What is it like living at Fort Bliss?

T-Minus 42 days (more or less)
Resumes Sent: 3
Pounds lost: -1
House Cleaned: No.
Ever since we learned that we were headed to Fort Knox, I've been busy researching the area and trying to figure out where we should live, where we should enroll the kidlets in daycare, etc. I've been fairly frustrated by the lack of information. Most of the post reports that I've ready have more soldier-oriented information than family-oriented.

I can't change what is available for Fort Knox, but I can describe life at Fort Bliss. I'll try to be as comprehensive as possible (UPDATE: Maybe I was TOO comprehensive. My first draft is already up to five typed pages, so I think that I will post this in “parts”), but if you have specific questions, feel free to ask!

PART I:

OVERVIEW

Post Name: Fort Bliss, Texas

Location: El Paso, Texas

El Paso, Texas is located at the convergence of the border of Texas, New Mexico and the Republic of Mexico. You can literally see another country as you drive along the highway (or up in the mountains). Directly across the international border is Ciuadad Juarez. Juarez has been famous for the past few years as the "Murder Capital of the World" (which it turns out not to be) and its strong association with drug cartel activity (which is undeniably true). As of the date of writing, Mexico is strictly off limits for active-duty military by General Order and it is strongly discouraged for any Americans to travel there.

 El Paso has a very mild climate with an average of 302 days of sunshine per year  - undoubtedly why El Paso is known as “The Sun City”. Summers can get extremely hot (regularly at or above 100 degrees Fahrenheit), although this is when El Paso can expect most of its 9 inches of rain per year.

 Geographically, El Paso’s southern border is the Rio Grande River. Although this means “great” or “large” river in Spanish, at El Paso it is typically no more than a muddy ditch. “Release dates” in the summer and fall (when dams upstream are opened) is the only time you know for sure that it will have any water at all. The city itself is bisected by the Franklin Mountains. When people say “East Side” or “West Side” they are talking about which side of the mountain they live on. This can be important, because there are only two main (and one minor) routes across/around the mountain to get to the other side of town (I-10, Transmountain Road and Rim Road (the “minor” one). This can be a BIG problem if construction and/or wrecks shut them down.

 The ethnic population of El Paso (outside of Fort Bliss) is over 90% Hispanic. It is not uncommon for you to hear Spanish spoken in stores and offices, although government offices and major chains will always have English speakers available as well. There is a Spanish-language newspaper (El Diario), and there are multiple Spanish-language radio and television stations.

 Life On Post

Access:  Fort Bliss is made up of the original post (with buildings dating back to the 1800’s!) and the “new” area which was formerly known as “Biggs Army Airfield” and now called “East Bliss” (download a map here). There is only one way to get from Old Bliss to East Bliss without going outside the gates, and it is so inconvenient that you usually go off and back on to get from one side to the other.  Most of the post facilities (PX, Commissary, MWR, etc.) are on Old Bliss. The Sergeant Major Academy, new offices for 1 AD, 1 AD headquarters and new housing are on East Bliss. The post hospital, along with additional housing, is a completely separate fenced-off area called “Beaumont”.

 The “main” gates are the “Robert E. Lee” gate, which is at the southern end of Old Bliss, the Cassidy Gate (at the west side of Old Bliss), the Sergeant Major Gate (at East Bliss), Constitution Gate (at East Bliss) and the Fred Wilson Gate at Beaumont. These gates are typically open 24 hours a day, 365 days per year. Supplemental gates are Pershing (my favorite- a sleep gate on the west side of Old Bliss that has almost zero traffic), Fred Wilson (onto Old Bliss, confusing because it has a similar name to the Beaumont gate), A gate whose name that I don’t know, but which goes out the south side of post. Chaffee (which dumps out onto airport road on the east side of Old Bliss), Biggs Gate (in between SGT Major and Constitution on loop 375), one at the far end of Loop 375 whose name I don’t even know, and a back entry to the hospital (only open weekdays during the day). The hours of the additional gates vary.

