I was told that you aren't a real infantryman unless you went to basic training at Fort Benning. What are your opinions on this?

I am Vertically challenged but you can call me short, I grew up in the 60's and 70's and words just roll off me because i am strong enough that words don't bother/hurt me. If i had a child that was retarded/mentally challenged it's ok wouldn't let it bother me, but that's me. But i do have 2 children that have Dyslexia.

I'm the guardian to an adult "retard". I find that being cruel to "retards" is the one last acceptable cruelty in our society.

LCDR Jerry Maurer - I personally would not be cruel to anyone, heaven forbid and those that do can go to heck.

COL Charles Williams
Yes sir, sounds as though we're starting to take the low road here. We're turning into American politicians

I pulled enough guard duty to have gotten a degree as a guard. So, being infantry doesn't always mean .... forgot where I was going with this. Anyway, Being a grunt doesn't always mean glamor. Thinking back on it, you tend to forget about the aching feet or the sore knees, or the aching back from carrying the pack on your back. with all the accessories, Steel pot, (yes, I'm that old.) four, Rifle take your choice, I carried the M-grand to the M-14. magazines, canteens full of water. You know what I can't remember all that we carried. Everything was heavier then. Oh my aching back and knees.

Sgt Mervyn Russell - Even as a computer programmer, I had to do the monthly 26-mile humps with full pack, rifle, all the 782 gear. Didn't matter. And it was usually the picture-perfect marines (6ft tall, 180 lbs.) who fell out. Meanwhile, myself (5'8" 200lbs) and my corporal (female, 5'4", 120 lbs.) would finish the hump carrying other peoples rifles because they just couldn't keep up.
Fond memories now, but then it was aching feet and drenched with sweat. Especially during the summer in eastern North Carolina.

Sgt Mervyn Russell - Steel pot the go to helmet when you needed to shave to cooking your C-Rations.

I was an Infantry Squad leader a 20 year old Sergeant. I served with many soldiers that were truly great in the Infantry. We had one man that had trained at Ft McClellan which was primarily a Woman’s Army Corps training center, along with Chemical and MP training. Most of the men trained at Ft. Polk La. BTW I was in the 2nd Bn, 47th Infantry in the Mekong Delta. Ft. Benning has an Infantry training Battalion designated the 2nd Bn 47th Infantry. I also served as a Drill Sergeant at Ft. Polk La (called little Vietnam) with AIT at North Ft. Polk called Tigerland.

Well put

Exactly. If your record says "!!B", you are an infantry soldier.....

Exactly, an 11B MOS indicates an infantry soldier, as does the CIB.

SGT Dave Tracy - What Was A Surprise To Me Upon Enlisting
Is; "Martial Arts Wasn't Part Of Our Military Training". One Of Many Benefits Being,
One Well Directed Strike And It's "Game Over"... Totally Eliminating Any Long Drawn
Out Combat Situation.

Sounds good to me SFC (Join to see). I wish the training was like the old days, and PC was simply manners.

You Too Brother!

Thank you Sir!

"HOOHAH" major, i went through basic and ait at ft polk, in 73" cohorts unit and back in the day ft polk was known for putting out some of the best and well trained infantrymen, the training was geared towards jungle,swamp training and ft benning swamp can not and never have measured up to swampy polk, "if it's raining, we're training" not to mention the outside forces like "reptiles,insects, wildlife and spirits and a bunch of unknowns that messes with a true infantrymen ability to focus on the mission. sandhill has never had the type of terrain s./n. fort had/have, what's about training in vietnam village (tiger village), i believe benning was a school post where new tactic and procedures were tested and approved then implemented to all of infantry units, not taken anything away from ft benning it was/is "HOME OF THE INFANTRY'' but once the soldiers move to their assignment we often told our soldiers to stowaway that school knowledge draw upon it when needed but remember every unit s.o.p. vary, so to say that real infantrymen comes from ft benning is wishful thinking i've being a blue cord wearer from 73" to present and beyond, every one is not infantry material, the being out in the elements i.e...rain,cold,heat,snow, and dust, the marching with combat loaded ruck, the all night patrols, the fire and manuever, day or night gunnery, mounted/dismounted tactics, security etc...so the place one get his/her get their introduction to the art and career of the infantry doesn't really count, it's how one embrace the skills, during my 20 years in the service i would often wander what was i thinking, why am i out there freezing deep to the bone, or eating chow in the rain,dust,bug infested great outdoors while the rear echelon are warm and dry, but one have to reach down grab a pair and drive on, or you are in your fartsack hating to move cause most of your worldly possession are in there with you i.e... weapons,boots, and sensitive equipment and outside the bag is covering with snow,rain,dust, and cold,inescts or whatever, so since i didn't go through ft benning am i less of a infantrymen or just one with a different mindset

Because I volunteered for Airborne while at Basic Training at Ft. Dix I was sent to Ft. Gordon (GA) . It was training not only to become an Infantryman but prepare you for Jump School. We lived in a placed called "Camp Crockett " lived in tents, drank water from a Lister Bag. Of course all our training was centered around Vietnam. Funny thing is I met up with some of my basic training friends at Ft.Benning as they went to Ft. Polk for AIT. This was in 1968.

That's pretty. Is it a boy? Do they give the women pink ones?

CW4 (Join to see) -

MAJ Glenn Bergeron - I think id rather have the blue one. I'm not sure pink belongs on a uniform lol

Must be for grumpy WOs.

CSM (Join to see), I am greatly surprised that you would say the following - "...but MOST of the Medal of Honor Recipients from the GWOT WERE NOT INFANTRYMEN."
My count of GWOT Medal of Honor Recipients stands at 18 currently, 9 of those were awarded to Infantrymen. Here is my count:
Infantry 9
Jason Dunham, Ross McGinnis, Kyle Carpenter, Salvatore Giunta, Florent Groberg, Dakota Meyer, Leroy Petry, William Swenson, and Kyle White
SF/SEALS 4
Michael Monsoor, Edward Byers, Robert Miller, and Michael Murphy
Armor 19D 2
Ty Carter and Clinton Romesha
Artillery 2
Jared Monti and Ryan Pitts
Engineer 1
Paul Smith

Please correct me if I am incorrect in my count.

it's surprising to me that the number MOH, and other medalist be at level unheard of over the last 30 years, it's clear to me that it's mostly non-combat arms mos, i do hope that my assumption are wrong, but with the changes to the makeup units structure with so many alpha males and along comes the alpha females if the boasting was bad with males and now you throw females in the mix is it really going to matter where they started the path to be apart of the true infantry branch, btw are we going to have to stop saying infantrymen, oh well

Well I be damned. Finally someone without a complex and with a brain CSM (Join to see)

One item that I missed out on when I made the earlier statement - Most (the vast majority) were actually direct combat arms members, out of the count in my earlier statement that is 15 of 18.

SSG Loyd Gant - I loved Augusta. I got my first and only tattoo there for $5. The citizens were friendly and I really enjoyed going to town. You're right, there's never too much training when you're an 11Bravo. Thank you for your service.

SGT (Join to see) And the tattoo is.?

Tattoo reads Death To My Enemies.

Thanks 1st SGT I just completed MOS Q at Camp Shelby.

There are good and bad everywhere you go!! And in any MOS. You just take care to allign yourself with the best and you can't go wrong!!!