Day 38- A Trip to Fort Bliss

Wednesday was my trip to Fort Bliss. OMG! I was soooo excited. It’s one thing interning at an agency that caters to veterans, but actually visiting where these people trained, slept, ate, and got deployed from is a whole another story. Luckily for me, I was given the opportunity to tour Fort Bliss with two of the funniest veterans ever! One veteran, Mike is a man I’ve talked about earlier in my blogs. He’s been in war for 20 years and is now working with MHMR as the military liaison. The other one, Dan, much younger, retired from war after 2 years. They both work together to help veterans receive the proper services.

As we got closer to the entrance of the largest military post in the U.S (in terms of land) and 2nd largest post by number, I was a little nervous that I may not be allowed inside due to the heavy security. However, both Dan’s and Mike’s I.D. were enough to permit my entrance. Thank God. As soon as the guy gave us the okay and let us drive in, Mike said “We got the bomb in. Let’s go.” Ha! I just entered Fort Bliss and already was a part of military humor. As we were driving around, Dan recognized his old commissioner’s truck and called him. Todd, came out and volunteered to give us a tour of Fort Bliss….well parts of it since it’s HUGE. (It’s literally more than an hour’s drive long). We first visited the post’s administrative building where all the paper work and boring stuff takes place. Then we made our way to the barracks (or the dorms). It was funny when the men would use terms such as barracks, motor pool, A.C.U and rucksack to describe the military life because they had to find a synonym for me to comprehend what they were saying. I’ve never been exposed to military jargon and so it took some time. As we were walking to the barracks, both Mike and Dan continued to test me on the terms they taught me in the car ride over. Then Todd intervened and asked “What’s this?” as he pointed to his feet. I said “Boots” and started to laugh because I was right. I also replied by saying “I’m offended that you would ask that” (as if I didn’t know what boots were). He replied with “Well, I was hoping you thought it was a trick question.” Smh, soldiers. Regardless, I felt uber cool just walking around with 2 veterans and 1 active solider on Fort Bliss as if it was the most normal thing ever.

We entered the barracks, walked around and honestly the building looked pretty nice. Well, then again the parts that Todd showed us were the newer parts of Fort Bliss. Todd pointed out one frustration he had with the barracks. He mentioned how it was completely disorganized. All the soldiers were mixed up and soldiers from different brigades were rooming together. The problem with all this is that is makes it harder for the commissioner in charge of his or her brigade to mange his men since they are all scattered. Todd stated the reason for such disorganization: “It’s because the civilians assign the rooms for the soldiers.” In other words, if it had been an active military member, then the situation would have been different because they would have known better than to randomly assign rooms. Mike obviously agreed one hundred percent and added that living together creates the brotherhood that is very much needed in the army. He stated “We live together, we fight together, and sometimes we die together,” which really hit home for me.

We continued the tour and entered the locker room of the soldiers. I saw some groups of soldiers on the floor, taking notes from their leader, while others were doing push ups. Todd was telling us how they have not yet received the weapons to practice with and so for now, the commanders are passing as much knowledge as they possibly can to the soldiers. We passed by the dining hall and entered the parking lot once again. It was the end of Todd’s tour since he had to stay in the vicinity. However, he did mention for us to look at a couple of others places before we left such as the new physical fitness center and the U.S.O. Mike and Dan said bye to Todd and I thanked him for his time. It was greatly appreciated.

We drove off towards the U.S.O, which is basically a place where soldiers come to chill. They have internet access, can watch T.V on a huge flat screen, play pool, and eat. I must say, I felt a bit out of place as soon as I entered. Everyone in there were soldiers who were all close together, within the same area. I felt the stares as I walked in with Mike and Dan and did not really know what to do but follow their lead. After a mini tour of the area, we left.

Lastly, before we left Fort Bliss, Mike drove us by the new versions of tanks that the military was using because he had noted my initial awe with all this equipment and vehicles around. It just like the in the movies. And the majority of the tanks, jeeps, and equipment were colored tan to camouflage with the desert since El Paso is after all, in the desert. We also drove by the MP, the military police and the jail in Fort Bliss. We passed by the military court and the huge houses of the higher ranking officials. They were gorgeous. I began to realize that Fort Bliss is really a town within a town. As Dan put it, “It’s a city of its own.”
And soon my trip to Fort Bliss came to an end. But I was still as excited as when I first entered. The only difference now was that I knew the following terms: rucksack, MP, barracks, motor pool, brigade, A.C.U and boots of course. According to the two veterans, “I can hang."