Infantry Week, Sullivan Cup competitions postponed at Fort Benning as precaution against COVID-19

Photo By Markeith Horace | In an April 2018 photo, a mortar team takes part in the Best Mortar Competition, one of four separate competitions that was to have been part of this year's prestigious annual Infantry Week competition, which has been postponed as a precaution against the COVID-19 virus. Infantry Week had been scheduled to run April 14 - 20. Also postponed is the Sullivan Cup Tank Crew Competition, which had been scheduled for May 4 - 8. The U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence here hosts both competitions but postponed them "out of an abundance of caution," and the need to protect the operational readiness of the military force. When authorities conclude the competition's participants and spectators would no longer be at risk from exposure to COVID-19, new dates for Infantry Week and Sullivan Cup will be announced.  

FORT BENNING, GEORGIA, UNITED STATES

03.24.2020

Story by Franklin Fisher 

Fort Moore Public Affairs Office

FORT BENNING, Ga. – Two of the U.S. Army's prestigious military competitions, Infantry Week, and the Sullivan Cup Tank Crew Competition, both held at Fort Benning, have been postponed indefinitely because of the COVID-19 pandemic, officials here said.

"Out of an abundance of caution, and to protect the health and operational readiness of the force, the Maneuver Center of Excellence has postponed this spring's Army competitions," said Benjamin L. Garrett, Chief of Public Affairs for MCoE and Fort Benning.

The Infantry Week competition, in which Ranger teams, mortar crews, hand-to-hand fighters and snipers compete for best-in-their-field honors, was to have been held here April 14 - 20.

It's hosted each year by the U.S. Army Infantry School, which is part of the MCoE. Infantry Week comprises four competitions: Best Mortar Competition, All Army Lacerda Cup Combatives Competition, International Sniper Competition and Best Ranger Competition.

The Sullivan Cup Tank Crew Competition, in which top Abrams tank crews from the Army, U.S. Marine Corps and partner countries compete, had been scheduled for May 4 - 8.

It's held every second year, hosted by the MCoE's U.S. Army Armor School. In addition to the U.S. military crews that were to have come to Fort Benning from points in and outside the United States, this May's foreign participants were to have been one crew each from Australia, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

The postponements adhere to Department of Defense guidance on measures to prevent the spread of COVID 19, and are in keeping with official public health warnings that large gatherings should be avoided, and that individuals and organizations practice "social distancing."

When authorities conclude the competition's participants and spectators would no longer be at risk from exposure to COVID-19, new dates for Infantry Week and Sullivan Cup will be announced.

• Date Taken: 03.24.2020
• Date Posted: 03.24.2020 13:00
• Story ID: 365783
• Location: FORT BENNING, GEORGIA, US