Moving to Fort Irwin

Hey there! Our last duty station (prior to coming to Germany 6 years ago) was Fort Irwin. It's way out in the desert and the nearest town is 37 miles off post (not a gas station, house...all 37 miles are wash lands). When last we were there the road was only 2 lanes all the way from Barstow to the Post. Word of caution...DO NOT SPEED on Ft. Irwin Rd. As much as you'll want to (and we wanted to before we experienced the Autobahn)be aware that a ticket isn't all you can get depending on how fast you're going.(my hubby was doing 83 in a 55 and they arrested him on a "wreckless driving" charge, they dropped the charges later, but he did lose his driving privleges on post for a year -- just keep the above sited law in mind when speeding on or off post -- but especially ON-POST).
** Just before you get to the tanks (toward Barstow) is where the Post begins, and the MPs wait there to catch speeders.**

As for the good things about the post...housing is much better than what we have here. It's bigger, comes with a garage, a fenced back yard and a decent front yard. Most of the units are upstairs/downstairs units, with washer & dryer hook-ups, living-room/dining room (ours was huge) and a little room off to the side of the kitchen where we had our computer, we even had a walk-in closet for my hubby's Army gear. We lived in some of the older units on Fredricksburg and loved it.

While we were at Ft. Irwin I became very active with PWOC...I recommend it highly. The women there are incredible. We attended the Protestant Evening Worship Service (PEWS)as a family and loved it too.

The Schools onpost are good. The only problem you'll have is if you have a High Schooler. They have to bus to Barstow or the other little town by Calico City...neither school is very good, and the one near Calico City had some problems with gangs.

I hope this helps. We really enjoyed our time there. It's about a 3 hour drive to Vegas and we went at least once a month (and we don't gamble much). Victorville is about a 1 hr 40 minute drive from Ft. Irwin and has a decent mall, and things to do (we used to stay at a Super 8 hotel so we could stay longer without worrying over the drive home). There's a great coffee shop called Higher Grounds off of Bear Valley Road (Near the Marine Corps recruiter office). Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!!

I have not lived at Ft. Irwin. However I have visited. I grew up in San Diego and went to college in Tucson, AZ. Ft. Irwain has a bad reputation for being way too hot and secluded. DO NOT pay attention to this negativity. YOU will be in a fantastic central located place. You just need to drive a little. You have so many opportunities. I am active duty Army. Take advantage of your MWR. You are withing 3 hours of Vegas, LA, Colorado River activities as well as 4 wheeling in the Mojave Desert! Have fun!!!
Andi

Hello,

We just left Fort Irwin and moved to Germany.We spent 6 1/2 years at Fort Irwin. My friend Sharron Mckinney is the school liason if you try and get in contact with her she can make sure your child with PDD has everything he needs before school.I know the preschool has had several children with autism and do everything they can to help. The housing area is really nice. They just built new housing and remodeled the PX. Walmart is 36 miles away on way. The weather is really nice there sometimes very windy not humid like Texas. I hope this has helped a little. I am in the same boat in Germany wondering about everything. We are stationed at Grafenwohr, Germany and sign for housing on Friday.

I would love to be positive, but I spend 3 years in Irwin and hated it. They were/are building new housing so that shouldn't be a problem, make sure to not take anything but new housing, the old one have a problem with mold!
Not sure how good the schools are, my daughter was 4 when we left! But the High School is a good 30 minute drive away... I've noticed that people tend to either hate or love Irwin, and most people that olve or like it there are from Cali, maybe having family close by where you can escape to helps! The road to Irwin (yes there is only one) has over 50 crosses on it, it is one of the most dangerous ones in the States. There is a Walmart in Barstow, which is the next closest town, and the next Mall is in Victorville, which is a good 2 hour drive, there is an outlet mall in between Barstow and Vv but not much there anymore!
Sorry that I couldn't be more positive about the place...
Take care
M.