I am humbled and honored to have been elected to served as the President of the Society of the 3rd Infantry Division! As a young NCO newly assigned to the Division in 2004, I learned very quickly what people meant when they talked about the Marne Express. It is a train of Soldiers dedicated to accomplishing all assigned tasks and is loaded with pride, honor and determination. These qualities propel the Marne Express through all challenges and fills its engine with the velocity of almost 100 years of sacrifice, dignity, and victory. When our country has been faced with overcoming the tough challenge, the high precipice, the wide abyss, the frozen reservoir or the searing hot deserts it has been the Dogface Soldiers who were entrusted with overcoming all the obstacles in order to bring peace, democracy and prosperity to oppressed peoples. As members of this Society, we continue to carry the pride of those who marched before us and will do everything possible to make their sacrifice and heroic deeds remain indelible in the hearts and minds of our fellow Society members and our Active Duty compatriots. Our “doughboys” have gone “over there” and stood like rocks, they were members of the greatest generation, fought a “forgotten war”, stiff-armed the iron curtain, sweated in the jungles, stormed the desert and raced in the thunder run. And along the way, they earned their title of Dogface Soldier!
My focus will remain steadfast to my commitments to the Society and its membership. It is the membership that runs this organization and my door is always open to any member who wishes to contact me for any reason.
We have several important activities in our Society that provide tons of good to our members and their Families. The first is our Scholarship Foundation. Each year we award numerous scholarships that help those in and out of the Society pursue their education. Who is eligible? Society Members, Spouses, Children and Grandchildren of Members.
The crown jewel of the Society is our Bi-monthly magazine called the “Watch on the Rhine.” All members receive this as a part of their membership and it is packed full of news articles about Dogface Soldiers past and present, war stories, and much, much more!
Each year we hold a National reunion on a revolving basis in each of our three regions: Eastern, Central and Western Region. In 2017 the reunion will be held in San Antonio, Texas. These reunions are fantastic opportunities to form friendships, share memories, meet the current Commanding General and Command Sergeant Major of the 3rd Infantry Division, shop at our Quartermaster Store, enjoy tours, participate in our general membership meeting and meet the Nationally Elected Officers on the Executive Committee.
As President, I have made the following three initiatives my priority:
Expand our membership
Strengthen the Outposts
Build strong relationships with our active duty Soldiers and their Families
All Veterans Organizations have the same challenge: Recruiting. Younger Veterans just don’t join Veterans Organizations like previous generations and so we have to work hard in this area. I hope that your interest in our Society leads you to join. We need you!
We have 23 Outposts across our country and one international Outpost! Our Outposts across the United States do so much that it is impossible to write about them here. But they are the leverage to the success of this Society.
Our division is the reason why were are all here. Building a strong relationship with our Active Duty partners and their families is critical to our mission. We can do so much more with them and they can with us. I will work hard to build mutually beneficial initiatives that will serve to enhance our relationship. Many thanks to the 3rd Infantry Division Commanding General, Major General Rainey, for his consideration of our Society and his support.
I hope you are reading this because you are considering joining our formation. I used to tell my Soldiers that if you want to be successful, you have to “Lean forward in the Foxhole.” So lean in and join the Society of the Third Infantry Division and become a fellow Dogface Soldier!
Toby Knight
President
Society of the Third Infantry Division