Welcome to Fort Lewis: where the lifestyle rewards are like no place else

Profile: Life in the Armed Forces, Dec, 2003 by Aaron Thacker

It's no secret that a happy worker is a productive worker and this trait is no different for members of today's armed forces. Quality of life is as much a concern to the soldiers who serve in the Army as it is to Americans working in the civilian sector.

Knowing this, the Army fosters programs and initiatives designed to help make the lifestyle of a soldier a happy one.

Taking the lead in this role is Fort Lewis, which won "best installation" in last year's Army Times Readers Poll. The installation was recognized for its quality of life programs for active and retired members, as well as best post overall. Make no mistake, striving for this type of an award isn't to satisfy anyone's ego. It is seen as a necessary means to an end.

"In order to attract and retain the best qualified young people, we have to offer them a lifestyle that meets their needs and expectations," said Army Sgt. Maj. J.C. Mathews, I Corps public affairs sergeant major at Fort Lewis, Wash. "They have a right to expect a good place to live and quality work conditions."

Half the battle of meeting these expectations is the salesman s mantra, "location, location, location." It isn't as hard to meet the needs when you're surrounded by the means.

"I've never lived on the West Coast before," Mathews said. "My family and I like it. It's a great adventure for us to walk outside the house everyday and look up and see Mount Rainier looming over the entire installation."

Mount Rainier is one of many mountains in the region, which facilitates outdoor recreational activities. Flanked by mountain ranges to the West and East, Mount Baker to the North and Mount Hood to the South, soldiers can get to world-class hiking, biking, snowboarding and more in as little as an hour. Also, being on the coast, there are several bodies of water within minutes. The Puget Sound fosters a variety of sports like fishing, boating and scuba diving, not to mention what the many nearby lakes and rivers offer.

Although these natural resources are close to the fort, trips like these can be a chore if you don t have equipment, anyone to go with, or if it costs too much money. However, with the help of the Directorate of Community Activities it can all be within reach.

DCA oversees a variety of Army programs designed to help military people maximize their quality of life. The first is Morale, Welfare and Recreation, which provides and cares for facilities such as recreation centers, child-care facilities, and recreational equipment and entertainment. Another is the MWR-sponsored, soldier-managed organization Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers.

"You have mountains on one side and the ocean on the other," said BOSS Representative Spc. John Reinhardt. "Get out of the barracks!"

As an infantryman of four years, Reinhardt understands it can get boring being a young soldier cooped up in the barracks during your off time. That is one reason he is such an advocate of community activities.

"We help coordinate big events," Reinhardt said. "Paintball, for instance. It can be hard to get enough people to form teams, so we get it together. Or, organizing a three- or four-day trip to go skiing at Whistler, Canada. You get a great group to go with, group discounts, you don t have to drive and MWR pays for part of the trip."

Not everything BOSS does requires big plans or money.

"Last April, with no advertising and no planning, we set up a sound system, grabbed the grill and put out beverages. Next thing you know there were about 400 people in our backyard."

But BOSS is not all about fun and games. Since military installations have a large impact on the surrounding communities, Fort Lewis soldiers make a point of being good neighbors.

"Community service is about being a representative of Fort Lewis and the Army," Reinhardt said. "It gives soldiers another chance to feel good about themselves and to interact with people outside of the Army.

"The last two years we've partnered with the American Cancer Society in the Relay for Life series. It's a nationwide event holding 29 relays in this state alone. The original relay was started here in Tacoma. Five to six thousand people walk around the track for 24 hours. We help set up, clean up; we do whatever we have to do including participate," he continued.

"We work with Northwest Equacare teaching children how to ride horses, and Fort Lewis hosts the state's Special Olympics. The amount of volunteers that weekend is unbelievable."

BOSS-sponsored events aren't exclusive to single soldiers either. Although that is who they primarily target, they encourage others to participate. "Any MWR-eligible patron can participate in BOSS events: retirees, geographical bachelors and dependents," Reinhardt said. Between a soldier's duties and all the extra activities available, it's a wonder they get any food or rest. But, soldiers being humans who need sustenance, and installations, being the mini-cities they are, offer a number of facilities to meet soldiers needs. There's a commissary, or grocery story; a post exchange, which is a department store--usually with a food court; as well as a number of MWR coffee shops, which roast their own beans, not to mention many commercial restaurants. What else could a soldier need but a place to rest his head.