Main post, Fort XYZ

Editor's note: As a special service for our readers, WND is running a series of dispatches from Allan Wall chronicling his transition from civilian life as he prepares to fight with his National Guard unit in Iraq. Allan will write for us as often as he is able in order to let our readers vicariously experience what people in his position are going through. We hope you will check regularly for Allan's dispatches and encourage your friends and family to do likewise.

My National Guard unit is stationed at Fort XYZ, training to go to Iraq. Most of Fort XYZ's territory is used for training maneuvers, target practice ... that sort of thing. But our barracks are located on Main Post, an urban area located within the limits of the military base.

As a matter of fact, Fort XYZ's Main Post has many features of a typical American city.

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Main Post has stores where you can buy groceries, clothing, electronic goods, etc. There are gas stations, an automotive maintenance shop, restaurants, a golf course, a skating rink and athletic fields. There is a movie theater, a hospital and clinics. There is a police department and a fire station. There are churches. There are schools, attended by soldiers' children. There is a university branch where soldiers can study. There is a bank and post offices. There are even museums.

Main Post has its residential areas, populated by married soldiers and their families. These neighborhoods, with their (usually) well-kept green lawns in front, resemble those of your typical all-American middle-class suburb.

Yes, indeed, Fort XYZ's Main Post is like other American cities in many ways.

But it also has tanks and armored vehicles, machine guns and rifles. You can even see a street sign warning the motorist to watch out for crossing troops.

Living here is interesting – there is always something going on, that's for sure.

Before 9-11, the Army bases I went to with the National Guard were wide open. Anybody could freely enter or exit. That's no longer true. In the post-9/11 world, entrance to Fort XYZ is strictly controlled by checkpoints. That makes Main Post a sort of vast, gated community.

Many civilians work on Fort XYZ as well, entering daily to do their jobs then returning home in the evening. And veterans visit to take advantage of their veterans' benefits.

On Main Post, you can see the daily business of the U.S. Army. In the morning, you see groups of soldiers doing their PT (physical training), running on the streets. Later, they assemble in their motor pools (fenced-in yards where vehicles are kept and maintained) and other unit areas. Soldiers are all over the place.

There are also three bugle calls throughout the day. Nowadays, the bugle calls are recordings broadcast by loudspeaker.

Early in the morning, "Reveille" sounds. If you are walking outside, you have to stop and salute.

In the evening, "To the Colors" plays, followed immediately by "Retreat," during which you must salute. To me, hearing these melodies is evocative of a western cavalry post in the Old West.

Then, late at night, "Taps" is played.

Such customs remind one that he is part of the U.S. Army and its longstanding traditions.

The Main Post of Fort XYZ, though it shares some aspects of regular urban life, is still an Army post. You can never forget it. It's our home until we fly to the Middle East.