Fort Bliss

I am not a soldier or a nurse - yet...I start a 2nd degree program at UTEP in May - but I was married to a soldier here and am very familiar with Fort Bliss and El Paso. Do you have any specific questions?

Hello Rachie and thank you for responding!

Gosh, well I haven't yet found an apartment. Hope to do that in between in processing (smile). I guess my biggest question is: I do not own a car, but I will have my bicycle, and I have been looking at apartments that vary from 5 to 10 miles outside the base. How is the terrain? Hilly, flat? And looking at the map my goodness Fort Bliss seems huge! I already checked out the climate so no surprises there.

Hey, good luck with your course work! And once again, thank you!

athena

Oy, athena. You might want to google El Paso, TX. We are 3500 feet above sea level and very mountainous!!!! I fear for you and your bike! Ft. Bliss is located in the NE side of El Paso, and is buffeted to the west by an enormous mountain range, which runs alongside Hwy 54. Ft. Bliss is sort of bordered by I-10 to the south, and Montana Ave (6 lane major, major street) to the east. There are apartment complexes close enough to bike - mainly on the east side - but you might find it really hard to get around post and El Paso without a car. Come to think of it, I am not certain you would be allowed to ride your bike on post - I don't recall ever seeing bicyclists on post. Motorcycles, yes.

Are you a nurse? Which part of post will you be working at? I can recommend some apartment complexes that are outside the Bliss back gate which might work for you. If you need me to recommend them, let me know.

RachieH:

Gasp, when I saw that you responded with "Oy" my heart sank a wee bit. I guess I had better call and see if I am allowed my bicycle on post! Yikes.

I have been in contact with five rental places. Saw some nice rental apartments, one just one mile down the road from Fort Bliss not sure which gate.

I would so appreciate any information on apartment rentals that you may have.

Thank's so much for your reponse!

athena

I'm a nursing student (not military, but considereing it AFTER my BSN) at the University here and I gotta welcome you. This town is EXTREMELY friendly/family orientated. Almost every outta towner (including my California born self) I've met says it's a nice place. It is nice, but to me a little boring for my 26 year old lifestyle. Anyways, I'll look into some apartments for ya when I finish my finals the first week of May. As for not having a car, it will be a bit tedious. This town has no real mass transportation system for being well over a half a million people other than the Metro Bus. But Fort bliss is I'd say, in good locale. You'd be considered Northeast but more like Central/Eastside. But I'm positive you can get by with Fort Bliss alone. The place is massive!!! Oh, and the Cielo Vista Mall is just maybe 2-3 miles away from Ft. Bliss. Again, you're in a prime spot considering your car situation. Hope you like it here.

P.S. you may wanna try getting some Spanish down. Alot of nonmilitary primarily speak spanish (Border Town) but they plus side is you get AWESOME authentic Mexican food!!

Howdy! See I am learning to speak "Texan" Smile....

THank you one and all for your responses. I have been in -processing here at Fort Bliss for two days, Monday will be day number 3. I have walked my little rear off and I now can make it to William Beaumont Army Medical Center in under 1.5 hours....I can not wait for my bicycle to get here!

Yes, bicycles are allowed on post, as a matter-of-fact I have to register the darn thing once it arrives! (I couldn't for the life of me remember the make, I just remember it is bright yellow, hahaha)

And on one of those days when I walked up to WBAMC I saw a few apartment complexes... IN fact I have an appointment for tomorrow (Monday) to go check it out and hopefully sign a lease (the complex is on Alabama which means I could literally roll out of bed and down the block to the front gate of WBAMC)

SO far, so good. I am diggin' Texas. Haven't really gone out to sample the local food (Tex-Mex or the BBQ) but once I am settled I plan on going up and down Dyer. The post PX and Commissary are god sends especially when I need some real fruit.

Okay, once again I thank everyone [Cowboy Thug, RachieH) for your help and support

Bye for now,

athena

Holy God. You WALKED to WBAMC from Bliss???? God bless you. You couldn't pay me enough to walk that - it's uphill! And you had to cross Dyer to do it!

High Point is the complex you saw up at WBAMC on Alabama - it's nice. Definitely check it out. And welcome to El Paso.