 Housing: Fort Bliss is one of those posts where, the higher your rank, the worse your house will be (with some exceptions, noted below). Commanders Row (O-5 and O-6), along Pershing Road on Old Bliss, has the biggest, but also the oldest houses. Some of the houses are interesting ( General Pershing and General Patton (before he was a General) both lived there at some point, but they are generally small, pokey and outdated. Prospects are brighter for O-1 to O-4. The new housing on Old Bliss, East Bliss and outside the gates at Cavalry Circle are spacious, bright and comfortable. The worst houses for officer families are on Beaumont. Avoid. CWO’s and E-7,8,9 also live in Cavalry Circle and in similar houses on East Bliss near the Sergeant Major Academy. Junior Enlisted and mid-level NCOs have more of a toss-up. Their best option is Paseo Del Norte (brand new townhouses on Old Bliss) and newer areas on East Bliss. The worst-case scenario is Old Bliss near Colin Powell elementary, but the houses in Upper and Lower Logan (known collectively as Logan Heights) is also undesirable. I am told that there is a strong sense of community in Logan Heights, but it is outside of the fenced area of post, so they have a lot of problems with “interlopers” and more crime, etc. than true “on-post” options. There are also some bungalows in the central part of Old Bliss which are available to Junior Enlisted and E-4 to E-6. They are super cute, but small (and the central location can be bad if you have little kids who want to play outside, because people speed like crazy past those houses). The “older” houses don’t have nearby playgrounds or greenspaces, but all of the new developments have an average of one playground for every two blocks (nice, new equipment covered by a canopy to keep it from being too hot to play on). There isn’t any place on post that I would classify as “far” from shopping or the CDCs, but Logan, Cavalry Circle and Beaumont residents will have the hassle of coming through the gates.

 Day Care: Fort Bliss has ample, beautiful, brand-new CDC facilities on Old Bliss, East Bliss AND in Logan Heights. My daughter was enrolled there during the summers, and we have nothing but praise for the staff and facilities. I understand that there is not currently a waiting list for spaces, and they have transportation from nearby schools to the facilities for after-school care. As with all CDCs, the cost of childcare is based on total family income. The CDC provides summer care for school-aged children and at least once per month they have a “parents night  out” with evening babysitting so that you can go on a date with your soldier.

 Shopping: Fort Bliss has a brand new PX, Commissary AND a “mall” called Freedom’s Crossing in  Gamestop and the UPS store. A mid-sized Class 6, Optical Shop and a large Clothing Sales store are also located there. Apart from Freedom’s crossing, there are numerous Shopettes located around all areas of post (including one in the “off post” housing area near Cavalry Circle).
the heart of Old Bliss. There is ample parking. The “mall” is mostly restaurants, but there are stores as well. Current tenants are Agaci, Under Armor, Things Remembered,

 Restaurants: Most of the restaurants on post are at Freedom’s Crossing. They have Buffalo Wild Wings, Sushi, an Irish Pub, Texas Roadhouse (opening soon), Denny’s and a variety of fast-food restaurants like Baskin-Robbins, Dairy Queen, Smashburger, Burger King, Einstein Brothers, Starbucks, Subway, Anthony’s Pizza, etc. Post also has the typical Buger Kings, a stand-alone Dunkin Donuts and Subway stores in a few of the shopettes. One unique restaurant on Fort Bliss (which may be closing soon, since the German Air Force is scheduled to leave Fort Bliss later this year) is the German Club which serves German food (and, on weekends and after house: beer) and is located on Old Bliss.

 Recreation:  The main recreation area on post is Biggs Park, located on East Bliss. It features picnic areas, a rock-climbing wall, sports fields and a water park. Cardholders can also use Replica Pool (a HUGE indoor aquatic center on Old Bliss), the pool at the old O-Club, numerous gyms (the biggest and best is Soto Gym on East Bliss), visit the Old Fort Bliss Museum (a cheesy but interesting replica of what the post looked like in the 1880s), run around the Walking track (a 2.5 mile course that weaves down Commanders Row, past the Old Fort Bliss Museum and back. This route is only partially shaded, so make sure to go early or late and take lots of water!), catch a movie at the Grande theater (brand new, state-of-the-art theater at Freedom’s Crossing) or go bowling. Additionally, MWR brings in a lot of performers to give free concerts at Freedom’s Crossing or Biggs Park. MWR also does the usual “Easter Egg Hunt, Trick-or-Treat, Fireworks, Visits with Santa” stuff as well.

 Schools:  Fort Bliss does not have traditional “Department of Defense” schools. Instead, the post is partnered with the El Paso Independent School District to provide services to dependent families. There is one elementary school on post, Colin Powell Elementary, and Chapin High School is housing-area adjacent. There is a school-liaison office which can help answer questions about student-placement and has good information about school performance and resources.