National Training Center in
Fort Irwin (CA)

Experiences are self made. Don't be a negative Nancy. Take time to yourself walk around get to know the place and yourself and self reflect. As well as be with those that are positive and encouraging because without any of that ,you will think so negative about the place and I know it's not that bad of a place cmon.

Did 4 rotations with 3rd ACR. Had to leave our desert in FT. Bliss to spend 30 days in this one every time...

There are some interesting sights on this base. Not much to do, but everyone who works on base has always been nice. They were incredibly helpful with some documents I needed to file and needed help taking care of them.

Visiting family it's a very interesting place and very hot here in the Mojave desert. Barstow CA is about 33 miles down a long desert highway and Barstow CA in actually the end of the route 66

Spent my 1986 Christmas here, what a wonderful experience! lol actually it was sort of miserable, but then again we were training and that was tough at times. Years later though, it wasn't so bad...

Served at the NTC with 699th maint. Unit 23yrs ago. Served with some of the best people you could ask to meet. Keep up the great work protecting this country.

One of the more beautiful yet dangerous locations the DoD has to offer. Recommend packing a lunch and wearing sunscreen. Lots of animals, not a lot of safe driving or things to do. Will avoid going back at all costs.

I have been stationed here for 2.5 years and love it! The California desert is beautiful. It very rarely rains, so you don't have to worry about the weather spoiling your plans. It is very different seeing it from a rotational perspective and from a permanent party perspective. Those are two different worlds. I encourage anyone who has been told to never ask for Fort Irwin to reconsider. This was an excellent decision.

The views and stars were amazing! The food was absolutely terrible. I can't believe I payed for it.. I was almost amazed that they were able to serve cold eggs and meat in 105° weather.

What a vacation. Open showers open stalls open bays great view of sand rocks and mountains. Sandstorms. Coyotes and foxes, What more could you ask for. I'd rate it a 10 of i could IG @Stubborn_Ones

3 stars only because the nearest good city is about an hour and some change away (Victorville). Barstow is about 40 minutes away. But Barstow doesn't count as a good city. The plus is LA, San Diego and Vegas. They are quite a drive away but well worth it.

This place is horrible. Open showers, dirty bathrooms, food trucks, Shopette lines are ridiculously long and you'll wait for sure about 45 minutes in some cases. I'd rather go back to Iraq. It was cold as hell when I went to the box and the OC's didn't let us grab our cold weather gear. It was awful. Be ready to bring everything with you while you're fighting OPFOR specially when it's winter time. Fortunately time flights fast and you'll be out of here before you even know it. I recommend you hiding your phone though. Just use it in case of an emergency because remember you're literally alone in the desert.

Among all the gripes my fellow soldiers had of this place, I truly enjoyed my training here. From the sweltering heat, live fire ranges, constant base jump training, to the culmination of climbing the tallest mountain at the end. No complaints needed.

Horrible place and a waste of government money. Nothing about this place is a good experience or worth one Soldiers time. Leadership is horrible in this environment and the safety and well-being of the Soldiers and Mission is second to egos and lack of knowledge from higher. Could do more realistic training from home station with a fraction of cost.

The premiere training facility in the DoD. The Superbowl of combined arms maneuver.

It was like visiting the beach with out the ocean. Awesome place.

The pizza hut staff and beverage selection was excellent. I won't look at any Pizza Hut the same again. Highly enjoyable dining experience. I recommend the chocolate protein powder. 47194 13258

If you haven't been to NTC you are in for a treat. First off, you are in Suckifornia in the middle of a desert. Then you stay in crappy accommodations on the RUBAA. The food is usually horrible or you can pay exorbitant prices at food trucks. But wait there is more! Poop in chemical latrines or in privacy free water toilets. Showers, they have them. Sausagefest showers with intermittent hot water. Pretend chemical attacks. Lazy ass Cadre. Ungrateful Atropian people. Super hot days, super cold nights. On the positive side, nothing surpasses the warm, happy, feeling of accomplishment freeing Atropia..... again. I would rather deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan for a year than go to NTC.... serious as a heart attack. P.S. Watch where you poo in the field because UXO is still there..... and permanent party OCs do NOTHING about it.

Hot, dry, dusty. Good but tough training. I was miserable in the field. But that's part of the training.

The post is in the middle of nowhere CA. Great training happens here and the on post amenities are nice but it's hard to get over the fact that there's nothing but desolate desert surroundings. The nearest town is a 30 minute drive out the front gate. It's interesting for some who was the to come here to be OC's but others just hate it.

Well, NTC has many facilities. Joshua Fleming's was probably RTU. So don't listen to him. I think it's great. A few hours away from Vegas or L.A. most people here actually enjoy it.

Is a good place to learn about various desert warfare tactics, very open and with lots to do. Has a variety of different food trucks/resteraunts. Is in the open few places to hide from the sun if you are out and about, would reccomend planning accordingly.

The Army's premier training center for Brigade sized mechanized and heavy infantry movements and maneuvers. Tent city includes insulation and air conditioning, latrines were fine, but the PX shopette was completely overrun and not capable of handling 4000+ soldiers. It was always packed and ridiculously long lines. Units never bring enough water, so make sure to buy a case of water each day and load up on at a months supply of baby wipes and field supplies before heading to the 'box'. The heat and sun and brutal, it's literally the Mojave desert and temperatures reach well over 100 degrees, no shade anywhere to be found, plus a 40 degree drop in temperature overnight. The base itself is beautiful, great California style base housing and apartments, plenty of MWR facilities and a brand new hospital. The scenery is surreal, breathtaking mountains and dune type sands. The main PX is relatively smaller but well stocked and organized. Everything is within about a mile walking distance from the NTC Rotational Unit barracks area. All in all, great memories here.

This place seems to always be at war when I go their. The rest stops are not very accommodating. If you are lucky they just have an outhouse. The sleep amenities are poor. Usually you are sleeping under the stars. I guess it is a good place if you are looking for non-stop go and restless nights.

Just got back, after 5 days on training. Drove the HEMMT Wrecker and PLS supplying water to showers and kitchens in the desert. Great experiences. Make sure to carry lots of snacks, movies in an IPad and as many warm clothes as u can get. Terrible place to be for long but I liked it. Also has some beautiful scenes, remember to enjoy them.

Was there 3 times, '82 to '85 for Artillery exercises. Once in summer and once in winter. Don't remember which season for third. Tent city was boring. In the field, not so bad. Saw scorpion, snake. Very windy in winter. Broke a butterfly spreader for camouflage net.

I call it hell town..away from freaking everything. It can be hard on families because of nothing to do, is super hot and it just sucks. For the training part, I keep hearing is one of the best places to train soldiers at. Besides that, horrible place to live.