US Army Training Center - Yearbook (Fort Chaffee, AR)

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The United States Army Training Center, Field Artil- lery, at Fort Chaffee is the only post so designated in the U.S. Army. Its mission is to give basic artillery training, as well as basic training, to inductees and new enlistees. The field artillery has been an integral part of the United States Army throughout its history. Since George Washington's time, when lack of adequate cannon cost our forefathers heavily, the mission of the artillery is to provide close and continuous support for ground-gaining arms, and to give depth to combat. The artillery works closely with infantry and armored units, supporting these branches with heavy firepower in both short and long range operations. Each armored and infantry division has within it sufficient artillery to provide it with its heavy firepower. In its support mission, artillery provides a fire cover for advancing units, pinning down enemy positions with bombardment so their retaliatory fire is reduced. In its depth mission, artillery harasses enemy positions not reachable by small arms fire, extending the sphere of action far beyond the relatively small front-line zone. The artillery's armament today, including rockets, mis- siles and the atomic cannon, as well as more conventional weapons, is the most powerful the world has knwon. The first artillery training school was established at Fortress Monroe, Va., in 1824, one of the first of the Army schools. The Artillery School and Guided Missile Center presently is located at Fort Sill, Okla. The insignia of the field artillery is crossed cannons. Artillery braid for garrison caps and other uniform wear is red. From the gun-pointers, bombardiers and mat- trosses of the Revolutionary War to the forward observ- ers, FDG men and cannoneers of today, the field artillery consistently has been a bulwark of U.S. Army strength. aa,AhedvMk,Akmq.. 0 To be trained to fight and survive in combat so that if the need arises you will be prepared to fight for your country. 0 To protect. defend and preserve the principles of the American way of life. 1 To prepare yourself to meet crises which threaten our democratic way of life. 0 To fulfill your obligation to your country with courage and determination. tChaHee Fort Chaffee, created to accommodate part of the greatly expanded Army at the beginning of World War II, was named for Major General Adna R. Chaffee, first chief of the U.S. Armored Force. Construction of the 73,000-acre post was begun in September, 1941. Most of the original buildings, con- structed of wood on concrete foundations, are still in excellent condition. The post operated as a training center from 1941 -to 1944, then became a personnel center until it was 1n- activated in 1946. Chaffee was reactivated in 1948 as the home of the 5th Armored Division, with the mission of processing members of all services, giving short basic training to former Navy and Coast Guard personnel, and giving regular basic training to newly-enlisted and inducted Army personnel. The post was placed on standby status briefly in 1950, and was restored as a regular training base in September of that year. The 5th Armored Division was inactivated in March, 1956, and Chaffee was re-designated the United States Army Training Center, Field Artillery. The post was given permanent status by the Department of Army in March, 1956, and its title changed from Camp Chaffee to Fort Chaffee. Chaffee lies about eight miles southeast of Fort Smith, Ark., a city of 56,000 population on the Oklahoma border. The post is approximately 135 miles by highway from Tulsa, Okla., and Hot Springs, Ark., 160 miles from Little Rock, Ark., and 195 miles from Oklahoma City. Approximately 80 miles due south of the Missouri line., Chaffee is situated in the picturesque Ozark Mountain region, with many points of scenic and historic interest surrounding it. The post has almost perfect climatic conditions for training purposes. The area has mild winters, hot summers and no fog. A sensible summer training program, in which uniform and training regulations are relaxed to permit maximum comfort, minimizes heat effects on trainees.

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A L. A. . E l I I i x I r 4'

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K? 'Wai' rv--.......,-iz U39 OR GENERAL MAS WELDON DUNN Commanding General Thomas Weldon Dunn was born in Fort Worth, Texas, Septem- ber 12, 1908, the son of Mrs. Mary Bryan Dunn and the late Thomas W. Dunn. He graduated from the U. S. Military Academy June 12, 1930, and was commissioned a second lieutenant of Field Artillery. His first assignment was with the 12th Field Artillery Regiment at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. He entered the Field Artillery School, Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in August 1933, completed the battery officers, course a year later and joined the 11th Field Artillery Regiment at Schofield Bar- racks, Hawaii. In December 1936, he was assigned to the 17th Field Artillery Regiment at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He became a gunnery instructor at the Field Artillery School, Fort Sill, Oklahoma in August 1939, and in July 1941 was named a gunnery instructor at the Officer Candidate School there. In December 1942, General Dunn went to Brisbane, Australia, as Chief of Branch instructor at the Officer Candidate School for the U. S. Forces in the Far East. He was named assistant director of training there in June 1943, and director of training in November 1943. The following April he became assistant Artillery Officer of the Sixth Army, with which he served in combat in New Guinea, Leyte and Luzon, later accompanying that organiza- tion to Japan. General Dunn was reassigned to the Field Artillery School, Fort Sill, in February 1946 as assistant director of gunnery. In July 1947 he was named coordinator of Artillery training at the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and in June 1948 became an instructor in its Department of Analysis and Research. He entered the National War College in August 1949, graduated a year later and became a member of the Policy, Training and Organization Section, Joint Strategic Plans Group, in the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In July 1951 he was appointed assistant to the Director of the Joint Staff in that office. - General Dunn was assigned to Korea in January 1953 as artillery commander of the 40th Infantry Division. In December he as- sumed command of the I Corps Artillery. Returning from Korea in January of 1954 he became Chief of the Organization and Training Division in the Office of the Army Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations, Washington, D. C. In August 1954, General Dunn was appointed Deputy Com- mandant, Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. General Dunn assumed command of the U. S. Army Training Center, Field Artillery, Fort Chaffee, Arkansas, July 11, 1956. Among his decorations, General Dunn has been awarded the Silver Star Medal, Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster, Bronze Star Medal and Army Commendation Ribbon with Oak Leaf Cluster.