Between Fort Lewis, Wa and Fort Irwin, Ca.....?

Question

Which of these two is the lesser of two evils? We are going to one of them, and I kinda wanna know the pro's and cons of each. Thanks a bunch!

:( we got orders this afternoon for Fort Irwin. California or Bust!

Answer 1

I agree with Abby_k9. Ft. Irwin is a training area and your husband probably won't deploy if he's stationed there. Ft. Lewis is on the rotation schedule again. I don't know his job or what his career plans are, but if you want to be stable in one place for a while Ft. Irwin is the better of the 2.

Answer 2

I can't speak from personal experience here as I have never been stationed at either (I'm a Reservist). However, my husband was an OC (observer controller) at Fort Irwin, CA prior to ETSing and going into the Army Reserve. He says that, between a choice of Fort Irwin and elsewhere in the United States, the other location is always the lesser of two evils.

Answer 3

I live right near Ft. Lewis in Seattle, Wa. People gripe about it, but the men and women there have told me that it is much nicer than most other bases in America. Plus, there are more things to do here if you have free time. Mountains less than two-hours drive away, casinos, clubs and tons of bars, not to mention beaches on the ocean during the spring and summer. I would definitely say Ft. Lewis. My dad went to Fort Irwin, and he hated it comparison to Ft. Lewis, where he used to trian recruits. Good luck wherever you may end up.

Answer 4

I was there in 1966, before I went to Vietnam the 1st time. It is approximately 38 miles North of Barstow, California. When I was there, it was 38 miles of nothing. It is very hot in the summer, in the fall and winter months, it can be cold. Sometimes in the summer, especially at night, the temperatures can drop down into the 50s and in the daytime, they can go up into the 100s. Death Valley National Park is approximately 30 miles NE of Ft Irwin. Ft Irwin is now the US Armed Forces National Training Center. It was a pretty good post. The On-Post Housing was excellent including the troop billets. There is lots of field training,day and night.

Answer 5

Fort Irwin is one of the worst post to be stationed at, great training but awful post. Fort Lewis is a good post, allot of rain but there is allot to do around there and the view of Mount Rainier is awesome.

Answer 6

I have been to both. And I agree with the comment that _anyplace_ is better than Fort Irwin.

Answer 7

Go to Washington

Fort Irwin is 40 miles from everywhere (minimum) and the troop cycles for training would drive you nuts.