Seeing a Base for the First Time

This last friday, I finally got enrolled in Tricare and got my military ID. It was a two week process of me harassing my husbands recruiter and it was a pain in the butt. Eventually, the recruiter called and we set a time to head up to the closest base, Fairchild Airforce Base.

Now, I have absolutly no background with the military so my first time on a base was, of course, a topic of interest for me. I didn't know if I should expect huge walls with armed men patroling the edges. I was also expecting the car to be searched; security was a big deal as far as I knew.

We drove up the "gate" and the recruiter flashed his military ID and the guy in camo just waved us on through. I am assuming its because we were in a military car, but I could be wrong. Maybe the guard just knew the recruiter.

Then we are on the base. And it looks like a town. A normal, busy town. There were sections of housing and then building with signs for various purposes. No scowling men with menacing guns. It felt like suburbia to be honest.

So we wound our way through the buildings to the one that was specifically for getting your military ID's. Walked in, put my name on a waiting list (like the DMV) and waited until we were taken to a cubicle. Very organized. The man behind the desk looked over my documents, took my picture, and handed me my ID right then and there. It wasn't a hassle at all.

Then we drove over to the base hospital. Not much of a hospital in my opinion, but I doubt they are doiong much brain surgery there. We were sent to an office specifically for Tricare where a very nice man got to work right away on enrolling me.

Overall, a very hassle free and pleasant experience. The hardest part was probably waiting in line for the ID, but even that wasn't so bad since there was a TV playing the news.

The base, overall, was very simple. Sprawling and busy. Not very well organized in my opinion, but I am OCD and lack of symmetry bothers me. The houses didn't look very nice, but the recruiter says thats just Fairchild AFB. He said that Pendleton has the nicest base housing out of everywhere that he has been.

I bet the waiting list for base housing is enormous at Pendleton. Its a shame you can't get on the housing lists until your husband/wife is stationed there.

So, if you are wondering what a base is like, its pretty normal. At least as far as I saw. The only difference between a town and a base is the workers are wearing camo uniforms instead of business suits. And the giant fence surrounding the base.