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Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama–Georgia border. 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, the 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade, and other tenant units.
It is named after Henry L. Benning, a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the Civil War. Fort Benning is one of ten U.S. Army installations named for former Confederate generals. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, passed over an attempted veto by President Trump, includes a provision that all 10 Army bases named after prominent Confederate military leaders be renamed. The congressionally mandated Naming Commission on 8 August 2022, issued its recommendation that Fort Benning be renamed Fort Moore after Lieutenant General Hal and Julia Moore, both of whom are buried on post as are Julia’s parents. On 6 October 2022 Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin accepted the recommendation and directed the name change occur no later than 1 January 2024. On 5 January 2023 William A. LaPlante, US under-secretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment (USD (A&S)) directed the full implementation of the recommendations of the Naming Commission, DoD-wide. The redesignation to Fort Moore will occur 11 May 2023.
Since 1909, 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.