How did you get IN?!!

[Salesmonkey]

Chaffee is VITAL to our national security - It's the base they film the movies at! They filmed "A Soldier's Story", "Biloxi Blues", and used it for stock footage in "Men of Honor" and "Forrest Gump".

Also, Chaffee has given Fort Smith the best Vietnamese and Thai food in Arkansas! It's often used as a relocation center for displaced persons, so the folks that settled locally opened great ethnic restaurants.

[AdminAssistant]

Some bases are open...like Fort Riley in Kansas where the average civilian can drive around (there's a lot of historic stuff there dating back to Custer, etc...), and the only places you need an ID are the PX, Mess halls, etc.....

I believe Ft. Leavenworth is the same way. I went there with my cousin's wife (cousin is a Major stationed there, but they live offbase). I just had to hand over my DL to get through the gate. But maybe that was because I was with a military spouse? We were able to walk into the PX and Comissary without showing ID, but she had to show her ID to make the purchases.

On a side note, the PX there is really nice. Clinique, Lancome, Coach, Dooney & Burke, all kinds of neat shinys. I was just .

[Pezzle]

Ft. Knox is actually quite open... as is Ft. Dix

[Dave1982]

From what I've been told (by my uncle, a former Lt Col in the National Guard), the nice thing about working in PX or the like is that the staff (which is mostly civilian) absolutely does not have to take any shit from their customers, because those in uniform are held to a standard of behavior whereas your everyday civilian SC isn't.

Therefore, these clerks don't hold any punches and if you are being an idiot or an ass, they will not hesitate to call you on it.

For example, he once witnessed some dumbass remove a bag of ice from the freezer, then decide partway up to the register that he no longer wanted it. Rather than put it back in the freezer, he elected to stow it in a magazine rack.

To his misfortune, he was spotted immediately by one of the clerks. She pointed at him and yelled such that EVERYONE in the store could hear and then laugh at this guy.

"DOES THAT LOOK LIKE A MAGAZINE TO YOU?!?! BECAUSE THAT DON'T LOOK LIKE A MAGAZINE TO ME!!!!! THAT LOOKS LIKE A BAG OF ICE!!!! NOW EITHER PAY FOR IT OR PUT IT BACK NOW!!!!

Rather sheepishly, the guy put the ice away.

[jerkface11]

Um since when is Fort Chaffee closed? Sure you can't go out to Potato hill but they just don't want you finding unexploded ordinance the hard way. I didn't realize there were other Fort Smith locals on here.

Oh as for the psychic paper I guess if you had that you wouldn't need gas coupons either.

[Mr Yuck]

I believe Ft. Leavenworth is the same way. I went there with my cousin's wife (cousin is a Major stationed there, but they live offbase). I just had to hand over my DL to get through the gate. But maybe that was because I was with a military spouse? We were able to walk into the PX and Comissary without showing ID, but she had to show her ID to make the purchases.

On a side note, the PX there is really nice. Clinique, Lancome, Coach, Dooney & Burke, all kinds of neat shinys. I was just .

Yeah, a noticed as well that a lot of the PX's do tend to carry some nice things.

Bramblerose.....not sure what the criteria is these days for closing a base to the public.

[Bramblerose]

You need ID to get on chaffee. Since before 2003. It's part of the reason I have my dependent card- to save hassle. Leonard Wood needed ID since 9-11. Imagine the quiet hell of a previously open base going closed. I'm not in Ft. Smith, but I am not too far off.

So how 'bout that fire last spring?

[Becks]

"DOES THAT LOOK LIKE A MAGAZINE TO YOU?!?! BECAUSE THAT DON'T LOOK LIKE A MAGAZINE TO ME!!!!! THAT LOOKS LIKE A BAG OF ICE!!!! NOW EITHER PAY FOR IT OR PUT IT BACK NOW!!!!

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaay her.

[jerkface11]

I guess it depends on the gate you're using. I haven't been to the main part of the base in years. I thought the fire was suspicious it just happened to burn down buildings that were in the developers way.

[IEatCustomers4Breakfast]

When I lived on a military base, even post-9/11, I'm pretty sure we could bring civilians into our local PX, if they signed in and we autographed a little piece of paper at the front door of the building, saying they were with us.

I say "I'm pretty sure" because I'm not positive if that was true post 9/11.

