US Army Training Center - Yearbook (Fort Bragg, NC)

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Reception Station Officers, Left to right, standing: Lt. S. M. Holme, Lt. E. E. Barwiclr, Lt J. T. Carter, Lt. J. L. Burden .... Sitting: Capt. M. F. Mathews, Capt. C. E. Carson, Major C B Vaughan, Major S. N. Graham C. O., Capt. N. R. Carter, Lt. S. A. Ashmore, . NO' ron st-wo' X new ak . Koons . we eiucz S XS9ftn'5 J. W. Parlrer. HEEEPTIU TAT IJ Since October 23. 191-3, Reception Station No. 11, one of the more recently organized units of the Fort Bragg Per- sonnel Center, located in the Reception Center area, has been performing one of the most varied and colorful ad- ministrative jobs in the Army. Through this unit are pro- cessed the men and women of every rank from every branch of the Army, who have returned from the various battlefronts of the world. Included among these people have been many outstanding soldiers of this war, repre- sentatives of every major engagement. lipon reaching home ports from overseas, the ureturneesii are sent directly to the Reception Station. Here they re- main for approximately 2-1 hours, during this period, is determined which of the many dispositions will be made of the returned personnel. The processing includes an interview, a brief reorientation talk, and a physical exam- ination. Clothing, back pay, campaign ribbons, and shoe ration certificates are distributed. Government transporta- tion requests are executed, and baggage is cleared. They are then sent to their new stations, usually with a three week delay en route for the purpose of visiting their homes. ln addition to the overseas returnees, the Reception Sta- tion also processes overseas and domestic recovered enlisted personnel, overseas recovered commissioned casualties, re- turnees for reassignment, returnees for 30-day furlough and return overseas, returnees for discharge or transfer to the Enlisted Reserve Corps, returnees for Officer Candidate School, and surplus ex-Aviation Cadets transferred from the Army Air Forces to other Arms and Services. ln order to accomplish certain functions peculiar to their own needs, the Army Air Forces and the Army Ground Forces have established Liaison Oflicers at the Reception Station to advise and assist i11 the processing of their re- turnees. Naturally enough, many unusual incidents have been related by the men and women who have been processed by the Reception Station at Fort Bragg. Many of these re- turnees are survivors of very spectacular and harrowing experiences. There was the sergeant, for example, who fell 20,000 feet in a crippled airplane into the ocean, but man- aged to escape with minor injuries. Another sergeant, lead- ing a greatly outnumbered but highly bold and expert force, concentrated his fire upon the enemy with such deadly effect that he caused a vastly superior force to withdraw. On l September, 19-14 the Reception Station No. -1 be- came a component part of the War Department Personnel Center at Fort Bragg. On that day Captain Numa lt. Car- ter was designated Commanding Officer of the Station. In November, 1944, Major Simon N. Graham, formerly Com- manding Officer of the Special Training Unit, assumed com- mand of the Reception Station. Reception Station No. ll, with its intricate and greatly varied functions, has been a monument of home front economy in the use of manpower. Despite the long and intense hours, including inevitable night and Sunday Work with the tired, nervous, and hurried returnees, the personnel of this unit are sustained by their rare op- portunity to give vital and speedy service to those who have risked everything and have endured unimaginable hard- ships for their country. Approximately 15,000 returnees have been processed through Reception Station No. -L since its activation.

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OFficers of the Special Training Unit. The level in reading and writing which these soldiers are required to attain before graduation approximates that of the fifth grade in elementary school. This appears to be rather low until it is realized that the average literate adult reads on a sixth grade level. The average time re- quired for this training is eight weeks. The Special Training Unit at Fort Bragg was estab- lished on June l, I943, for colored soldiers. Major Simon N. Graham, an able and experienced educator from Roanoke Rapids, N. C., was designated as Commanding Offl- cer. Starting with 65 trainees the unit rose on several oc- casions to an enrollment of 2,500 More than 11,000 were graduated from this unit. Most of the trainees, as well as in- structors, were from Noith and South Carolina. In addition to the personnel and facilities for the ad- ministration of the prescribed academic and military pro- grams, the Special Training Unit includes: an Educational Section, which produces graphic visual aids to learning, a Personnel Consultant Section, which assists with special educational problems and problems of adjustment, sa Special Services Ollicer, who looks after the social and re- creational requirements of the trainees, and two chaplains who administer to the spiritual needs of the trainees. In November, 1944-, the Special Training Unit for colored trainees was transferred from Fort Bragg to Fort Benning. Georgia. Its place was taken by a Special Training linit for white soldiers, which was transferred from Fort Jack- son, South Carolina. lr1 command of the Special Training Unit now at Fort Bragg is Major Benjamin I . Lenhardt. Top, right: Individual instruction is 'Furnished the trainees .... Center, right: Training office personnel at worlr .... Bottom, right: Display of flash cards used in Special Training Unit. I SPEEI!-II. TRAINING UNIT

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