identity of someone America trusts -- and nobody is held in higher esteem than our military members, so they make a lucrative case to impersonate. People inherently trust the military and wouldn't imagine being conned by a Soldier or a general with a chest full of medals," said Chang. 

In 2009, the Robin Sage Experiment effectively demonstrated how people respond to social media scams. In December of 2009, Provide Security, a cyber security company, created fake Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin profiles for a person they named "Robin Sage." Sage claimed to be "Cyber Threat Analyst."  

Over the next few months, the fake persona collected hundreds of friends and over time, slowly extracted sensitive information from those in the intelligence and cyber communities.  

Not only does the Robin Sage Experiment demonstrate how easy it is for someone to penetrate social media circles, it shows that even some of the most security-minded individuals are still susceptible to attacks.  

Not every social media scam is as complex and thought out as the Robin Sage experiment. In many cases, people will simply go online, become "friends" with a Soldier in uniform, steal the photo and use it as their own profile photo. Some individuals have actually taken the identity of a deceased Soldier and used as to solicit money from unsuspecting victims.  

One such incident was reported by the New York Post earlier this year. It happens to deceased Soldiers, active Soldiers and even Army leaders. 

"I spend a few hours a week searching social media platforms for people posing as Army leaders," Sweetnam said. "We work hard to protect the digital integrity of our Army leaders. It's disappointing to find that there are so many scam artists out there, but for now, that's just the way it is." 

Sweetnam said that fake Pages also exist for Army organizations, so he suggested that those interested in finding official Army social media presences should check out the Army's Social Media Directory.  

Sweetnam said that regardless of how involved you are with social media, it's important to always be on the lookout for scams. He said that you should never "friend" someone you don't actually know in person on Facebook. You should also do periodic Google searches for your name to make sure nobody is using your name and likeness for personal gain. And, of course, always keep Operations Security in mind. 

"OPSEC should always be the paramount concern," said Sweetnam. "Throughout our Army career, we are trained on the importance of OPSEC. Maintaining information security should apply not only during deployments, but each time you sign on to Facebook or Tweet." 

Sweetnam said OSMD has produced and distributed dozens of training documents detailing effective and safe social media use. These materials can be found on the Army's Slideshare site. One of the more comprehensive resources developed by the OSMD is the Social Media Handbook which examines everything from blogging to using social media for crisis communications. 

To stay safe, the Online and Social Media Division suggests that social media users take several precautions when using social media.  

• It's important to not share information that users don't want to become public
• Verify a "friend" request by phone or other means before allowing access. Group "friends" (e.g., real life, co-workers, strangers, etc.) and control access permissions based on the groups.
• Take a close look at all privacy settings. Set security options to allow visibility to "friends only."
• Users should be careful about what they post about their lives on social media platforms. Once something is out there, users can't control where it goes.
• Be cautious when listing job, military organization, education and contact information.
• Ensure that information posted online has no significant value to the enemy. Always assume that the enemy is reading every post made to a social media platform.
• Closely review photos before they go online. Make sure they do not give away sensitive information which could be dangerous if released.
• Make sure to talk to family about operations security and what can and cannot be posted.
• Create different, strong passwords for each online account. Never give password information away.
• "Social media is an exciting space," said Sweetnam. "There is a lot the Army can achieve using social media and there are endless benefits for Soldiers and their families. But we have to be safe and we have to be on the lookout for those who wish to ruin a good thing."

National Infantry Museum Gala Draws Record Crowd

by Borden Black 

"Wildly successful" is how National Infantry Museum staff and volunteers described this year's

annual black-tie fundraising gala.

"Thanks for the Memories: A Bob Hope Tribute to Vietnam Era Veterans" was more than sold out and those who did manage to get the much sought-after tickets stayed late into the night.

The grand hall took on a tropical feel and Bob Hope

impersonator Bill Johnson entertained "the troops" of men dressed in tuxedos and dress blues and women in evening gowns.

Vintage '60s and '70s tunes from the 10:30 Band then stirred the crowd to dance into the wee hours.

For the first time, a silent auction was held and raised in excess of $10,000. The most popular item was a pearl necklace from Hoi An, Vietnam bought by MCoE Commander MG Robert Brown as a surprise for his wife, Patti. A week-long Italian villa rental went for $3,900. In addition to the auction items, the 1968 restored Ford XL convertible donated by museum volunteer and Vietnam vet Jim Lee was purchased by gala sponsor Carl Gregory Enterprises.

The event, which attracted more than 430 people, is a major fundraiser for the National Infantry Foundation, a private, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.

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