Fort Benning

Fort Benning serves as the Maneuver Center of Excellence, the Army's training hub for Infantry and Armor forces, Rangers, Airborne and Air Mobility soldiers, and Officer Candidates.

Most travelers reach Fort Benning by driving south on I-185, which terminates directly at the installation; directions from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International funnel onto I-85 South and then I-185 South.

Every vehicle is stopped at the gates, and visitors without a military or CAC credential should plan to pick up a pass at the Visitor Control Center on Lindsey Creek Parkway near I-185 before heading further onto post.

The on-post Temporary Lodging Facility is the Holiday Inn Express Abrams Hall, run through IHG Army Hotels at Building 1670 on Ingersoll Road, offering standard hotel amenities like free internet, complimentary breakfast and an on-post shuttle for guests staying while assigned or visiting.

For a different kind of stay, Uchee Creek Campground & Marina occupies 385 acres along the Chattahoochee on the Alabama side of the post, with cabins, chalets and RV/tent sites available to military ID holders and families visiting for graduations or family days.

Government family housing at Fort Benning is managed as The Villages of Benning, organized into six community management offices, four of which include village centers with fitness rooms, resort-style pools, splash pads and playgrounds available to residents.

Applying for on-post housing runs through a waitlist tied to your PCS departure date rather than application date, so soldiers with accompanying family members should apply as early as possible; the Housing Office at Ridgeway Hall (Bldg. 35, Room 385) also runs a Housing Services Office for anyone considering off-post rentals in the Columbus/Phenix City area and can help with landlord-tenant issues.

Single soldiers awaiting barracks assignment go through the Unaccompanied Housing Office rather than the family housing waitlist, a distinction worth noting if you're arriving without dependents.

Fort Benning's School Liaison office, based at 6880 Marchant Avenue, is a point of contact for families with questions about local school options. Actual school enrollment is determined by your home address, so families should confirm their assigned school district with the relevant county school system once they know where they'll live.

Child and Youth Services registration and referral runs through Parent Central Services, also located on Marchant Avenue, which handles registration for installation youth programs.

Martin Army Community Hospital (MACH) opened at its current 745,000-square-foot location on Van Aalst Boulevard in November 2014, replacing the original 1958 hospital. It provides inpatient and outpatient care for eligible beneficiaries and holds Joint Commission accreditation.

Primary care appointments run through a central access-to-care line, and the hospital also offers online scheduling, secure messaging with providers, and an on-post pharmacy serving eligible beneficiaries.

Dental care is handled by the Fort Benning Dental Activity (DENTAC), which also supports Fort Rucker, Alabama, and after-hours emergencies are directed to the MACH emergency room rather than a separate dental clinic.

Base transportation and motor pool questions are handled through the Installation Motor Pool office, a useful contact if you need information on shuttle routes or times around the sprawling installation.

Utility setup for off-post housing in the Columbus/Phenix City area can be researched through InMyArea.com by ZIP code, which the Housing Services Office points newcomers toward when comparing local providers.

Fort Benning's gate access rules have at times restricted driver's licenses from certain states or territories that did not comply with the REAL ID Act, requiring an alternate accepted ID such as a passport, CAC or other government-issued credential.