How Have You Liked Fort Bragg?

by Martha

I was recently asked by a random person (checkout line at the store) how I have liked being at Fort Bragg. Since we're leaving soon, I have been really thinking about the last three years of our lives here at Fort Bragg and Fayetteville. Here's what I have to say (you can tell I have had no adult here with me for a long time!):

I LOVE Fort Bragg as a military base. It is a fantastic base providing wonderful services for military families. We are three minutes from the actual post, but we're off of "back post" a.k.a. the training areas, so it's another ten minute drive to the gate and the "civilized" part of post. As I sit here and type, I feel under attack, as I often do, as artillery is going off down the road rocking the house on its very foundation (10:30 at night...it goes on 24/7). Visitors to our house ask about the "thunder" booming nearby. Just about every morning, I can look out my front door and see soldiers parachuting into the drop zone directly in front of our subdivision. Driving to and from base, I often get stuck behind convoys going into or coming out of the "woods."
As far as the civilized areas, Fort Bragg is currently trying to update itself, which is for the better. New housing is being built on base along with other new facilities. We have two new commissaries, and they are awesome. Picture a Sams Club size building that is just the military grocery store...rock bottom prices, but never go on the 1st or 15th of the month, as that's payday. Going to the commissary on those days is equivalent to Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving at retail stores across America.
The medical care I've received has been top notch, and it's a new hospital. I've had both kids here at Womack and couldn't have asked for a better experience (well, I could have done without Luke being face up and almost having to have an emergency C-Section, and then being 8 lbs. 5 oz. three weeks early, but who's asking)-not to mention cheap! Madison cost me $22, and Luke was free (don't know why there was a difference???). When I call to make a doctor's appointment, I call the nurse on Edward's team....that's the team the kids and I are on for our healthcare. We see Edward's boss. The nurse knows my name, whole history, and asks about Madison and Luke by name. She usually tells me where in the hospital or clinic she's seen Edward that day, and in fact, she has even called while Edward's been away on his many rotations to see if we need anything-AWESOME medical services and wonderful people. I get an appointment within the next two days-well kid checks (unless emergency) depending when our doc is in clinic. Free healthcare, no insurance to file, free meds anytime, military life isn't as bad as everyone makes it out to be. As I walk through the hospital, I'm greeted by first name by many doctors, and when I walk down the halls of the Family Medicine Clinic even all of the custodial staff know me by name. It's a great place. Yeah, I know my husband is a doc, and so that some of that could be called "special treatment," but good care is good care, period.
I thank each and every military person serving our country and pray for the well being of their families too. The military is a world unlike anything civilians could ever imagine. I mean, could most of you ever imagine seeing your doctor come in for a checkup in combat boots? Yup, doctors are soldiers too, so they dress the part...ACUs and combat boots...Fort Bragg doesn't mess around.
Worst part of the military life I've seen-looking out my front door window and seeing the military cars pull up with two officers in dress uniforms get out to tell a neighbor her husband was killed in Iraq. I didn't even know this particular neighbor, but I saw the cars drive by, stop, soldiers get out, walk to the door, knock, and go inside. I sat down on the front stoop and cried...it was an awful sight I know too many people have seen. And, as I said, I didn't even know them. That is what's awful about Fort Bragg..but, that's not just Fort Bragg. That's what the military is living and dying, being deployed and being home. Sadly, I can walk the neighborhood of 70+ homes and peg, "Deployed, deployed, home but going, etc." Definitely the negatives of the Army.

Now, off post, what do I think of Fayetteville and the life we've had here?

