US Army Training Center - Yearbook (Fort Carson, CO)

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final proficiency test in general subjects and weapons firing. The liring of required courses with individual and crew-served weapons. in effect. constitute practical tests. All instruction at Fort Carson is conducted by carefully selected and well-qualified instructors. For the most part. these men are combat veterans of the Korean YVar. many of them saw action in YVorld YVar Il. The training system stresses that personal contact between the instructors and the trainee will foster a better understanding of the mutual problems of each. Often during the evening hours. the squad leader can be found in informal bull sessions with mem- bers of his squad. Company commanders and platoon leaders are available to answer the trainees questions and to give guidance on any problem he mav be confronted with. Since all instruction is conducted by the cadre, they must be well-grounded in all phases of military instruction. They know that if their men have the right equipment and assimilate the instruc- tion, they would, if necessary, be able to take their unit into combat. They are given responsibility and authority commensurate with their position and thus develop leadership and command ability. A most important objective of the training program is the devel- opment of esprit de corps and team spirit. The program is de- signed to produce in the trainee a sense of identification with his unity a sense of belonging. This is accomplished by keeping the unit together during the entire training period. Competition be- tween units is encouraged and the trainee is taught pride in self and unit. Everyone from the Commanding General to the individual squad leader is dedicated to the task of seeing that the individual trainee receives the best of instruction and leaves Fort Carson a superior trainee - graduate. The trainee is also called upon to do his part to the very best of his ability. If the trainee applies himself diligently and learns well the lessons taught he will look back on his Fort Carson service as a most rewarding period. He will leave Fort Carson with the conviction that he has been a worthy member of the finest group of soldiers in the world - - a member of the 9th Infantry Division. An Old Reliable.

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The 9f!1 Dl'Vl3'lbll Today The Mllvslbn - fralhlhg The 9th Infantry Division's basic combat training mission is manifold. It required the undivided attention and cooperation from the trainee as well as an unprecedented attention to duty by the cadre instructors. The primary objective of the training program is to develop a superior trainee-graduate, well grounded in all phases of the in- struction received, and well prepared for efficient and honorable service as a soldier. The basic combat training program is highly concentrated and carefully developed to train a skilled soldier in the Atomic Age. The course of instruction covers 36 major subjects - from map reading to machine gun firing - all are important to the modern fighting man. The training is divided into eight 44-hour segments for a total of 372 combat training hours. In addition, each trainee receives a 20-hour period of instruction and orientation prior to commenc- ing the combat training. Major emphasis is on complete mastery of the M-1 rifle, basic weapon of the infantry soldier. A total of 86 hours of instruction and training - including the entire third week - is devoted exclusive- ly to the NI-l rifle. Thirty-nine hours are spent on physical conditioning and dis- mounted drill. Squad tactical training is taught for 16 hours. Six- teen hours are spent in familiarization and firing of the light machine gun. During the seventh week the trainees are taken into the field for a bivouac. While in bivouac, instruction is given in technique of fire, squad tactical training, firing of the rocket launcher, and running of the close combat indoctrination course. Among the other subjects occupying the busy trainees during the two month training cycle are carbine firing, night firing and night vision, bayonet drill, guard duty, first aid, camouflage and concealment, battle indoctrination, map reading and use of the compass, signal communications, inspections, code of conduct and military justice, to name but a few. Three tests are given during the cycle to evaluate the ef- fectiveness of the training and the progress made by individual trainees. Included are two hour physical training tests and a

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Forf I CA RSCN Fort Carson S' freasured One month after Pearl Harbor, ground was broken on the site that was to become known as Camp Carson. The reservation, 16 miles long, north and south. and varying in width from two to seven miles east and west, consisted of rolling Colorado prairie hugging the Rocky Nlountains. Dotted about the approximate 60,000 acres were grazing catt e and prairie dogs. The ground was originally purchased by the city ofColorado Springs and sold to the government lor SS1. ln honor of the region's almost legend- ary hero, the camp was named after Brig. Gen. Christopher Carson, better known as Kit Carson. In May, 1942, Col. Willird M. Blunt accepted a group of headquar- ters and service buildings in the still-unfinished post and Camp Carson was oflicially on the map as an Army installation. Two days later, Mai. Cen. NY. ll. Gill arrived with a group of ollicers who set up the organization and, on .july 15, 1942, activated the 89th Division. Originally chosen by the Army because of its ideal training location -- due to the topog- raphy and weather - Camp Carson was to serve as training headquarters lor two more di- visions, the 71st and the 104th, in addition to numerous smaller units. These included mule packers, engineers, NVAC's, tank battalions, decontamination units, airborne engineers, and mountain troops. All told, 104,165 men trained at Carson in the World War Il period. While the troops were busy fighting the war, the Carson Hospital Center, which was at one time the largest in the country with over 9,000 patients, was busy helping wounded men to regain their health. During the Battle of the Bulge, hundreds of wounded were llown di- rectly from Europe. W'ith a 1,000 bed capacity and ll square miles of floor space, the hospital has treated nearly 60,000 patients since 1942. l.ate in the war, trainees dwindled and were replaced by German prisoners, 10,000 of whom were guarded at Carson. After the war, the post became the summer home for mountain troops who wintered near the ski slopes at Camp Hale, a sub-unit of Camp Carson located 150 miles away, near Leadville, high in the Rockies. The 39th and then the 14th Regimental Combat Teams took over during that period. At the same time, the 4th Field Artillery Battalion fljackj continued its training with mules. The invasion of Korea saw hundreds of soldiers leave for the Far East, while thousands more poured in for basic training. The 14th was changed to a training unit and the 196th Regimental Combat Team was brought in for training before moving to Alaska. The 313th Engineer Construction Group soon arrived, and the 40th Field Artillery Group was formed early in 1951. During the Korean War period, Camp Carson was commanded by Brig Gen. Walter W. Hess,jr., and then, after his retirement, by Brig. Gen. George V. Keyser. After the retire- ment of Gen. Hess and prior to the arrival of Gen. Keyser, the post was commanded by Col. Edward L. Strohbehn. By this time the capital value of the post had risen to 91931000 dollars. In July, 1951, a Separation Center was established on the post. Since then more than 1-7,000 enlisted reservists, national guardsmen and draftees have been separated from the service, and an additional 3,000 men, rotated from the combat zone, have been reassigned through the center. The Korean War also fostered the establishment ofa Blood Donor Center at the U. S. Army Hospital in September, 1951. Voluntary donations from troops stationed on the post and by civilians through the Colorado Springs chapter of the American Red Cross accounted for more than 11,500 pints of blood for use in Korea. The summer of 1951 also marked the departure of the 196th Regimental Combat Team, a South Dakota National Guard unit-, for Alaska where it participated in Operation 'fTotem Polef, In addition, the 14th Infantry Regiment, less personnel and equipment, was trans- ferred to the Far East Command, and former members of the 14th were assigned to the newly activated 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. During that year, Camp Carson played a major role in the rehabilitation of Ft. Riley, Kansas, which suffered an estimated 157,000,000 in flood damage. Also in August, 1951, The