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.
Name and blog site: Aprille
from Beautiful In His Time
How long have you been there?: Three years this month!
Previous duty stations: Fort Hood,
Texas
Favorite restaurant in the area: Bob Evans and Starbucks
3 favorite things to do in your current city:
Coffee Dates with friends at the new Starbucks on post
Saunder's Springs Nature Preserve : “Saunders Springs Nature Preserve is
a heavily wooded natural area located on steep terrain with interesting
historic features. The preserve provides opportunities for nature study,
hiking, picnicing, and historic interpretation.”
and photo ops... like these!
Freeman Lake Park in Elizabethtown, one of my favorite places for fun
with my son and lots of photos! There are lots of play areas and pavilions,
historic cabins, a beautiful lake, and hiking trails.
Favorite duty station so far: We loved
Fort Hood and would love to go back to central Texas. The people are friendlier
and Fort Hood is a much bigger post with greater options both on post and in
the community. But on the other hand, I've been at Fort Knox far longer and
gotten much more involved in the military community here. So in the
attachment sense (memories and friends made) Fort Knox would definitely win
out.
Who is your hero? If I had a hero here at Fort Knox it would
definitely be Jill Bozeman-- my friend, mentor, and founder and facilitator of
Operation Faithful Support. For more on that, see below!
What is the biggest draw back to where your current duty station?
The Fort Knox community
(consisting of Fort Knox, Radcliff, Vine Grove, and Elizabethtown) has a very
small-town feel. Most of the stores (aside from the PX, Commissary, and the
Walmart just outside post) and big-name chain restaurants are located in
Elizabethtown which is about a 25 minute drive from post. Some wives complain
about this a lot, but I've just gotten used to the drive. The E-town mall is
also microscopically small. So basically if you want to do serious shopping,
visit the zoo, go to a fancy restaurant, or watch a movie in a big theater, you
have to drive the hour to Louisville.
What is the overall feel of the community/area/base?
As far as the base, in the last
three years there has been constant growth, due to the BRAC moves which brought
a combat brigade to Fort Knox. It has gone from a small basic training post to
the home of the 3/1. They are currently in the process of upgrading a lot of
the housing on post so they are tearing down old housing but have several
brand-spankin-new housing area that are absolutely beautiful. There's been
constant other upgrades to the post like several new playgrounds, library
renovations to include a coffee shop, a new Starbucks and community center
(with another new playground!), renovated shoppette and gas station, brand new
marquis signs popping up with post-wide announcements, a new splash park,
renovated gate areas, wider roads, and a brand new emergency room. It's been a
bit messy (pardon our dust and traffic cones!), but the improvements are
awesome and have all taken place literally within the last three years.
But, with all the excitement, war
has raged on and Fort Knox is no stranger to that. Another new addition to the
post is the beautiful Duke Memorial for Fallen Soldiers.
As far as the community, there's a
strong small-town feel, and I have found the community to be fairly supportive
of the military presence. This support has grown exponentially in the three
years we have been here due to all the exciting changes happening at Fort Knox.
There has a lot more community awareness about things like deployments and
homecomings. When the 3/1 returned from Afghanistan there were signs literally
all over town welcoming the unit home.
Have you joined any groups on base?
Yes yes and yes! Fort Knox PWOC is
filled with excitement and growing constantly. The ladies are amazing and have
embraced me with open arms. They are working on publicity and have a very nice
Facebook page to keep the ladies updated on happenings. (Link:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fort-Knox-PWOC/115111141913954)
Another phenomenal organization
that was founded at Fort Knox by an enlisted military spouse three years ago is
called Operation Faithful Support. “Operation Faithful Support, Inc. is a
pro-marriage, educational support program for the spouses of deployed service
members, designed to build strong and resilient marriages throughout the
deployment cycle.” There are several different groups (based on the unit your
soldier is attached too) and during the deployment and the first few months of
reintegration we met monthly. I cannot say enough wonderful things about this
group. They also have a website (link: http://www.operationfaithfulsupport.com/) Facebook page (link: https://www.facebook.com/OperationFaithfulSupport) as well as individual private
Facebook groups to facilitate healthy discussion.
Not on base, but there are also five
different MOPS groups in the Fort Knox area.
It's not huge like Fort Hood, but I
have loved being here at Fort Knox. It's been a great place to start our family
and the support I received and friends I made during my husband's second
deployment kept me going so well. There are so many invaluable resources in
this area. If you just put yourself out there, join some Facebook groups,
attend some outings...I promise you won't leave Fort Knox without a friend.
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
