FORT BENNING, Ga., (April 29, 2015) -- Lt. Col. Matthew Neumeyer, commander, 3rd Battalion, 11th Infantry Regiment (OCS), said a notable assemblage of rank and experience gathered April 27 as the U.S. Officer Candidate School dedicated its arches during a ceremony at Taylor Field.
"The leader brigade, a new entity and a special entity here on Fort Benning really symbolizes what we can achieve and what OCS was designed to achieve," Neumeyer said.
Sets of arches span the entrance and exit of the Taylor Field Cuartel. They each stand at 21 feet and are dedicated to the Soldiers, past and present, of OCS.
The 54th Company, 5th Student Battalion (OCS), class 8-65 completed construction of the original arches in 1965.
Col. David Beachman, commander, 199th Infantry Brigade (Leader Development), said it is appropriate the arches have come back to its original location.
" ... This cuartel was the original location for the school during World War II," Beachman said. "So, in a sense, the school has finally come home to its roots."
The arch is a military tradition symbolizing the threshold upon which Soldiers crossing it are forever changed. The consolidation of OCS onto its new campus was not complete without its arches, Beachman said. The arches have stood for 50 years at Fort Benning as a true symbol of OCS.
"From its inception, marked the beginning of OCS as a permanent commissioning source in the U.S. Army with strategic importance," Beachman said. "It is here on these hallowed grounds where the past is once again reunited with the present."
Construction of the arches was made possible through a partnership with the United Services Automobile Association and Rivertown Auto Mall, as well as the U.S. Army OCS Alumni Association.
The sponsors, representative of Rivertown Auto Mall, Bradley Williams, general manager of Rivertown Buick and representative from USAA, retired Vice Admiral John Bird, senior vice president for military affairs at USAA, were gifted an artist rendering of the original archway, created by Diane Osborne, as well as OCS alumni coins.
Bird said USAA was proud to have contributed and noted OCS's arches are as equally as inspired as USAA's arches.
"Looking at the arches today, I am reminded of our own set of arches at USAA that employees and visitors pass through every day," Bird said. "Etched on a marble gateway inside our headquarters are the words 'There can be no finer calling than serving one's country,' and what the OCS arch symbolizes is equally as inspiring. Be proud that through these arches pass young men and women who have answered their nation's call, who have raised their hands, volunteered to serve and lead with desire, dedication, discipline and duty over all."
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