RachieH:

You made me smile with your remark about waking to WBAMC. Haha, I like to walk, actually. (read "walk" not "hump"). Got the 2.5 mile route all figured out. Oh and remember it is downhill to the base, and a "gentle incline" on the way back, hahaha. On my days off I actually walk to Fort Bliss, buy what I need from the PX/Commisary and hump, err, walk back to my apartment which is right on Alabama and like I posted before I can roll right out of bed and down the road to the entrance of WBAMC.

Right now (10 May) I am still awaiting the arrival of my property from NYC. At least I got the computer hooked up and I brought one of those sand chairs so at least I have something to sit on. Gotta hand it to the Japanese with the sleeping on a thin mat thing. Not that bad although when my cot finally arrives I probably will sleep on that rather than the floor, haha Also can't wait for the arrival of a few pots and pans and my beloved microwave machine. I am starting to really, really hate baloney sandwiches and straight out of the can Chief-Boy-Ar-Dee....{{ I really dig those MRE's, what I wouldn't give for a #11 or a #21, Sigh...}}

Have a wonderful, peaceful Mothers Day.

Stay Safe!

athena

Dear Athena,

How do you like WBAMC? Besides your hospital, DDEAMC and WRAMC are also in the offering to me for completing my nurse residency (I'm a new grad at age 42). I will be attending OBLC in August and would like to know how you came to choose WBAMC over other choices that might have been offered to you?

Thank you, CNelson

Hello cnelson2

Well, I actually asked for Landstuhl, WRAMC and BAMC as my first, second and third choice....And I ended up here at WBAMC. You know the saying...."The Needs of the Army..." I am not complaining as El Paso is very beautiful, a very friendly city. But I am not used to the quick heat, the dry winds and the dust (did I mention the HEAT? Everyone tells me "But it is a dry heat" vs a humid heat, I guess and I reply, yeah, dry heat, so is my oven!) WBAMC is located at the foot of the Franklin Mountain Range and is about 3 miles from post (Fort Bliss) No BOQ on base so I have an apartment off-base, but I am so close to the Hospital.

Sorry, I digress. I am STILL in-processing here at Beaumont which should take me about five days, or so I am told. In-processing at Fort Bliss took me about ten days, sigh. BUT, but so far I am very happy. I like the attitude of everyone I have met, so far. You will find -- speaking only for the Army and the Active side of the house -- more of a team spirit in the military vs working in the civilian world

Another member of this Military Forum (Gen) could speak to you in more detail about what to expect after your OBLC experience

Gee, August will be here before you know it!

Welcome to the ANC! Hooah!

athena

Athena,

Thank you for your reply. I am happy and eager to begin nursing with colleagues who have this team spirit; I've heard of this from other nurses. I didn't know in-processing took longer than one day. Are you actually doing something everyday, or is it just waiting on paperwork to be processed? Also, did you find the officer handbook to be helpful for passing any exams you needed to take in OBLC? Glad to hear El Paso is a nice place to live. I will be able to choose my PCS tomorrow when HR calls me back.

cnelson

CNelson:

Yeah, in-processing takes more than a few days. I was told, here at Fort Bliss, that initial in-processing can take up to ten days and I was told that most complete it within that time frame. I consider In-Processing a sort of scavenger hunt, if you will. You are given paperwork and you will go through the different HR offices and get the paperwork stamped, proof that you went to a particular department like Finance, DEERS, etc.

Then on to whichever Army Medical Center you are attached to: Same thing. Paperwork that has to be stamped with each specific department. One thing doing all this running around is good for.....It helped me orientated my way around WBAMC, that's for sure But then again, some days I felt like

I did read through the Office Handbook prior to my going to OBC, and it really didn't help with the subject matter. I think it is a good idea that OBLC is actually longer cuz when I went I felt very much overloaded with the amount of "stuff" we had to read and memorize for the midterm and final! Plus I felt shortchanged when it came to doing practical, clinical medical/nursing stuff. Didn't do enough because of the limited time we had in the field (Camp Bullis) and we had lots of warrior tasks to complete.... Oh, get a hold of a copy of the Soldier's Manual of Common Tasks: Warrior Skills Level 1 (Oct 2006) if you can. I believe you will get a copy when you get to OBLC but if you can get a hold of a copy read it. It will prepare you for what you will learn and experience while at OBLC.

Being at OBC was a great time, for me. Met and made friends and learned ALOT about myself. Warrior Pride! Train to Save!

athena