New chief to call on combat experience

FORT JACKSON — The new commander of the Army's largest training base says the experience he gleaned during fierce combat in Iraq will help inspire the civilians volunteering to join the service while the nation is still at war.

"These civilian volunteers, they are volunteering at a time when they know more than likely they are going into combat. That elicits all kinds of emotions," said Brig. Gen. Bradley May, speaking with reporters after accepting command of this sprawling training installation.

"I will take what I learned in combat and ... apply that here at the installation and help mentor those who are about to go into combat," the one-star general predicted.

"We are a nation at war and our responsibility here is to take those young civilian volunteers and transform them into warriors," May said.

Fort Jackson graduates about 50,000 soldiers annually after 11 weeks of basic training, or about 54 percent of the Army's enlisted soldiers. Another 61,000 soldiers and civilians also enter some type of advanced training each year on this 91-year-old post, which covers 52,000 acres.