[October 30, 2024] Half a century ago (yep, that’s a long time ago), I was asked to stand up so my buddy could snap a picture with his Kodak Pocket Instamatic camera. Fort Benning, GA, is where the U.S. Army trains all its Infantry Lieutenants and many enlisted. Those 17 weeks were the most difficult and best training I ever had. Many have asked me if I would do it all over again, given a choice.
I was in the best shape of my life and ready to move forward in my military career. I’d already been assigned to a unit as a Platoon Leader, leading a 33-man platoon of 11 Bravoes, Heavy Infantry. The Army said I needed this course first, and failure to finish would be the end of something I’d now worked at for several years. Those in my class of 200 Second Lieutenants were all highly motivated to “cooperate and graduate.”
Second Lieutenant Doug Satterfield, summer of 1983, Ft. Benning, Georgia.
Lifelong friends were made there, forging a Soldier’s bond that is stronger than even marriage (don’t tell our wives). The Infantry Officer Basic Course (IOBC) was acknowledged as the finest in the world. Plus, we were tasked with integrating more than a dozen foreign lieutenants fully into our class. I sponsored a young man from Gabon, West Africa. My job was to get him to graduate, and I did so, but this task was not easy because of the language barrier.
We were not special or entitled in any way. Every week from April through September, another 200 attended IOBC. That was the peak attendance. Our commander told me that about 6,000 Infantry Officers were expected to qualify that year alone, mostly active duty but also National Guard and Army Reserve. No matter what, every officer who wore cross rifles on their collar went to Benning. There were no exceptions.
I’ve not kept track of evolving Infantry TTPs (tactics, techniques, and procedures) that drive training, but I can hope that the course quality remains after all these decades. We had the best training in the 1980s, and despite the creeping Wokism today, which weak senior officers allowed, mid-grade Infantry Officers and NCOs are generally immune to politicized directives. They somehow find allowable “workarounds.”
At my first duty assignment I learned a valuable lesson about inter-unit communication. Our brigade rounded up all the new Lieutenants and bussed them to a training area. Once there, we were told to have our loaded APCs (M113A1 armored personnel carriers) lined up on the road and ready to move out in one hour for a two-week exercise.
The problem was we were not told to prepare, some higher up screwed the pooch. We got ourselves ready, barely in time. Miscommunication was a common problem in this brigade.
But it is better to screw up in training and get an ass chewing than screw up in combat and get killed. That’s why we trained. And we trained hard. We were U.S. Army Infantry Officers. There was no other better branch because that’s where you get to lead real men.
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NOTE: In the photo, I’m holding an M60 machine gun, 7.62 mm. At the end of the barrel is a Blank Adapter that allows it to fire blank ammunition in full automatic. The ammo belt on my shoulder is blank ammo
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Very nice. Thanks for giving us more insight.
A throw back in time. Ha Ha Ha……. Sir, thanks for this post. You made my day!!!!!!! 😍
Thank you, Gen. Satterfield for taking me back to my times at FT. BENNING. And although crazy, demented Joe Biden had the fort renamed, it will always be FT. BENNING to real soldiers.
Army Vet, yep, and you don’t even have to be an Infantryman to understand.
Gen. Satterfield takes us back half a century to a time and place – Fort Benning, Georgia – that was at the end of the Cold War where at any moment we could be attacked by the Soviet Union. “Mutually Assured Destruction “ is what it was called. Everyone had to be ready to take tge fight to the enemy which was the USSR. Today, after their collapse in 1990 (I think it was 1990) and now Russia, we see they are still aggressive and attacking peaceful nations. That is why American and all nations must have a strong military that is ready to take on evil forces who would harm us. Those who say war is unnecessary or evil in if itself are clueless infants not to be taken seriously. Read this article by Gen. Satterfield written a while back in 2017:
“ I Must Study Politics and War”
https://www.theleadermaker.com/must-study-politics-war/
“Hurry up and wait.”
“Screwed the pooch.”
“FUBAR”
I could go on but, you know, I’ll be that acronym man.
From one foot soldier to another, thanks for the reminder we all started at the bottom of the organization and put in the work, good attitude, being a hard charger, physically strong, resilient, reliable, trustworthy, loyal, helpful, doing our duty, respectful, selfless, honorable, and all with physical and moral courage. I enjoy your daily thoughts, Gen. Satterfield, never give that up.
You da man, Drew. We are the few, the Veterans, the honorable. 🪖
There aren’t too many of us Benning Boys left anymore to tell the tales.
There’s nothing wrong with taking a stroll back to when we were young and seeing that there were times we were stronger but not necessarily smarter. Like me, I see you were trained at one of America’s finest military schools. Only a few of us were privileged to attend, and it wasn’t because of where we were born, or our race, or sex, or religion, or family money. It was because we earned it. Today, our youth want to reject meritocracy and return to the days of kings and serfs based on the accident of birth. Maybe that’s the human condition but I for one will stand against such societal regression. Again, thanks to Gen p. Satterfield for a great article.
Smart 👀
—— and great photo ——-
My wish today is that a lot of folks get to read this article. It’s only a start of what might be a new series by Gen. S. He has run this blog now for more than eleven years. And it shows. Go back and read those older and shorter posts he made. And there are those that tell of battles he thinks are important to remember. I’m also happy that Gen. S. Is not always trying to sell us junk. For that reason, I bought his books. My favorite, and I wrote this before, is “55 Rules for a Good Life.”
== Get your copy today ==
✝️ BLESS YOU GENERAL SATTERFIELD ✝️
“LT Satterfield”. …. bet you haven’t heard that in a while. 😂
From lowly Private to Staff Sergeant to Lieutenant to Brig. General …. Nice!!!!
Your articles always take me back in time. I only wish I’d taken the time to enjoy when I was younger while serving in the Navy.
Good morning, Navy Vet. It’s always a pleasure to have our Veterans here in my Leadership Forum.