Graduation morning at Fort Benning
Benning is an OSUT installation — your Soldier’s graduation ceremony depends on the MOS (job) they’re training for. The track pages below carry the ceremony specifics, dress code, and what the day actually looks like.
- Cordon Ceremony (Week 22 — Infantry graduation)Location: Inouye Field, National Infantry Museum (1775 Legacy Way, Columbus GA 31903). Off-post — families drive directly to the museum parking lot; no gate entry to Fort Benning required.
The Cordon Ceremony marks graduation from Infantry OSUT at Fort Benning. Soldiers pass through a "cordon" of Non-Commissioned Officers — a traditional acceptance into the Infantry brotherhood. For families: this is the high-stakes trip. Your Soldier graduates as an 11B (Infantryman) and often ships to their first duty station within days. The deployment window follows quickly. The venue is OFF-POST at the National Infantry Museum — no gate entry needed, simpler logistics than the Week-10 trip.
- Armor OSUT Graduation (Cordon-format)Location: Likely Inouye Field, National Infantry Museum (same venue as Infantry graduation — Fort Benning runs all MCoE parade-format graduations from there). 🚧 TBD — confirm Armor-specific date/time relationship to Infantry Cordon with Fort Benning PAO.
Graduation from Armor OSUT at Fort Benning, for 19D Cavalry Scout and 19K M1 Armor Crewman. The Cordon format — Soldiers pass through a cordon of Non-Commissioned Officers — is what families attend. The Order of the Spur (silver spurs) and Stetson presentation are SEPARATE post-OSUT items, earned at unit through a Spur Ride at the Soldier's first duty station, NOT at this ceremony. Like Infantry, Armor graduates often deploy within days. Venue: National Infantry Museum (off-post, same as Infantry graduation per MCoE pattern — confirm Armor-specific scheduling with PAO).
For the day-of logistics by track, see Infantry OSUT or Armor OSUT.