One of the last noncommissioned officer’s clubs in the Army went away when Fort Jackson renamed its NCO Club the 1917 Club, Jan. 26, as part of the post’s efforts to highlight its history.
“We have one of the last NCO clubs,” said Brig. Gen. Jason E. Kelly, Fort Jackson commander. “Every other installation you go to have all ranks clubs. There is no longer an officer’s club and an NCO Club.
At one time the Army had separate clubs where NCOs, enlisted and officers would mingle with their own ranks.
“One of the first questions I asked when I first got to Fort Jackson was, ‘Man, I haven’t been to an installation in a really long time that has an NCO Club,’” he added. “But I thought it was appropriate because of where the NCO fits here on Fort Jackson.”
Fort Jackson is the Army’s largest Basic Combat Training post as it trains roughly half of all Soldiers and more than 60% of women entering the service year. Training in excess of 45,000 basic training and 12,000 additional advanced training Soldiers every year raises the need for NCOs and drill sergeants.
Not only does the post have more drill sergeants, but it also is home to the U.S. Army Drill Sergeant Academy, which produces them.
The post has done a lot to spotlight its heritage in the past few years. It began with the Heritage Trail where trainees marching back from the Forge came upon Soldiers wearing period uniforms. The post has renamed some roads to names of units, battles and places associated with Fort Jackson. Most recently, the post has added the playing of the Army Song after Reveille each morning.
“It’s how we bring new members onto our team,” Kelly added. “I want to see how proud we all are of the U.S. Army.”
Kelly and Col. Timothy R. Hickman, garrison commander, unveiled a new sign to officially rename the club. The sign, designed by Hickman, displays the iconic “Brown Round” or drill sergeant hat. That hat, also known as a campaign hat, is even more significant.
Since 1917 Fort Jackson has been making Soldiers, Hickman said. “Now the head gear in 1917 was called the campaign hat … we brought that back and it’s worn today by drill sergeants. It is an indication of professionalism and calls back to the time when the Army began growing some its most famous divisions.”
The history of the club will not be forgotten as the old sign will be preserved.
“The NCO Club sign didn’t fall apart when we took it down,” Hickman joked. “We are going to make it a part of the interior of our club to keep that legacy.”
Fort Jackson is also home to the Basic Combat Training Museum – one of the most popular in the Army.
“We’ve got history happening all around us,” Kelly said. The museum is “one of the best. I think more people go to our museum with the exception of the National Museum of the Army in Washington, D.C.”
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