Posted on 01/22/2012 12:57:42 PM PST by concentric circles
You should have been at Fort Ord in February of ‘68 with meningitis control. Every other window was open all night.
Just a wee mite coooool!!
I grew up in Mineral Wells. My father was a helicopter instructor there from '63 till it closed. He worked for Southern Airways. He was a retired Air Force Captain. We were on base all the time. I learned to swim in the base pool. A lot of those old buildings still stand.
I stayed in those Lowry barracks for 2 weeks in 1978. They were temporary until rooms in the newer dorms opened up.
Ahh, the memories.
I was at Ft.Ord in 1961, that’s when I spent a couple of weeks at Camp Robrets.
My father-in-law served at Camp Roberts as a reservist after his service during WWII.
I served at Ft. Ord (1969) up the coast, north of Camp Roberts.
I remember those wood barracks so, so well. They were called the “old” barracks, because there were newer ones, of concrete construction.
I visited Ft. Ord days after 9/11/2001 and saw some wood barracks, still standing, because of the same concern about lead in paint. The old base has been transformed into a state university campus, to teach all about things of interest these days, in a dumbed down society.
Back to Roberts, this is beautiful California country, with golden grass and oak trees in summer, and green grass during a spring after the rains.
State highways 41 and 46, between Highway 1 and Highway 101 offer California scenes most don’t expect, pastures, farmhouses, wineries, coastal views, etc.
I you visit and have time, try this area. Highway 1 between Cambria and Carmel. Big Sur. Unmatched beauty.
I’m pretty familiar with that area, I have two daughters who graduated from Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo and one is currently in graduate school there.
I was there for a visit last weekend and saw this story in the Sunday paper.
The hills are green now after recent rains and in just a few weeks the trees and vineyards will start to burst with buds and it will be absolutely gorgeous.
I have a couple landscapes done in watercolor that were painted from scenes in the area. The artist lives in Cambria.
Freepers on your ping list may be interested in this thread.
Ft . Ord is still used for family housing these days for people stationed at the Presidio of Monterey. They’re slowly tearing down the older houses and replacing them, but there a fair number of older houses left, mainly for junior enlisted and their Families
“Ft . Ord is still used for family housing these days for people stationed at the Presidio of Monterey. They’re slowly tearing down the older houses and replacing them, but there a fair number of older houses left, mainly for junior enlisted and their Families.”
I first visited Ft. Ord about 1958-59 when my Uncle was stationed there, as a then Captain in the Corps of Engineers. They lived in office family housing near the golf course. I think those structures are still there, on the edge of Seaside.
Back to Ord, myself, to do basic and AIT in 1969.
I’ll look for the fellowship hall next time I’m in SLO. My daughter lives in the neighborhood northwest of the intersection of Foothill and Santa Rosa so I pass by there frequently when I’m in town.
Building material standards in California are more stringent than any other state. (Damn liberals, tree-hugging green-weenies and EPA.)
FYI...Camp Roberts still operates a couple of satellite dishes for tasking of Army satellites. I was responsible for managing the retrofit of the control, server and command center. Very interesting work. At that time (2001), some of the equipment they were using was from 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. I was appalled when I saw that, but am pleased to report that GWB ensured that the equipment was completely upgraded with cutting edge technology. (No thanks to Billy Jeff. Gawd, that guy sucks b@lls!)
Was there multiple times from 2004 on.......place was interesting.
It wasn’t that bad,I just never payed that much attention to my surroundings when in garrison not quite like I did in Iraq.
Otherwise Camp Roberts was a fun place to train.
Still in use when I went through basic training at Lackland AFB in 1971. They were all pre-fab buildings. The Army had a standard design for barracks, 1 for the Chapel, 1 for a dining hall, 1 for the theatre. I guess that’s why all the buildings on military bases all looked the same.
“You should have been at Fort Ord in February of ‘68 with meningitis control. Every other window was open all night.
Just a wee mite coooool!!”
I understand completely. I was at Ft. Jackson in mid January and the windows would never fully seal. We even got snow there that winter and the snow blew in and drifted inside the barracks. The windows would even just “drop” open intermittently. The good thing was that the DI’s actually let us use our “walkmans” as a way to distract us from the cold....that is also when I learned how functional the sleeping bags actually were!
Hooorahh!
I remember Tank Hill fondly. I too was up the hill and if memory serves, we were the second (or third) from last class to go through any of the old WWII barracks on the hill. We were quite envious of the recruits in the new barracks, in fact we used to march by the “starships” in VERY loud cadence. The drills used to really play up the “rivalry” for us...kind of made us feel tougher..
Hahaha....
That reminds me, I remember the first time I heard of a “Police Call.” The Drills asked for volunteers and I tought, “wow, that sounds awesome,” so I enthusiastically volunteered. Imagine my dissappointment when I was told to pick up trash......
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