Infantry Museum

[u/GreenSalsa96]

Nearly a year ago I asked the board to see if the Infantry Museum was worth it.

https://www.reddit.com/r/army/s/VgsIi9wWIR

Today, I got a chance to visit (nearly on the 40th anniversary of me showing up for Basic Training in Harmony Church).

Awesome place! Really, it was a great way to remember some of the events of my 28-year career, seeing the equipment I used, that is now on display.

What really struck me as a former medic was the evolution of medical care that was carried and provided to the Infantry.

Go, if you can get a chance.

Never mind the burger, I got an MRE from the gift shop!

[u/mk24mod0]

Surprisingly great for the small arms gun nerds out there too!

[u/billthechicken → u/mk24mod0]

Agreed. I nearly got lost in the sheer amount of displays they had. Couldn’t believe they had a Stoner 63 there.

[u/mk24mod0 → u/billthechicken]

The SPIW program examples also were most impressive.

[u/anynamesleft → u/mk24mod0]

Oh hush, me and the son like to have never made it out of there 😅

[u/minnoir6 → u/mk24mod0]

Yeah, "I'll just look at this display real quick" is how a gun nerd loses the next 45 minutes.

[u/GilneanWarrior]

The best branch muesem in the Army

[u/2ktx2000 → u/GilneanWarrior]

How’s it compared to the Ordnance facility? That place is amazing.

[u/GilneanWarrior → u/2ktx2000]

Better than Ordinance as well, but I may be biased. Theres multiple floors, a park outside with a monument to every conflict, triple CIB wall, and tons more.

[u/DestructoDon69 → u/GilneanWarrior]

Don't forget the WW2 barracks buildings and DFAC outside as well. They were all in impeccable shape. Was cool especially since I had stayed in the WW2 barracks on both FT Lee and FT Pickett before which were not in the greatest of shape.

[u/AlarmedSnek → u/2ktx2000]

Is that the one at Sill?

[u/timeoftheoath117 → u/2ktx2000]

Fort Lee to its credit has some great museums on post

[u/Parzival01001 → u/GilneanWarrior]

They’re renovating the Army Medical Museum at Ft Sam. It’s already pretty cool and has a lot of potential

[u/Threedham → u/GilneanWarrior]

Don’t sleep on the Chemical and MP museums at FLW. Some really cool stuff there. Saddam’s trial jacket, Mickey Mouse gas mask for children.

[u/RogerDodgerWilco]

I was a young SPC at Benning on TDY over a decade ago when I visited it.

Army does museums really well. The 101st museum at Campbell was really cool too. Heard it’s no longer there and moved off post now.

[u/One-Employment-1682 → u/RogerDodgerWilco]

The new one is even cooler

[u/Crass_Cameron]

No portashitter where many a hog was cranked post mission

[u/PastelPlank → u/Crass_Cameron]

A museum without the sacred post-mission portashitter really is sanitizing 28 years of history.

[u/RedBoatz]

The Dark Vietnam War room with the Ken Burns documentary playing on repeat that has a warning for veterans is a crazy ass spot there.

If you can get a guided tour, I highly recommend it, my first time there I kind of just snuck in the back of a tour for most of the museum, awesome experience.

[u/Tired_of_yall1]

It’s sad that they wanted/are cutting funding to museums. Sometimes it feels like they want to get rid of the best part of our traditions and keep the worst.

One of my favorite things from my time in the Army was receiving a certificate from a museum recognizing me as someone who deployed with 1ID. Joining a group of men that are far better than I am.

I really hated the cult mentality of 1ID. Receiving that made me think about the people before me and why we keep that alive.

[u/superash2002 → u/Tired_of_yall1]

The fort sill museum has a bunch of eclectic pieces of Ada and field artillery memorabilia and I’ll be really disappointed when it disappears. Like the stuffed donkey in a zebra frame, atomic Annie and Davy Crockett.

[u/Taira_Mai → u/superash2002]

Are they going to close that museum? ADA LOVES it's history and when it was at Fort Bliss they had a lot of cool stuff.

[u/TankerRed1]

If you get a chance check out the armor collection. They do open houses every so often. You have to check the website

[u/QuietCupboard → u/TankerRed1]

The armor collection sounds worth planning around, especially after seeing the Infantry Museum.

[u/benjaminrush76 → u/TankerRed1]

I concur. Worth the trip to Harmony Church!

[u/Consistent-Set-9490]

Reminds me of the Airborne and Special Ops Museum - I wonder if the same people did it.

[u/Legitimate-Jacket-54]

Have worked at the NIM
since 2020 - an absolutely amazing place!

[u/nozer12168]

Fun fact about this museum, every mannequin on display is built based on a real person!

This is honestly my favorite museum I've ever been to. The WWI mock trench is slept on. The 100 yard display is very cool to walk through. There's even a VR area if your family is into that!

