Again - I guess I'm the last to know.

[Mitch]

My wife and i just got back from a road trip out west. On the way back, we stopped in at Sierra Vista & Fort Huachuca. Not particuallry an SF kind of Place, except that SF sent me their twice, Back in 76 for the "I" of O&I school.

I was one of the odd ones at that school who actually took my family along. We stayed in a trailer for the 8 weeks we were there, over in Sierra Vista. Then, back in 86, the army sent me there to attend the Intel Warrant Officers Advance Course - that was before 180As had a school they could goto - so they sent us there.

Anyway - in our looking arround at the post the other day - I was going to show my wife where I stayed that time, over in the BOQ - next to the O Club.

But - I could not find the club - I found the BOQ, but they now called it Post Visitiors Lodging. The lady inside told me that they tore down the Club just a few months ago - when I asked where the new one was - she told me that there was not one, and that there was not ever goint to be one again. She said they have gotten rid of all the NCO and EM clubs too.

When that sank in - it was a sad moment for, just a moment - remebering all the fun stuff that we used to do in the various clubs over the years.

I thought perhaps that it was just a Fort Huachuca Thing. So - just a bit of checking and I found the attached six month old article.

So- for those who were at least as late as I in learning this little thing (as we said sitting arround the card table in the club) "Read 'em and weep."





http://www.usatoday.com/news/militar...ersclubs_N.htm

[ZonieDiver]

1) To quote Bob Dylan: and the times, they are a changin'!

2) Welcome back, Mitch.

3) You come all the way to AZ and don't say 'hi'!?

[mojaveman]

Deglamorization of alcohol?

Like that one.

I was an MP during my first enlistment and engaged in plenty of entertainment on Friday and Saturday nights because of 'alcohol glamorization'.

Gee, I guess nobody's going to have fun anymore.

[Kit Carson]

Wasn't aware of the info in that article. Thanks for posting it.

Spent a lot of time in Enlisted and NCO clubs all over the world.

To my knowledge, Ft Knox still has a Leaders (Officer) Club and an Enlisted Club.

The NCO Club near the Patton Museum was torn down years ago.

[PSM]

Originally Posted by Mitch

My wife and i just got back from a road trip out west. On the way back, we stopped in at Sierra Vista & Fort Huachuca. Not particuallry an SF kind of Place, except that SF sent me their twice, Back in 76 for the "I" of O&I school.

I was one of the odd ones at that school who actually took my family along. We stayed in a trailer for the 8 weeks we were there, over in Sierra Vista. Then, back in 86, the army sent me there to attend the Intel Warrant Officers Advance Course - that was before 180As had a school they could goto - so they sent us there.

Anyway - in our looking arround at the post the other day - I was going to show my wife where I stayed that time, over in the BOQ - next to the O Club.

But - I could not find the club - I found the BOQ, but they now called it Post Visitiors Lodging. The lady inside told me that they tore down the Club just a few months ago - when I asked where the new one was - she told me that there was not one, and that there was not ever goint to be one again. She said they have gotten rid of all the NCO and EM clubs too.

When that sank in - it was a sad moment for, just a moment - remebering all the fun stuff that we used to do in the various clubs over the years.

I thought perhaps that it was just a Fort Huachuca Thing. So - just a bit of checking and I found the attached six month old article.

So- for those who were at least as late as I in learning this little thing (as we said sitting arround the card table in the club) "Read 'em and weep."





http://www.usatoday.com/news/militar...ersclubs_N.htm

As I was processing out of Ft. Huchi Koochie, in 1970, they were installing beer vending machines in the WWII barracks. The PC Police Dept. had not yet been established.

Pat

ETA: We just bought retirement property near Sierra Vista/Ft. Huachuca. I've always loved the area!

[Mitch]

Originally Posted by ZonieDiver

1) To quote Bob Dylan: and the times, they are a changin'!

2) Welcome back, Mitch.

3) You come all the way to AZ and don't say 'hi'!?

We blew through Phoenix without even stopping for gas. Sorry.

We did Vegas, Grand Canyon, stood on the corner in Winslow, and even went to the top of Sandia Peak in Albuquerque - but - just didn't know where or how to hook up with everybody in AZ - next time - maybe.

Wife and I had a great time, though - except for I-40 closing due to wind twice (that is why we stayed in Winslow one night).

[Irishsquid]

Makes perfect sense. When we had E-clubs, Marbars, etc, I could walk over, have a few drinks, walk back to the barracks, and be fine. Now, if I want to have a drink while staying in the barracks, I have two options:

1) drive off-base, drink, drive back on base. Bad idea
2) spend a fortune on a taxi. Expensive


Yeah...great plan, closing the eclubs.

[JJ_BPK]

Originally Posted by Mitch

When that sank in - it was a sad moment for, just a moment - remembering all the fun stuff that we used to do in the various clubs over the years.

I thought perhaps that it was just a Fort Huachuca Thing. So - just a bit of checking and I found the attached six month old article.

So- for those who were at least as late as I in learning this little thing (as we said sitting around the card table in the club) "Read 'em and weep."

Will this affect the All Volunteer Recruiting???

Could this be some sort of Liberal Lefty Weenie trick by USA 2day??

This could have a catastrophic impact of moral & welfare...

Will POTUS, PELOSI, & REID re-institute the DRAFT???

[Richard]

Now I know why the "I Bar" at Fort Benning is a Little Caesar's pizza, the O Club (prominently featured in John Wayne's 'The Green Berets' as a swank Saigon club) is a conference center, and the modern NCO club built over near the Airborne/Infantry School area is a Mexican restaurant. Sad.

