Posted on Aug 20, 2017
I'm PCSing to Fort Polk next April. What should I expect when I arrive (housing/barracks, the surrounding area, and climate)?
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Fort Johnson
PCS
Housing
Barracks
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 8
Could you be a little more specific? When you "arrive"....meaning the reception and in-processing experience? The housing/barracks situation? The installation itself? Things to do in the surrounding community? The climate?
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SSG (Join to see)
My apologies. I'm interested in knowing about the housing/barracks, as well as, the surrounding area and climate. I've been at Fort Stewart my entire military career so I'm trying to find out what I can before I get there.
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LTC Kevin B.
SSG (Join to see) - Okay, I'll adjust your question so that you get more focused answers. It's just too broad, so people might blow past it.
Fort Polk is somewhat like Fort Stewart, only smaller (less troops). The on-post housing is similar, but the choices off-post housing around Polk are not as decent as what you might find around Stewart. I think Leesville is worse than Hinesville, and DeRidder is worse than Richmond Hill. With that being said, DeRidder is much nicer than Leesville. When I was there (01-03), Leesville had strip joints (DeRidder didn't), pawn shops (DeRidder didn't), bars (DeRidder didn't), etc. It was like DeRidder was the anti-Leesville. Problem was, you had to commute further. I think DeRidder was a little closer to Polk than Richmond Hill was to Stewart. My family lived in DeRidder, and we were happy with it. Seems like the military people tended to live more in Leesville, but the locals (DA civilians) tended to live more in DeRidder.
Just like you have to commute from Stewart to go to larger towns and cities like Savannah, Jacksonville, Atlanta, etc., you'll have to do the same thing from Polk (to Alexandria, Lake Charles, Shreveport, Baton Rouge, New Orleans).
The climate is similar. Both are muggy and hot during the summer, and neither get too cold during the winter.
Of the two, I preferred Stewart to Polk. Even though I'm originally from Louisiana, I preferred Stewart's proximity to Savannah, Tybee Island, Hilton Head, Charleston, Jacksonville, more so than the places in Louisiana. Baton Rouge and New Orleans are cool, but that's really about it. Polk is better if you like outdoor stuff like hunting, fishing, camping, etc. Overall, I really enjoyed the low country lifestyle outside of Savannah, although I didn't particularly enjoy my military experiences at Stewart (family life...yes, military life...no). At Polk it was the opposite. The people I worked with were great, but the off-duty lifestyle wasn't that great around Polk.
Just my $0.02.
Fort Polk is somewhat like Fort Stewart, only smaller (less troops). The on-post housing is similar, but the choices off-post housing around Polk are not as decent as what you might find around Stewart. I think Leesville is worse than Hinesville, and DeRidder is worse than Richmond Hill. With that being said, DeRidder is much nicer than Leesville. When I was there (01-03), Leesville had strip joints (DeRidder didn't), pawn shops (DeRidder didn't), bars (DeRidder didn't), etc. It was like DeRidder was the anti-Leesville. Problem was, you had to commute further. I think DeRidder was a little closer to Polk than Richmond Hill was to Stewart. My family lived in DeRidder, and we were happy with it. Seems like the military people tended to live more in Leesville, but the locals (DA civilians) tended to live more in DeRidder.
Just like you have to commute from Stewart to go to larger towns and cities like Savannah, Jacksonville, Atlanta, etc., you'll have to do the same thing from Polk (to Alexandria, Lake Charles, Shreveport, Baton Rouge, New Orleans).
The climate is similar. Both are muggy and hot during the summer, and neither get too cold during the winter.
Of the two, I preferred Stewart to Polk. Even though I'm originally from Louisiana, I preferred Stewart's proximity to Savannah, Tybee Island, Hilton Head, Charleston, Jacksonville, more so than the places in Louisiana. Baton Rouge and New Orleans are cool, but that's really about it. Polk is better if you like outdoor stuff like hunting, fishing, camping, etc. Overall, I really enjoyed the low country lifestyle outside of Savannah, although I didn't particularly enjoy my military experiences at Stewart (family life...yes, military life...no). At Polk it was the opposite. The people I worked with were great, but the off-duty lifestyle wasn't that great around Polk.
Just my $0.02.
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SFC James (Jim) R Brown
The LTC forgot to mention the "mosquitoes" at Ft. Polk. There are swarms and swarms of them. Stand still very long and they will pick you up and carry you to another location.
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Hot as dick winter partly cold if married housing single barracks prolly solo man barracks as well job depicting love bugs one of the most worthless insects in the world and decent bars like 2 hours away pretty shitty
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