[Jack Doe]

The majority of formerly open bases have been either restricted or closed since 9-11. Those who are either restricted or open do require that visitors log in when they enter and leave the gate (barring a large event such as Shaw AFB's ShawFest,) but at events like that there are extra personnel with guns waiting for you to screw up. And just as an FYI, the level of security readiness is known as "Threat Condition" or THREATCON. 4 is business as usual, 3 leads to random screenings, 2 is everyone is searched, 1 is "Halt! Advance one and be recognized!" with weapons aimed at whoever is coming. DEFCON is Defense Condition, the war-fighting readiness state a garrison or unit at a facility or on a ship is at. Defcon-5 to Defcon-3 is normal peacetime, with 3 usually occurring during an exercise. Defcon-2 is when the threat of war is eminent or during low-intensity conflict. Defcon-1 is when major theater operations are underway.

[MoxisPilot]

To clarify to everyone who asked if maybe they were just waved through by the gate guards...no, they weren't.

My base is in Naples, Italy, and everyone must have a military ID to set foot on the grounds. We get searched with the mirror on a stick about one in every five times.

That said, they probably lived on the base. If they had, in fact, forgotten their IDs, that's probably what happened.

Most likely, the best answer is one brought up early on in the thread, which I didn't even consider: they were trying to exceed their monthly gas rations, and thought they could sweet-talk the girl at the counter by telling her they'd forgotten their IDs.

[Bramblerose]

I guess it depends on the gate you're using. I haven't been to the main part of the base in years. I thought the fire was suspicious it just happened to burn down buildings that were in the developers way.

Those building are apparently PUre Asbestos and will cost $$ to clean up. The Theory in the Nat'l Guard is someone(s) thought burning woud take care of it. WRONG! It just makes the clean up worse because now all that lovely asbestos is spread farther and wider. Idiots.

The cool part- for you pyros who didn't see the Ft. Smith news that day- is due to the winds that day, the flames were going *sideways* . Impressive in a bad way.

[bsaana]

I lived in Italy for 4 years while my wife was in the Navy. I know exactly what you are referring to for the coupons. To tell you the truth I am not surprised that anyone without a proper military ID gets into the exchange. The one we always went to almost NEVER had anyone to check IDs. It was not unexpected to see some locals shopping in the exchange and commissary, nor to see them with carts full of items. The only person I ever saw get the coupons without showing an ID gave a number, maybe his SSN but I am not sure, that they found in the system. It also always seemed that it was locals selling these coupons too.

The place we were at had "umbrella girls". Of course they sat under umbrellas but they would take these gas coupons as payment for their services. Every so often security at the front gate would get them coming up to exchange the coupons for money. I don't know what security did for the girls, but they would find out who gave these coupons out ILLEGALLY (each has a serial number that corresponds with the pack - even if they are not signed or labeled with the cars plate number) and make that person go get tested for STDs - not to mention what they might have faced under the UCMJ.

But back on topic, it seemed for the base we were at that all you needed to get into the exchange was to be able to get into the gates of the base, even if they were not always allowed to purchase anything.

Sempre domani (that seemed to be the motto for this base, because everything was always tomorrow)...

[MoxisPilot]

I lived in Italy for 4 years while my wife was in the Navy. I know exactly what you are referring to for the coupons. To tell you the truth I am not surprised that anyone without a proper military ID gets into the exchange. The one we always went to almost NEVER had anyone to check IDs. It was not unexpected to see some locals shopping in the exchange and commissary, nor to see them with carts full of items. The only person I ever saw get the coupons without showing an ID gave a number, maybe his SSN but I am not sure, that they found in the system. It also always seemed that it was locals selling these coupons too.

The place we were at had "umbrella girls". Of course they sat under umbrellas but they would take these gas coupons as payment for their services. Every so often security at the front gate would get them coming up to exchange the coupons for money. I don't know what security did for the girls, but they would find out who gave these coupons out ILLEGALLY (each has a serial number that corresponds with the pack - even if they are not signed or labeled with the cars plate number) and make that person go get tested for STDs - not to mention what they might have faced under the UCMJ.

But back on topic, it seemed for the base we were at that all you needed to get into the exchange was to be able to get into the gates of the base, even if they were not always allowed to purchase anything.

Sempre domani (that seemed to be the motto for this base, because everything was always tomorrow)...

Things have gotten a bit better than all that, but not much.

The only locals allowed in are civilians who work on the base, and the people working the NEX front door are all Americans now.

Haven't seen any "umbrella girls", but I've heard about them.

Where was your wife stationed? At the old base, I imagine, right? Agnano, I think?