PCSing to Ft. Carson?

I can't tell you a lot about the Army post (except that it's BIG), but I can tell you about Colorado Springs. It's a medium-sized city - about 500,000 or so. It's just into the foothills of the Rockies, sitting at about 6200 feet in elevation. It's a very conservative town, with not only Ft. Carson, but also Peterson AFB and the USAF Academy; in addition, quite a number of very conservative religious groups are either based there, or have a considerable following there.

Colorado Springs is very dry; it's on the western edge of the Great Plains, on what Colorado residents refer to as the "Front Range" of the Rockies. Lots of people need humidifiers in their homes in winter. It doesn't snow a lot, but it can get VERY cold - 10 or 20 degrees below zero on occasion; there are also blizzard winds that come in from the plains. However, it's also sunny about 300 days out of the year, and it's not windy very often, so it's almost always possible to go out in a decent jacket and be perfectly comfortable. The altitude definitely required some acclimation, especially given the dry air (that causes problems for the lungs in some people). Lots of people have headaches for a while when they get there; Sinutabs non-drowsy helps with those for most people. The AF Academy always seems to have one or two cadets each year that collapse due to severe pulmonary edema when they arrive, so if you're not used to being at LEAST a mile high, take it easy for a few days, and get medical attention if you have ANY sort of breathing problems. Pushing fluids helps a lot of people acclimate; drink lots of water any time you go into the Rockies, too; stay away from carbonated drinks for a few days after you get there. You'll hit your first acclimation "milestone" at about six months (women acclimate a little faster due to greater lung capacity); by 18 months, you will have actually grown more lung tissue, and probably won't even notice the difference any more.

Colorado Springs is very family-oriented, and there is a lot to do for families; the spots that are well-known to tourists are open most of the year. Pike's Peak and the railroad that goes to the top of it (14,110 feet) are favorite destinations. You can be in a national forest within about 90 minutes when you head west. You're also close to Denver, the Great Sand Dunes National Monument, Gunnison National Monument, and Rocky Mountain National Park. It's not as close as you might imagine to skiing, but it's not terribly far away, either. Military families get good discounts on lots of things in Colorado Springs, so that may help you a bit.

I wish I could tell you more about the post, but I'm not a member of the military; as chance would have it, though, I've lived near several, including Fort Hood in Texas, and Fort Lewis in Washington state, and Fort Carson seems to be pretty similar to others from all that I've been able to gather.

It's a pretty nice place to live, all in all. I hated to leave the Rockies, but I like Washington too. Have a safe trip home!

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Fort Carson is so awesome. Was their from 2000-2003. There is plenty to do right in Colorado Springs. The scenery is so pretty. The altitude does take a bit to get used to but isn't that bad. Academy Avenue is the main road and it is really easy to find anything. Eventually you will end up on Academy sooner or later. The barrack for my unit wasn't that bad but I didn't live in them. You can check out www.onestop.army.mi and look up Ft. Carson. Good luck and enjoy the mountain post.

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RE:

PCSing to Ft. Carson?

I'm scheduled to PCS to Ft. Carson and just wanted to know what it's like over there. I'm a single E-5 w/ no family. Anyway, so far I only know that the high altitude high (but I can manage, I'm currently stationed in Germany), the winters are cold, and that in-processing is like...

I was an army brat whose parents moved from Heidelberg (in 92) to Fort Carson and then they retired there, so I visit the town (and Fort Carson) frequently. The base actually borders the southern edge of Colo Sprgs but that area of town is mostly hotels/convention centers. Most of the town businesses do support the military - there are lots of discounts for servicemen. Academy is the main street as previously posted and there is a lot to do. CS has about 500k people and has lots of bars/nightclubs. If you prefer sporting activities, the US Olympic Center is there, so there are lots of opportunities for that as well. There are lots of ski trips and I know the base sponsors white water rafting and other outdoor activities for troops as well. The town has a minor league baseball team (Sky Sox) and Denver is 90 mins away from Fort Carson if you want to see NFL/NBA/NHL/MLB.

Yes, it gets cold in the winter and there is some snow. Most people acclimate to the elevation within 4-8 weeks, but it is a very dry climate as well, so if you are prone to nosebleeds or dry skin, etc, you may need a humidifier. I find that bothers people new to the area more than the temperatures or elevation.

The previous post seems like a great idea to check out the condition of the barracks...not being a soldier, I can only tell you they look well kept from the outside. The commissary and PX are large as to be expected for a base of that size.

Thank you for what you do! May God keep your beer cold, your lovers hot, and your (self-edit) in one piece.

Ft. Carson, Colorado, Colorado Springs. Last time I was there was in 1976. They had just built new barracks and everything was in quads. Each Battalion had a quad and a club of its own. Don't know about in processing, but Colorado Springs and the outlying areas are pretty cool. Valley of the Gods, Cripple Creek, Pikes Peak hill climb, Manitou Springs, the skiing.

Yeah it gets cold. When you go to the field at Ft. Carson, we called it "going down range". I enjoyed my tour there. Back then the 4th Inf. Div (mech) was there. I hated Mech Inf. That is why I went to jump school, ranger school and stayed Airborne or Light Inf. the rest of my career.

Take advantage of it. It used to be a nice post, with lots of things to do.

Let me know if the Pepermint Lounge is still down on Nevada Ave.

Well I'm not sure what the barracks are like but I am currently living on Peterson AFB in colorado springs... about 20 minutes away from Ft. Carson. I delivered my first son there at the hospital and it was pretty decent. I will tell you what I've experienced so far. the altitude can get a little annoying (headaches, ears pop if you travel a lot back and forth from here) the winters are really not bad (I'm from Vermont originally and trust me, in VT its probably -25 every single day there in the winter.) It seems to snow here one day and the next it's sunny and the snow is melting. There is a lot to do here. You can climb pikes peak, go to cave of the winds, go to denver ( i love it up there), um... there's more, i'm just having serious pregnancy brain righ now. I hope that helps a little bit.

where in Germany are you station at? Ok, from what I have heard from other soldiers who was station at Ft. Carson they all like it. Beside the amount of snow that falls there in the winter. The base is nice and you're about 20 or so miles from the big city.