It is first mentioned by Shane to Rick (and the other survivors) that the base is a better choice over the CDC for shelter in the episode, "Wildfire". However, the survivors chose to first travel to the CDC, but after finding a "dead end" there; the survivors decided to head towards the Fort Benning Military Base.
However they later learned from Dave and Tony that Fort Benning was overrun but due to their un-trustworthiness it's unknown if they were telling the truth. However Mitch Dolgen states that he was stationed there when it was overrun and stole a tank, revealing Dave and Tony were telling the truth.
Before the outbreak began, the military base supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees, and civilian employees on a daily basis.
According to Dave, Fort Benning is overrun by "Lame-Brains". This may or may not be true, for it is assumed that Dave and Tony were untrustworthy, yet at the time they had no reason to lie because Glenn had not brought up the farm yet.
Fort Benning is mentioned by Mitch Dolgen as having been a refugee camp after the outbreak, but had been overrun sometime in the beginning of the outbreak and by the time Tony, Dave, and his group drove past, it was overrun. This could possibly mean that Dave and Tony were indeed telling the truth.
While going over his military history with Rick Grimes, Major General Beale mentions having been stationed at Fort Benning for awhile before moving back to Pennsylvania.
It was mentioned by Glenn when he looked at the map at the CDC, he noticed that Fort Benning was exactly 125 miles away from Atlanta.
Fort Benning is actually located to the south of Columbus, Georgia near the state of Alabama. It is surrounded by two rivers, making it a very defensible location.
Fort Benning was renamed to Fort Moore in May 2023, as part of an effort to remove Confederate names from US military bases. The name was later reinstated in March 2025.
Fort Benning is a training ground for not only regular infantry and cavalry units, but for U.S. Army Rangers as well. The U.S. Army Rangers are an elite, highly-trained light infantry regiment.
Pete Dolgen mentions being stationed at Fort Benning.