Fort Sill: Impressions, Sight Unseen

We found out (for sure) the location of our posting the first full week of December. Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

I had never heard of this Army base before the PCS process started. It's not one of the Forts usually mentioned on TV or movies. Previously, if i was asked to name a fort, two or three would come to mind. Fort Knox, Fort Leavenworth, and Fort Sumter. I'm familiar with those names purely through movies. Everyone tries to rob, or hatch a scheme to rob, Fort Knox; Fort Leavenworth is where Tom Cruise's clients may end up in A Few Good Men, and Fort Sumter is where those damned Yankees first felt the Rebel ire (thank you, Gone with the Wind).

But Fort Sill? Never heard of it. So, as with anything else I'm curious about, I looked up Fort Sill on Wikipedia. Fort Sill is one of the oldest forts in the U.S. dating back to the Indian Wars. In fact, the famous Apache chief, Geronimo, is buried on Fort Sill grounds. I'm sure he's thrilled about that.

Lawton, OK, is the town just outside of Fort Sill. Lawton is about an hour southwest of Oklahoma City, and about two and a half hours northwest of the Dallas/Ft. Worth area.

At the time we found out that Ft. Sill was going to be our new home, we did a bit of research, to try to figure out what to expect.

Lawton

Apparently, Lawton does not have much to offer. The reviews range from we "It's not so bad" and to "it's a cultural wasteland, it doesn't even have a Target". While I do enjoy a trip to Targét, its presence or absence does not color my opinion of a town one way or another. Lawton's staggering crime rate, on the other hand, is much more of a consideration. My husband and I have lived in New Orleans for years. We are certainly familiar with life in a crime ridden city. It's mostly a matter of knowing where not to go at night, where not to go regardless of the time of day (Central City, anyone?), and just having common sense. Still, until you know a town fairly well, you can't always tell which parts of town should just be avoided. Judging by recent crime maps, it looks like the entire town of Lawton should be avoided.

Even though I was raised in a large city, and have lived in a large city for the last eight years, I do not need a a bustling metropolis to keep me entertained. Now, if you told me that Lawton has no Internet or cable service, I'd go into full blown hysterics. Thankfully, I have been assured that those services are available in the Lawton area.

The one amenity of a large city that Lawton seems to lack, and that I will miss, is a nice variety of restaurants. And no, Applebee's and Chili's do not count. Don't get me wrong, I love the Olive Garden, and Chili's has great baby back ribs. But they are not what I think of when I want to go out for a nice meal with my hubby. Unfortunately, we have been spoiled over the last few years in New Orleans. NOLA is blessed with world-class seafood, wonderful and creative chefs, and new and cool restaurants popping up in every other corner, even in crappy economic times. It'll be hard to find steaks like in La Boca, wonderful pizza like in Domenica, to-die-for crab claws like those served at Palace Cafe, or quirky little cafes like Merchant.

Mercifully, I'm told not all is lost. Apparently, there is an area of Oklahoma City called Bricktown. It's supposed to have nice restaurants, cute shops, and event boat rides. OKC is only about an hour's drive away, so I'm sure we'll visit it soon enough. Hopefully, I'll get to know a bit of OKC if I get a job there.

Fort Sill

Fort Sill is supposed to be a large base. It's supposed to have every amenity expected in large installations, like a huge Exchange, a Commissary that would but any supermarket to shame, bowling alleys and movie theaters. Still, I'm not sure what to expect. My husband took me on a tour of For Benning on our way to a cabin trip over Labor Day weekend. It was huge. It even had Starbucks! Decent coffee shops are certainly add on the brownie points. Ft. Benning also had running trails, sporting facilities, and a few restaurants. I expect Ft. Sill will look at bit like Benning, but given that I'm such a military newbie, I really am not sure what to expect.

Oklahoma

I have never been to this state. I must say, I do not know much about its history or its culture. My husband's legal secretary in his previous civilian job is from OK as is her husband. We got together with them a few days ago and they offered us a quick primer on OK. There are, as one would imagine, a lot of tribal casinos. Even though OK is usually lumped into the "South" region, it's culture has more in common with Midwestern states like Kansas and Nebraska, than with Georgia or South Carolina. When I think of OK, I imagine frontier towns, land runs and tumbleweeds every now and then. Apparently, that is not too far off the mark. There are towns in OK that are literal ghost towns. Frontier posts that failed to thrive into bustling towns for one reason or another. I bet those will be fun to visit.

One thing is for sure: with our move to OK, we will not escape natural disasters: we're trading hurricanes for their drier, thinner cousins: lovely tornadoes. Between tornado sirens and the artillery shells at Ft. Sill, it's possible we'll never sleep soundly again. :-)