My journey back to Ft Irwin
Hi everyone, believe it or not I am blogging to you right now at 35,000 feet using AirTran’s wi-fi. Normally its $10 for access but since this is our first time using it, it’s FREE! Just like a drug dealer, they’re giving me my first hit for free so next time I will be willing to pay anything ………..and I mean anything, for the convenience. Hopefully the price of wi-fi will stay low so I don’t have to resort to crime to feed my wi-fi addiction. Anyways, I know it’s been a while since we’ve posted anything but this week me and the wife will be heading out to California for a mini vacation. Really it’s more like a get-away since we’re doing it around a work related meeting I have tomorrow and we’re only staying for the weekend. We don’t have any specific plans while visiting so if anyone has any suggestions please let us know. The only definite plan we have this weekend will be driving 4 hours into the desert to visit a place that brings back a lot of memories, Ft. Irwin.
Located in the Mojave Desert, Ft. Irwin was what I called home for 3 years from 1991 to 1994 during my time in the Army. For those of you who’ve had an opportunity to visit me while I was stationed there you know how isolated and difficult of a tour it can be. The days are long and hot, sand gets into everything (I swear I still have sand in my ass crack from that place), and the nearest town, Barstow, is roughly 45 minutes away. I’ll never forget the day my drill sergeant told me I was assigned to Ft. Irwin in California and how excited and happy I was. Its funny looking back at it because I didn’t know anything about Ft. Irwin and all I could picture was me hanging out at the beach trying to get a tan. Maybe that shit eating grin he had should have been a warning.
While I was stationed at Ft Irwin our primary mission was to play the role of OPFOR (Opposing Forces). I know war games sounds cool at first but believe me after the first month the shit gets old really quick. We were only guaranteed 4 days off a month and there was only 2 times a year you could take leave. Otherwise your ass was stuck at base mopping and waxing floors.
So you might be wondering why anyone would drive 8 hours round trip to visit this hell hole. Well, as much as I would like to forget my time there, it has had a significant impact in my life. It can be a very lonely place but it’s the people you meet and the friendships you build that make the place tolerable. I’ll never forget the many nights with my fellow comrades getting absolutely shit faced and usually breaking something. Being stationed at Ft. Irwin is like being in a special club that only your fellow club members understand and appreciate.So why the hell would I want to go back to Ft. Irwin? Maybe it’s relive some fond memories, maybe it’s for closure, or maybe I have a screw lose. I guess I will figure that out when I get there. As much as I hated that shit hole I will never forget it and in a weird way I kinda miss the desert.