This is an interesting question. Most people I know who live her complain day in and day out about how horrible this area is. I've come to decide many of these people are miserable no matter where they are. Spouse is deployed, so poor me stuck in this awful town of Fayetteville. Husband home, poor me, stuck here while he works on Bragg....and it goes on. Myself-I like Fayetteville, and I would definitely come back. I've lived in Ohio (18 yrs), South Carolina (5 yrs), Florida (4 yrs), and now North Carolina (3 yrs). I guess you could almost add Maine to the list, as I spent every summer for 22 years going there. I've been all over the country Maine to Hawaii, and there are definitely better places to live, but this place is okay. Basic things like shopping and restaurants are really improving. Traffic-well, stay out of town on the weekends because the whole base ends up shopping then, and you'll be okay. Housing-we've had a really nice house. We like living outside of town, as we lived right in the midst of bustling Fort Lauderdale prior to this. We like having an almost half acre backyard for the kids and a quiet, well aside from the artillery, neighborhood. I even like the artillery now :) The few friends I have are mostly here in our neighborhood, fellow captain's wives and their kids. Social life....hmmm.
Okay, so this is probably my biggest disappointment. In analyzing my life here, I have no social life. And, that's not because of the kids. I have no mom groups, no playgroups, nothing. And believe me, I HAVE TRIED SO HARD!!!!! We have had a spouse group for the medical staff that I've run the last two years, but it's basically fallen apart. Get togethers are few and far between. People just aren't interested. But really, I just have the kids during the day, not much else. I really am thankful to have my friend Jen in Raleigh because we talk everyday, even for just a few minutes. Same with my mom, check in each day, just for adult conversation. Then, for evening conversation, I've got my college roommate, Jenn in Maryland...oh, and I'm my sister's "stuck in traffic" call too (yeah, she's the one stuck in traffic, like there could be that much around here???). Edward, when he is here, works all the time. It's a very, very lonely life as a stay-at-home mom. I love staying home, and I think there could be a great social scene with other mom, etc. but it's just not happening here. In looking at this, it really saddens me. Edward and I are both really strong Christians, and we've always attended church. We don't hide our faith; in fact, we want to be known for it. Yet, we're not thrilled with our church here. Of all the churches we've attended together, we actually rank this one at the bottom. It's lacking for us in many ways. We have a nice Sunday School Class, but most members of it are our parent's ages, so it definitely lacks in that area. I participate in activites at the church, but many are not kid-friendly or not at kid-friendly times. We are totally lacking in Christian friends. That's very disappointing. We really don't have people who are passionate about anything related to religion. The few friends we do have here we'd classify as "good people." What do I mean by that? They are good, moral individuals trying to raise their kids correctly, but are lacking the most important element, expressing their faith in God. Our few friends mainly live in our neighborhood and then we have a couple of friends from the clinic. Recently, a friend called my cell on Sunday at lunchtime to ask where I was...leaving church, I replied. It shocked me that it was even a thought...it's Sunday, where would I be? Good people here we've met, but not all are Christians in the true sense of the word....and yes, I can say if you asked each of these people if they were Christians, they would say they are. And, they might be. But, dancers have to practice dance. Christians have to practice Christianity. Going to church, talking about religion, professing your faith, acting on your faith, all of that is what it means to be a practicing Christian. We miss that. We have had great Christian groups both in Florida and South Carolina, but it's the number one thing missing from Fayetteville. I really thought I might find some good Christians moms when Madison started preschool because she goes to a Methodist preschool, but nope, most are "good people" who want their kids to learn "good morals." Of all the things we want to improve, this is it. We're not sure we're going to have any major improvements though, as we're going to a TINY base and will be at least 30 minutes from the city of Yuma. With the tiny base, comes an even smaller group of officers. We have never cared about officers vs. enlisted as far as friends, but for some reason, enlisted always seem to shy away from officers. So, we're definitely praying we find a Christian support we are most definitely lacking here. And don't get me wrong, we aren't the type that says we can't be friend with someone because they don't show their faith, blah, blah, blah. Not at all what I'm saying-most of my friends right now don't profess their faith, and they are my friends and will always be. I really like the friends I've made here-good people, nice kids, and nice families. I just wish I also had some friends who were interested in Bible Studies, etc. I just miss having some good Christian friends.

Hands down, the best part about Fayetteville has been the proximity to family. My parents are two hours away; my sister is three hours away, and now my brother will be an hour and a half away (we've still got a couple of months of that before we have to move!). Edward's family is as close as they'll be too, with his parents being six hours away and his brother being eight hours away. His sister will actually be close to us in Yuma at around five hours up to Death Valley, CA. We are going to miss the family aspect terribly, and I know the kids will too. I hope everyone realizes that we may not ever be this close to family for the next 18 years...that's how many more years we have with the Army. Yeah, we could possibly get back here to Fort Bragg, but there's no telling. We have some say in Edward's jobs, but we still have to do what's best for both his career and our family. Family is very important to us, and we feel we are going to really lose a lot when we move. No day trip visits, no weekends, very few holidays, no birthday parties...we're on our own. We've done it before, but this time, the kids will know the difference, and that stinks, especially for them. Not to mention, if you take away the family aspect and we have trouble again with the Christian friend/support aspect, moving could be a real challenge.

So, yes, Fayetteville has been a good stop in regards to the military. I would come back to Fort Bragg. I pray for the friends we have in hopes our faith in God has been something for them to respect and analyze for themselves. I pray to find Christian friends for Edward and myself, not to mention for Madison and Luke. I hope the preschool I have picked out, sight unseen, will be a Godly place for Madison to grow and learn.

Thanks Target check-out girl, whoever you are, for making me really think about the last three years of our lives here at Fort Bragg. If you've been here before, you know there's not a lot to do, but for assignments in the military, it's been fine.