Fort Benning (Ga.)

Fort Benning (named Fort Moore from 2023 to 2025) is a United States Army post in the Columbus, Georgia area. Located on Georgia's border with Alabama, Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employees on a daily basis. As a power projection platform, the post can deploy combat-ready forces by air, rail, and highway for their designated mission. 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, the 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade, and other tenant units. Established in 1918 as Camp Benning, named after Confederate General Henry L. Benning in the American Civil War, it was the Home of the Infantry. In 1922 Camp Benning became Fort Benning. In 2005, it was 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 Moore. In May 2023, as part of the removal of names associated with the Confederacy, Fort Benning was renamed Fort Moore after general Hal Moore DSC and his wife Julia Compton Moore. In March 2025, the new Secretary of Defense ordered that the name of Fort Moore be changed back to Fort Benning but after Corporal Fred G. Benning, who was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his extraordinary heroism in action during World War I with the U.S. Army in France in 1918.