Our last full day in the Barstow area took us north to Ft. Irwin, also known as the National Training Center (NTC). Michael (as well as many soldiers) has spent quite a bit of time, over the years, participating in various training exercises here. He has always explained it a the ‘middle of nowhere’…and that wasn’t too far from the truth.
Obviously been remodeled since 1964
Before heading on our journey north we stopped at Del Taco for a quick bit to eat. This particular Del Taco has been in operation since 1964….52 years! It is noted as the World’s Oldest Operating Del Taco. It’s not first Del Taco…..that store was in Yermo but has since been closed.
We’ve seen many Del Taco’s in our travels, but never stopped so this seemed like the prime time to sample their food.
Driving through the Mojave Dessert
Ft. Irwin is about 40 miles north of Barstow. The drive is through a desert wasteland with little of anything to view. Periodically along Ft. Irwin Road there are white crosses with dates painted on them. Mostly just single crosses but sometimes two, three and once four of them clustered together.
We assumed that they represented lives that were lost in car accidents along the road. If that is the case they must have really brought awareness to the road as dates ranged from as early as 1985 to as recent as 2005 but nothing really after 2005. Let’s hope they have it under control.
Turtle Fence!
Also for the entire stretch of Irwin Road there is a short little fence about 2 feet hire running along side the road. Being only 2 feet high what do you suppose it is keeping in…or out? Turtles! The Desert Tortoise of the Mojave and Sonoran Desert’s are endangered and the fence is to prevent them from getting in the road and getting hit by a car.
We made it!
Michael calls them ‘Turtle Fences’ and said that for as long as he had been coming to NTC (1990s) the fences have been in place and the were given instruction as to what to do if, while out in the middle of the desert training, a turtle crossed their path. They were to immediately send grid coordinates off where the turtle was located, stand guard over the turtle until someone arrived to take care of it AND all training halted until the turtle was safe. Interesting stuff.
Ft. Irwin’s Painted Rocks
Before reaching the Ft. Irwin gate we came across the Painted Rocks which is listed in Roadside America but I’d also seen pictures that Michael had taken while he was here in the past. As we neared our destination I saw some rocks/boulders with painting on them but Michael said…’No, you’ll know it when you see it’. He wasn’t kidding.
Army Pride!
The rock pile is huge and nearly every rock/boulder is emblazoned with unit crest/logo of some unit/company/battalion/brigade that has trained at NTC. Soldiers take pride in serving in the military and it really shows here in the middle of the desert. Some designs were big, some small, some done very artistically, others not quite as artistic but one thing was easy to see….Pride.
Proud moment for Michael
We wandered around the rock pile….climbing around on the rocks, walking on the ground…just checking everything out. Michael easily found the rock painted by the 397th Engineer Batallion way back in 1997, while he was with the unit. Was cool to see the names of Sgt Bender (who painted it), 1Sgt Barnhardt & CPT Bulinski, painted on the rock…names from the past! Michael was with the 397th, in one company or another (D, C & B) for 16 years and was deployed to Iraq from 2006-2007 with B Company. The 397th will always hold a special place in Michael’s heart.
Climbing the rocks
He also found the rock painted by the 926th Engineer Company who he was stationed with from 2009 to his retirement in 2012. He searched for the rock painted by the 2nd Armored Division which he served with in the late 80s and early 90s but it must have been painted over. He was deployed to Desert Storm with the 2nd Armored Division so it too has a special place in his heart.
Tiefort
As we drove onto post Michael pointed out ‘Tiefort‘ a mountain peak in the middle of post. He told me that the mountain is used as a reference point since it is easily seen. Even at night there is a red flashing light at the top used to help people get their bearings since it is easy to lose them in the middle of the desert.
A display depicting a scenario from NTC
We stopped at the 11th Armored Cavalry Museum and had a look around. It’s a very small museum but does a good job of showing the history of the 11th ACM as well as the history of NTC itself. NTC is essentially a desert training facility where units/companies/battalions come to train in ‘real life’ situations. The soldiers that are stationed at NTC play a role in the scenarios that go on during a training mission.
Hi-Jolly
One exhibit that I really found interesting was about Hi-Jolly. Hi-Jolly was a camel driver from Syria who was employed by the US Army to drive camels and supplies across the Mohave. They found that camels far exceeded the performance of horses and mules….however, they were not compatible with the soldiers or other camels as they bit, spit and made lots of noise when they walked. Hence, why we no longer have camels in the military!
OPFOR-land
Michael did some driving around looking for landmarks he remembered. OPFOR-land was one such place. OPFOR-land is just a cluster of building used to house the soldiers that come to train at NTC. (OPFOR stands for Opposing Forces) As we drove by the buildings several door were open and you could see the row after row of bunkheads…that’s pretty much all that’s in the buildings…bed.
Buffalo
We drove past several motorpools with their desert painted vehicles and came across a couple of vehicles that Michael was quite familiar with…one being a Buffalo. A Buffalo is a big armored vehicle used in route clearance. They are designed to take most of an explosive impact but, unfortunately, our soldiers still get injured.
Ft. Irwin PX…
We browsed around the small PX for a while but didn’t really find much other than a couple of gifts and a set of kitchen funnels. Even though it was small it still had the usual food court (with fewer choices), barbershop, rental car place, etc.
…and Commissary
We also stopped at the commissary (on the smaller side as well) and picked up our weekly groceries. Even though it was on the smaller side it still had full services – sushi, florist, deli, bakery, hot food counter and sandwich to go.
Aren’t they cute??
As we were driving around one of the housing areas and happened to see what looked like horse poop on one of the sidewalks….strange. But then as we were leaving post, driving past another housing area there were three mules….just wandering around, nibbling the grass…no tethers….just doing their own thing. They must be wild mules that roam the desert and hang out at Ft. Irwin whenever they feel like it. Pretty cool!
Two satellite dishes on right off in the distance
The last thing we did before leaving post was to drive down Nasa Road toward the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex. It’s main purpose is to track and communicate with space missions. The complex includes the Pioneer Deep Space Station, which is a U.S. National Historic Landmark. The current communications complex is one of three in the NASA Deep Space Network.
It was about a five mile drive and we saw 4 huge satellite dishes before we saw the actual complex. The last time Michael was at NTC, 7 years ago, you could just drive up to the complex but that has changed and no longer allowed so we were turned around at the gate. Oh well.