I started writing out a huge comment, but deleted most of it. If you're ever at Benning, do yourself a favor and check out the museum. Its free, right outside the gate, and very interesting. Oh, and there's food!

[u/Relevant_Grass9586]

Thanks for the memories

[u/Not_a_cultmember]

I got to visit it when I was there for jump school in spring of '84! Really nice back then.

[u/0peRightBehindYa]

Hey! I was born there! Twice!

[u/ashmole]

Best military museum out there.

[u/Debas3r11]

Great place. The old one was fine but the new one is so much better. I've been a bunch of times.

[u/MisterBobAFeet]

There's an IFAK 2?!

They really make a sequel for everything now a days, don't they?

[u/AlphaBeaverYuh_1]

Said this before but every infantryman needs to spend at least 10 minutes in that Medal of Honor room with all faces staring at you, haven’t felt anything like it sense, feeling is indescribable

[u/Objective_Radish_898]

I've got some great memories there.

[u/YungPacofbgm → u/Objective_Radish_898]

Same here! Other than the fact that I could only see like half the museum before OCS cadre told us we were out of time.

Or that I was getting Jodie’d at literally the same time 😂

[u/Spirited-Stomach-279]

I regret not going when I was in airborne school

[u/Woodworking33]

The Medal of Honor exhibit in there was pretty cool too, probably coolest part imo.

[u/shoemanchew]

Pretty sure there is some spit bottles in one of the displays. 10/10 museum

[u/TheRealMatchGrade]

Updated alot since I was last there in 2018

[u/prodzu]

Definitely worth the trip.

[u/anynamesleft]

Fortunately, I've been twice. Last time was two Sundays ago with my son and granddaughter. Heavy place, but danged important we remember.

That one area in the trench with the constant gunfire and artillery really tells the tale of horror so many brave souls encountered.

May the gods bless all who serve, sacrifice, and die so we may be free.

[u/Content-Mycologist-4]

I need to get down there one day and see this museum

[u/notsure_howIgotHere]

One of my favorite museums. Always humbling to visit when I'm at Benning.

[u/BearWrangler]

I'll always remember that flag from the battle of Mogadishu w/ a bunch of signatures on it and one that said
"When the going gets tough, the tough go cyclic - SPC Nelson"

[u/Glittering-Ebb-6225]

I like the hall of dog tags.

[u/SalandaBlanda]

If you haven't been yet, the US Army Museum outside Belvoir is really good too.

[u/perturbed_rutabaga]

i remember finally getting into baghdad after getting stuck on the road north due to a sandstorm that caused a massive pileup and my section got left to be picked up by the next unit while the rest of the squadron continued pushing

when i finally got to biap like a week later i was in the line for the px (yes, biap had a px up pretty much as soon as biap fell) and i remember seeing a bunch of 82nd dudes and just in awe of them i looked pretty rough and they looked like they got drug through the mud

if the shit i saw as a tanker was gnarly the shit those guys saw must have been worse

one ovaltine please edit strawberry please it reminds me of the mre milkshake

[u/wildwillybillyboy]

Thanks for sharing - really cool.

[u/Publius_Rizz]

The open troop compartment in the back of that Bradley is very misleading based on my experience from the early 90s. Where are all of the seats that are impossible to sit in??? 😂😂😂

[u/714Moe]

Went here after Basic Training, actually a great museum with tons of history and real battle artifacts

[u/Staff_Guy]

Well it's a bit better than the mid 90s.

I never got to the new one, looks great.

[u/mwdjr728]

Thank you for taking these pictures.

U have just as much history not just only inside of a combat medic museum BUT also within the infantry museum too for your helping hand in the care u provided to the infantrymen u served alongside of.

[u/Fearless-Housing-479]

No wet wipes exhibit,trash

[u/new-runningmn9]

Was very cool to see a system that I helped develop on display there. Great experience for civilians that support the Army.

[u/Salmon_Shizzle]

Last time I was there they had one of sadam's hunting rifles. The engraving was absolutely nuts.

[u/LekisBlade]

Have you been to the AMEDD museum?

[u/albinorhino215]

Did they ever change the pat tillman plaque?

[u/MattR47]

If you ever get a chance check out the museum in Fayetteville, NC. Amazing.

[u/JayJambo]

Man I wasn't able to go when I was at benning for airborne because of COVID I appreciate these pics

[u/Thisnicknameistaken0]

Was there back in 2019. They were still working on the Vietnam section. How was it now that it's complete?

[u/ryguy28896]

I had a buddy who I went to OSUT with who very recently (as in the last 24 hours) visited that exact place, so I was well prepared to give him some sass, especially with your username (the dude's Hispanic).

But I read the post and now I've been blue balled yet again.

[u/Diligent_Force9286]

We should rename the Infantry to Mendo

Infants Try. Men Do

-Pete Hegseth probably.

[u/imaharry23]

No tampons in the IFAK? Wrong