I am a CPL(P)25U re-enlisting for Ft Irwin and am deployed to afghanistan right now. I will have a report date during the summer of 2007. Does anyone have any advice for a newcomer to Ft Irwin? What are the deployment rotations like there? What about housing? Should I get on post housing or try and find somewhere off post? It will be just me, my wife, and my dog going there from Ft Drum. I lived in southern california before joining the military so I have plenty of friends and family only a few hours from base.

Basically I am just looking for someones opinions of Ft Irwin that has actually been stationed there an not just gone through an NTC rotation.
Thanks

Congrats on your reenlistment!

Well, your best bet is to get on post unless you enjoy driving. I believe the closest housing off post is in Barstow. I have never been stationed there myself but have had several friends that were. They were all single. You shouldn't have a deployment rotation however you will have to go to the field on a pretty constant basis. I only remember units deploying from there once (but hey, I've been wrong before). Good luck and congratulations!

P.S.: You might want to check out their site at: http://www.irwin.army.mil/channels

I was at Fort Irwin and I would personally recommend living on post. The housing there has is really nice. They were just built and they are tearing down the old and busty ones. The weather is alright. Its hott in the summer but its dry heat. Just open the oven door and stand in front of it and that is what it feels like in the summer over there. The big unit down there is the 11th ACR. They returned from Iraq in Jan so there is no telling when they are scheduled to go back. Most of the units on post do one month on one month off rotations. Whenever you have a unit coming on post you work as either opfor or characters in the ntc rotations. It's actually pretty cool because you feel like special forces cuz you dont have to shave and you wear all different types of uniforms. All special operations train down there all the time so you will see them running around frequently. The town of barstow is the closest town which is 40 miles away but the town is crap. If you want to do some good shopping you have to drive out to victorville which is about an hour away. The post is really little so it wont take you long to learn it. As you know your command will make or break your unit so I hope your assignment will be as enjoyable as mine was. Go ahead and shoot me a line if you have any questions. Congrats on your reup.

thanks for the info, i am interested in seeing which unit i will be placed in. i know i can go pretty much anywhere being commo.
how long does it take to get to the 10 and 15? ive got a few friends in the fontana/ontario area, and ive got family in corona as well.

Its about 2 hours to ontario if you go with the flow of traffic. Its not very far at all

Since I'm at Fort Irwin now, I'll pop in my two cents.

Live on post if you can, but the housing isn't completed yet, so you could end up a sh*thole. If you don't mind the drive and don't have a gas guzzler, I recommend living offpost. That's just me, though, but I think the benefits outweigh the crappy parts of living off post. Yes, living off post makes for a long day. I leave at 0530 and get home a little before 1800. But from here, I'm only 30 minutes from the nearest mall, so I can pop on down there for dinner and its' not a big deal. To do that from post is more than an hour's drive, not something most people will do on a Friday night. Or I can take a day trip to LA or Ontario and I'm not really put out.

I've heard some people make the argument that you are so far away from the commissary and medical facilities, but there is a Marine Base right here in Barstow with all that. Also, the drive is a killer, but usually there are people in your unit you can carpool with. I spend $60 a week on gas (I drive a 4 cylinder, manual trans Saturn that gets 30 to the gallon) and on the weeks I don't drive, I get to sleep the whole way in. Plus, the 35 minute drive home is a great time to decompress from the day so by the time I get home I'm in a great mood.

Apartments off post are just like anywhere else. Some are nice, some suck. I've lived in two complexes in Barstow, both were really nice. Stuff to do: Barstow does have a movie theater. It's an older one, but it's decent if you don't feel like driving to Ontario or Victorville. There is also a drive in that plays movies on Friday and Saturday nights. And beign SoCal, it's open year round. I believe it's $6 per person for a double feature and they do play new movies (I saw Pirates of the Carribean 2 opening weekend followed by Cars for instance). And you can bring the dog there. If you guys like to go out, there are a couple decent bars and a bunch of dive bars. I recommend Vick's. They are very military friendly and just a really nice place. And I don't just say that because I'm friends with the peeps who own it. And of course, Vegas and LA are two hours away.

Stuff to do on post? Reggies, bowling, movie theater and Outer Limits. I don't recommend the OL. It's kinda club like on the weekends with a male to female ratio of about 4to1. I've been there once and felt very uncomfortable there and haven't been back.

Deployments. They happen here just like everywhere. I believe 11th ACR is scheduled to go again in 2008. That's the rumor. There is also an EOD unit that deploys as well as various support and maintenance units that deploy. This is very much a deploying post, though not as much as places like Hood or Bragg.

I know this is a bit lengthy, but I hope it helps. If you PM me your address, I can send you a welcome guide. It's pretty thorough, and I don't just say that because I put it together. Any other questions, let me know. I've been here over two years and know the place pretty well.

well im a 68w, who might be going to ft irwin 11acr.. can anyone tell me how it is for 68w there?

i love fort irwin..i lived there as a dependent, and i would go back there in a heart beat!

Ah. FT.Irwin. That was my first duty station back in 98. The first time I saw them cayotes running around in packs I ran back inside. You dont see that crap in Orlando. I'm hoping to get back there once I graduate flight school.

I would recommend living on post. Your spouse will be able to relate with the community while you are on rotation or deployed. And she can make friends that understand what she is dealing with. I think Barstow sucks but its been 7 years since I've been there. I use to skip right over that hole and go straight to Victorville.

Its cool if you like in the field for two weeks a month for nine monthes out of the year. I was stationed there for two years I did not like it and I grew up in victorville since birth. I did not like it. for the 11th acr there is three squadrons 1/11,2/11, and regimental support squaron. I was in maintenance troop, rss it was alright but constantly playing opfor sucked

i liked it there. i would go back just because its such a good place to raise a family because its isolated and there isnt really too much bad stuff for them to get mixed up in