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?

Its simple, you're not. Unless the Army is turning out Infantryman on another base that I'm unaware of. Who knows I am old.

How's this year's crop of Freshmen?

How cute, you have an Infantryman MOS. All Marines are Infantrymen first.

Honestly, I did not know you could go anywhere else for infantry basic/AIT. My guard/enlisted infantry days have long since passed, so maybe things have changed.

You receive the training you need to do the mos you chose to do! I was a 13F and no I don't consider myself an infantryman even though I was always provided mortar support by them and worked closely beside them.Don't figure they go around calling themselves fisters.We are all supposed to be professionals and a part of a team even though we play different roles in the fight and were trained in different places.

well i don't know about that i did my Basic & A.I.T. at Fort Benning my mos was 11B-10 that is Infantryman so i guess i would have to say yes to your question once an Infantryman always an Infantryman until death even after my death I will be an Infantryman my Burial will be in my dress uniform with my Blue Infantry cord and my cross rifles in the blue disk and the U.S. in the blue disk. after Basic & A.I.T. my unit was Co.C 101st Infantry. 26th Infantry. Division.

Basic Combat Training was created after Task Force Smith in Korea, when they had to throw the clerks and the the cooks and the artillerymen into the line and they were slaughtered

but you need me to put a Big Bird Bandaid on your cut finger and kiss it to make it better
91B2P

If you completed infantry school at Fort Benning and wear a blue cord, you are an infantryman. If you did not, you are not. Where you completed basic is rather irrelevant, even if 99.9% of infantrymen completed basic there.