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As a 92F this will be my 2nd duty station and I'm just looking for a few pointers about this area? Housing, shopping, etc?
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PCS
Fort Irwin
PCS Fort Irwin
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 35
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Fort Irwin is where you can get a grasp on the tactical side of the house as a Fox Trot you will do various missions. You will role play you will do your job. You will have time to further your education. I was stationed there for 3 and half years I enjoyed it. I really appreciate what I was able to do there as a 92F. Be open minded and flexible.
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SPC (Join to see)
Roger that SFC. Open minded I am and definitely look forward to doing my job. Thanks
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SFC (Join to see)
I just got to Korea from there. They have great housing on post. If you have members you will live in housing if not the barracks.
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Did anybody mention HOT!!!! But on a serious note, Las Vegas is 150 miles away.
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1SG David Lopez
You will be fine. You will enjoy your new duty station, although I hated the desert, I have many fond memories with my family and friends.
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I was stationed there for 4 years. If you like Vegas it is 180 miles from there. LA is 120 to the south. You should be able to get housing there. Most homes are new. I enjoyed my time. Are you going to 11th ACR?
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SPC (Join to see)
Not really sure what unit I'm going to yet. I will definitely need housing but I'm ready
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I was going to reply only with the word, "HOT," but LTC Paul Labrador beat me to it! HAHAHA!
Seriously though, there are good and bad places in the high desert of San Bernardino County, CA (the county that Fort Irwin is in). The city of Barstow, CA is the city immediately off post. It's not of my taste. And directly west of Barstow is the city of Hinkley, CA made famous in the movie "Aaron Brockovich." Obviously, don't drink the water there. About 30-40 miles directly south you have the cities of Victorville and Apple Valley, CA. Again, there's good and bad areas. Neither of those cities are of my taste.
If you drive approximately 65 miles south of Fort Irwin, and "down the hill," you can find the cities of Rancho Cucamonga and Alta Loma, CA. I like those cities. The problem is that you cannot commute to and from those cities to the post as it's not uncommon for the Cajon Pass/I-15 freeway to be shut down in the winter. And, even in the other months it's a technical road to drive because of the weather conditions (ie, wind).
Housing in the high desert area is affordable. There is culture there. There's a community college and a state college. From Fort Irwin (as I drive) you're about 90 minutes from Las Vegas, NV.
Overall the high desert isn't too bad. I know several folks that live there. It's just my taste. I'm a bit more...cosmopolitan... And prefer the Los Angeles area (which is about 90 minutes from Fort Irwin).
However, Fort Irwin isn't too far of a drive from skiing in the winter, the ocean in the summer, and the forest in the spring.....
Hope it helps! And, welcome to California.
Seriously though, there are good and bad places in the high desert of San Bernardino County, CA (the county that Fort Irwin is in). The city of Barstow, CA is the city immediately off post. It's not of my taste. And directly west of Barstow is the city of Hinkley, CA made famous in the movie "Aaron Brockovich." Obviously, don't drink the water there. About 30-40 miles directly south you have the cities of Victorville and Apple Valley, CA. Again, there's good and bad areas. Neither of those cities are of my taste.
If you drive approximately 65 miles south of Fort Irwin, and "down the hill," you can find the cities of Rancho Cucamonga and Alta Loma, CA. I like those cities. The problem is that you cannot commute to and from those cities to the post as it's not uncommon for the Cajon Pass/I-15 freeway to be shut down in the winter. And, even in the other months it's a technical road to drive because of the weather conditions (ie, wind).
Housing in the high desert area is affordable. There is culture there. There's a community college and a state college. From Fort Irwin (as I drive) you're about 90 minutes from Las Vegas, NV.
Overall the high desert isn't too bad. I know several folks that live there. It's just my taste. I'm a bit more...cosmopolitan... And prefer the Los Angeles area (which is about 90 minutes from Fort Irwin).
However, Fort Irwin isn't too far of a drive from skiing in the winter, the ocean in the summer, and the forest in the spring.....
Hope it helps! And, welcome to California.
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SPC Angela Bolster
Maybe I was sensitive but the barracks water made my poo neon green. No exaggeration. Doc at the hospital there said it was my body getting rid of toxins. I got a Britta filter and was fine.
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CPT Chris Loomis
It's not just you! I know what the doctor was trying to say.... it isn't toxins. It's the bacterial ("probiotic") change that is occurring within due to the filtration plants protocols being different from what you are used to.
Overall, NTC is a cool place. The problem I have is that it's in the middle of BFE.
Like I said before, I'm a city slicker. I'll take sky ride buildings, the red light district, skid row, and dirt and grime of a city over hot sandy yucca trees any day.
Take a trip up to Big Bear Lake. Great lovely area. Take a road trip down to the Victoria Gardens shopping mall in Rancho Cucamonga. There's some cool places. While there stop and see a Rancho Cucamonga Quakes Baseball Game (one of the three local minor league teams). Good baseball at cheap prices with lots of perks for the fans. And the kids will love it.
