Handling with Grace?: Military Monday- Jessica: Ft Rucker, AL

The Military Monday duty station feature on this blog is designed for us military families to meet our fellow military spouses and also to learn about duty stations across the world. We all get to (or have to depending on your outlook and particular set of circumstances), move every couple years to different duty stations that are scattered throughout the country and the world. This feature will allow us the opportunity to explore these different areas of the world before we get there.

If you are interested in being highlighted for this feature, please send me an email.

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Name and blog site: Jessica - Sweet Green Tangerine sweet-green-tangerine.blogspot.com

Branch of service: US Army

Where currently stationed: Fort Rucker, AL

How long have you been there?: 1 year

Previous duty stations: Wiesbaden Army Airfield, Germany & Hunter Army Airfield, Savannah, GA

Favorite restaurant in the area:My 3 favorite places are Mellow Mushroom, Cutts Restaurant and La Parrilla for their out-of-this-world fish tacos. I do have to say, being a vegetarian, it's not easy finding meat-free options here in the south. Even the vegetables are cooked in meat!

3 favorite things to do in your current city:

It is a small town. They don't have much in the way of entertainment, but there are great parks and walking trails. My family and I like to go out geocaching (like scavenger hunting). There is a nice Aviation museum on post. And a great drive-in movie nearby. About 30 minutes from post is a larger town with more shopping and a Barnes & Noble, which is sadly the closest book store. In less than 2 hours, you can get to the beach. That was more than 3, huh?

Favorite duty station so far: I loved them all for different reasons. I loved the culture and experience in Germany. I loved the indie/artistic scene of Savannah. By far, Fort Rucker is my favorite post though. The city is nothing to write home about, but the housing, school, library and community here on post is the best I've ever encountered.

Who is your hero? My husband (and other service members) in the most obvious sense but anyone who knows me knows I idolize Audrey Hepburn for her grace and selflessness.

What is the biggest draw back to where your current duty station? I wish there was more for the kids here on and off post. The parks are nice, but there is no indoor play area and the only one they have is a little sketchy. A closer book store wouldn't hurt either, but that's just me.

How strong/ or not is the sense of community in the area? The strongest I have ever seen before. I was amazed when I first moved here by how friendly the people were. I was just so happy to be here and didn't even really intend on making friends because we would only be here for a year and half. Within the first two months, I made the most amazing friends. The neighborhoods are safe enough for the kids to play outside without worry. I can just walk outside and talk with my neighbors anytime. So many of the families are here for the same things, so it's easy to converse with other spouses.

Are there any local festivals you have been to or are planning to attend? The post is always holding festivals like Oktoberfest and the Christmas Tree Lighting. The housing center holds a lot of free events too like ice cream socials, dive-in movies and dog festivals. Off post they have BamaJam in the summer which is an outdoor country music festival and they have tons of fair-like events off post as well. Alabama has a sense of humor…the town here has the world's smallest St. Patrick's Day parade which is one woman walking down the street waving a flag. Coming from Savannah (which has the 2nd largest St. Pats parade), I had to find this very funny.

What is the overall feel of the community/area/base? Because this is a training post, the attitude here is geared toward career goals. There isn't much of a party scene and everything is family oriented.

Have you joined any groups on base? Yeah, there is a great Facebook group of spouses that is very helpful in answering questions. I also joined the PTA for the first time and love the small-town community feel of it. They were so welcoming and not at all intimidating. There is also a large group of earthy-crunchy Mamas here that I know get together pretty often.

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If you are a military spouse or military member and want be featured for this post, please send me an email at HandlingWithGrace {at} gmail.com. Duplicate stations are welcomed!