As for the 'deglamorization of alcohol' - "To alcohol! The cause of - and solution to - all of life's problems!" (Homer Simpson)

And so it goes...

Richard's $.02

[LarryW]

(fm Richard) Now I know why the "I Bar" at Fort Benning is a Little Caesar's pizza, the O Club (prominently featured in John Wayne's 'The Green Berets' as a swank Saigon club) is a conference center, and the modern NCO club built over near the Airborne/Infantry School area is a Mexican restaurant. Sad.

You're right, Richard. It's happened on several bases that the former O-club/E-club is now a conference center. Many lost money for too many years and when the accountants took over running the military, well, that was the end of that. Bring a McDonald's or a Taco Bell on base that will gladly pay the MWR bean counters (Public Works) a goodly concession fee, and why go to the club for lunch, especially if you end up with Office Hours if you show up with beer on your breath? A command is expected to use these new "conference facilities" if they want to hold a meeting, conduct classroom training, or a have a conference, and any Govt PM locally is "encouraged" to use the on-base site for any previous "off-site" conference. Many PM bean counters have been so beleaguered by audits that the cost for an off-site that didn't consider the lower cost conference center on base in their estimates would gain them a slap on the unit. On top of that, DoD revised their directive a few years ago to lower the perdiem rate for many locations making the only locales available to be the former clubs on-base.

Quit bitchin'....the next war will be won by semi-automatic Excel spreadsheets and long range PowerPoint missiles anyway.

[Dirt Gallo]

Does anyone know if the seven existing O-clubs on Army installations include National Guard bases as well?

I ask because there is one up here at Camp Grayling in Michigan. They just remodelled our NCO club as well. Tore down a lot of history in the remodel, but, spruced the place up quite a bit.

[ZonieDiver]

Originally Posted by Mitch

We blew through Phoenix without even stopping for gas. Sorry.

We did Vegas, Grand Canyon, stood on the corner in Winslow, and even went to the top of Sandia Peak in Albuquerque - but - just didn't know where or how to hook up with everybody in AZ - next time - maybe.

Wife and I had a great time, though - except for I-40 closing due to wind twice (that is why we stayed in Winslow one night).

I was last in Winslow last March. I hope the construction in town was further along for your stay. Did you stay, or at least eat, at 'La Posada' on the RR tracks- one of the last of the 'Harvey Houses'? Pretty good grub!

As for the demise of 'O Clubs' and 'NCO Clubs,' Ft Bragg wouldn't have been the same without the 'sizzling steak' at the main NCO Club! Are you telling me there are more 'beer calls'? No more buying of drinks upon your promotion? It is a sad day.

'Glamorization of alcohol' is not what it was. 'Subsidization of alcohol' is what it was - and I am glad they did. It often kept me out of town and out of trouble.

[Mitch]

Originally Posted by ZonieDiver

I was last in Winslow last March. I hope the construction in town was further along for your stay. Did you stay, or at least eat, at 'La Posada' on the RR tracks- one of the last of the 'Harvey Houses'? Pretty good grub!

As for the demise of 'O Clubs' and 'NCO Clubs,' Ft Bragg wouldn't have been the same without the 'sizzling steak' at the main NCO Club! Are you telling me there are more 'beer calls'? No more buying of drinks upon your promotion? It is a sad day.

'Glamorization of alcohol' is not what it was. 'Subsidization of alcohol' is what it was - and I am glad they did. It often kept me out of town and out of trouble.

Regarding Winslow - we stayed at this old-fashioned Route 66 Style Motel Called the “Lodge” where you drive right up to your front door. A/C, Color TV & shag carpet - what else could you want. Ate dinner at combination Sports Bar and Mexican Food Cafe called Bojo's not great, but it was better than Denny’s. Next morning we had breakfast at the world famous Falcon Café (at least that is what their sign said). When we pulled into town, the Wal-Mart was wall to wall 18 wheelers – all of ‘em pulled off the road because they closed I-40. Yep, it was a big night in Winslow.

Regarding Clubs – I can’t begin to count the number of times I’ve had a beer or two in a club, had lunch or dinner. At Fort Bragg, I loved to go to the Main NCO club for breakfast - they served, what I still believe, was the best coffee in the world. When I first pinned on the Warrant Bar – I soon learned that us Warrants were really a bunch of NCO’s who were allowed to infiltrate the O-Club – we made it a good place to go. Most amazing thing I ever saw, or did, was to do Carrier Landings on the tables in the Fort Hood O-Club. Did ‘em in our Dress Greens too.

I remember trying to drink a Zombie once at an EM club at Fort Bragg – it was a Double – don’t remember finishing it. And if you dig back into the archives of this site – you can see where my poor behavior was probably at its poorest following a great night of fun and schnapps at the NCO club at Bad Toelz.

All I can say is – after all that, and by far, I am just typical, probably a minor leaguer, when compared to most Team Guys over the years, when telling Club Stories. But after all that, I’m still here – I never did nothing bad enough to cause too much lingering embarrassment – but even if I did, I wouldn’t trade them for the good memories that went with ‘em.

You guys coming through now – better learn to get your kicks at the Burger King – because, apparently that is all that is left.

[Utah Bob]

Originally Posted by Mitch

We blew through Phoenix without even stopping for gas.

I always try to do the same thing.

[Utah Bob]

No clubs?? Boy, that's depressing.

“Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.”
Benjamin Franklin