Oh yeah, and the water s better "down the hill" too! LOL!!
Overall, NTC is a cool place. The problem I have is that it's in the middle of BFE.
Like I said before, I'm a city slicker. I'll take sky ride buildings, the red light district, skid row, and dirt and grime of a city over hot sandy yucca trees any day.
Take a trip up to Big Bear Lake. Great lovely area. Take a road trip down to the Victoria Gardens shopping mall in Rancho Cucamonga. There's some cool places. While there stop and see a Rancho Cucamonga Quakes Baseball Game (one of the three local minor league teams). Good baseball at cheap prices with lots of perks for the fans. And the kids will love it.
Oh yeah, and the water s better "down the hill" too! LOL!!
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Any Post or Duty Station you go to has similar perks and quirks. It is what you make of it.
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I was stationed there for 4 years me and my family loved it. I agree with almost all the commits, but like any assignment it is what you make of it.
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You will most likely not be in an aviation setting. Most of the Aviation fuel duties are handled by contractors. They were doing some force restructuring when I retired so there may be some wiggle room in that.
NTC has rotations on an almost monthly basis. The schedule doesn't line up nice and neat like "rotation will start the second Thursday of each month".
Typically, the 916th will help the rotational unit with transporting equipment from Yermo into the staging area for the rotation. Contractors help the rotational unit with MILES (or whatever the new MILES is called), ammo draw, and pre-staged vehicles ect...
Once training begins there will often be live fire exercises and lane training in addition to the actual training in the box. Each stage will require fuel handlers to support troops on the move both on the good guy side and on the bad guy side.
I hope this helps.
NTC has rotations on an almost monthly basis. The schedule doesn't line up nice and neat like "rotation will start the second Thursday of each month".
Typically, the 916th will help the rotational unit with transporting equipment from Yermo into the staging area for the rotation. Contractors help the rotational unit with MILES (or whatever the new MILES is called), ammo draw, and pre-staged vehicles ect...
Once training begins there will often be live fire exercises and lane training in addition to the actual training in the box. Each stage will require fuel handlers to support troops on the move both on the good guy side and on the bad guy side.
I hope this helps.
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LTC Jason Mackay
11th ACR used to FARP the OPFOR VISMOD birds to increase their time on station...if they get back to unified land operations they may again.
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Hi, Latasha, I responded to De Mino's question about Fort Irwin on his page across cyber space >>>> My response to his question might apply to you too. Check it out. I feel like a cheese ball just cutting and pasting my response here.
I might also add that the Santa Cruz area is on the coast and far enough away from the So Cal hum drum that it could offer you a nice break from life on Irwin. The boardwalk is filled with gigantic ocean rats though! But lighthouse point and some of the surrounding areas north and south of the boardwalk are quite nice.
I might also add that the Santa Cruz area is on the coast and far enough away from the So Cal hum drum that it could offer you a nice break from life on Irwin. The boardwalk is filled with gigantic ocean rats though! But lighthouse point and some of the surrounding areas north and south of the boardwalk are quite nice.
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CPT (Join to see)
Ok, Cheese:
Irwin is the best kept secret in the Army if you are compatible with or can adapt to the isolation. Successive OPFOR training missions conducted simultaneously alongside of BLUFOR training missions increase the stress level of Iron Horse and Eagle Horse soldiers. The stress level for all training missions resemble a pulse on a medical monitor. I spent some of my long recovery weekends on the beach in Coronado, Santa Barbara, Temecula, and the Bay Area. On the long weekends I did not travel, I spent hours in the Barnes and Noble in Victorville or just driving in the desert. The drive to Vegas is particularly memorable: for miles the brown desert consumes four lane I 15. Stop in Baker at the Mad Greek for a gyro and a milkshake, play cards in Primm, and continue on into Vegas for the shows. You'll see I 15 open up a few miles after Primm and the road descends into Sin City. It's kinda awesome. For someone like me, that drive never gets old.
Irwin is the best kept secret in the Army if you are compatible with or can adapt to the isolation. Successive OPFOR training missions conducted simultaneously alongside of BLUFOR training missions increase the stress level of Iron Horse and Eagle Horse soldiers. The stress level for all training missions resemble a pulse on a medical monitor. I spent some of my long recovery weekends on the beach in Coronado, Santa Barbara, Temecula, and the Bay Area. On the long weekends I did not travel, I spent hours in the Barnes and Noble in Victorville or just driving in the desert. The drive to Vegas is particularly memorable: for miles the brown desert consumes four lane I 15. Stop in Baker at the Mad Greek for a gyro and a milkshake, play cards in Primm, and continue on into Vegas for the shows. You'll see I 15 open up a few miles after Primm and the road descends into Sin City. It's kinda awesome. For someone like me, that drive never gets old.
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It's in the middle of nowhere but in the middle of everything. Like Big bear, Vegas, San Diego, Los Angeles, Hollywood, Anaheim or San Francisco. You will have a locked training schedule posted for the Fiscal Year. Just completed 8 months and 16 months to go. "Train the Force"
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