Soldiers' morale is low at some bases across the country

Morale Is in Trouble at Some Army Bases. Here’s What the Service Plans to Do About It

Military.com
By Matthew Cox
February 5, 2020

The general in charge of Army installations laid out a plan that moves beyond fixing the service's housing crisis to drastically improving the quality of life at some of its most undesirable posts.

Soldiers secure equipment to their Stryker before moving out to "the box" at National Training Center in Fort Irwin, Ca on Aug 30, 2019. (U.S. Army/Sgt. Nicole Branch)

"I am working two big pilots. First, I call it the big three, enhancing quality of life at Fort Wainwright in Alaska, at Fort Irwin in California and Fort Polk in Louisiana," Gen. Gustave "Gus" Perna, commander of Army Materiel Command, told reporters Tuesday at a Defense Writers Group breakfast.

Wainwright is a strategic base on the Alaskan frontier; the other two are equally Spartan and are home to two of the Army's combat training centers: the National Training Center at Irwin and the Joint Readiness Training Center at Polk.

"We send our best leaders, at all levels, to go train our [brigade combat teams], and then they are in these installations in the desert and in places where they don't have a lot of quality-of-life stuff," Perna said.
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Two Fort Carson Soldiers killed in helicopter crash

Two Fort Carson soldiers killed in helicopter crash
KKTV 11 News
Spencer Wilson
January 20, 2018

FORT IRWIN, CA (KKTV) Fort Carson has confirmed that an Army AH64 Apache helicopter crashed about 1 a.m. Saturday during pre-deployment training operations at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California.

Two 4th Infantry Division Soldiers were on board at the time of the accident. They died in the crash. Names and service information for those soldiers are being withheld pending next-of-kin notification.
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Fort Carson Soldier Died in Training Accident

Fort Carson soldier dies after California Stryker training crash 
The soldier was a member of the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team
The Denver Post
By Jesse Paul
09/30/2015

A Fort Carson soldier died Wednesday after a California training accident last week, Army officials said, becoming the second GI from the Mountain Post to die in a Stryker armored-vehicle crash this year.

The soldier, a member of the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, was injured Sept. 24 in a Stryker rollover crash at the National Training Center, Fort Irwin, Calif.

Fort Carson officials say the soldier was taken to Riverside Community Hospital in Riverside, Calif., for treatment before his death.
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UPDATE
Fort Carson ID's soldier killed in California Stryker training crash
Staff Sgt. Christopher Popham was assigned to the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division and was injured in a Stryker rollover during training Sept. 24.

MOH Sgt. Charles Schroeter No Longer Lost Soul

Medal of Honor soldier set for reburial
The San Diego Union Tribune
By Jeanette Steele
MAY 30, 2015

Civil War-era cavalryman will be reburied at Miramar National Cemetery

Nearly a century after he died and was placed in an unmarked, communal crypt in San Diego, a Civil War-era soldier who received the Medal of Honor will be returned to his comrades-in-arms.

Sgt. Charles Schroeter will be buried at Miramar National Cemetery in July with full military honors, including a mounted Army detachment from Fort Irwin.

“We’re happy to be able to correct this mistake. It’s really important to us — even though he’s gone, he’s still a soldier,” said Kenneth Drylie, spokesman for the National Training Center at Fort Irwin.

“You never leave a fallen comrade.”

No one really knows why Schroeter, a cavalryman who bore saber scars and bullet marks from fighting Confederates and Indians, had no one willing to claim his ashes.

Throughout history, 3,493 Medals of Honor have been awarded. Of those, Morfe estimated there are still roughly 200 “lost souls” whose grave sites are unknown — like Schroeter’s until recently.
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500 Fort Irwin Soldiers March 38 Miles to Honor Veterans

SOLDIERS MARCH 38 MILES TO SPREAD HOLIDAY CHEER TO BARSTOW VETERANS
ABC 7 News
By Rob McMillan
Tuesday, December 16, 2014

BARSTOW, Calif. (KABC) -- About 500 soldiers marched 38 miles from their base in Fort Irwin to the California Veterans Home in Barstow as part of an annual tradition to spread holiday cheer to our nation's heroes.

Through rain or shine, the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment spent two days marching. When they arrived, more than 160 veterans greeted them.

"Everybody here is a veteran and to see this kind of acknowledgement is really good," Vietnam veteran Jim Wilson said.
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26 Assault sniper rifles stolen from Fort Irwin

Assault, sniper rifles stolen from Irwin
The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Jul 30, 2011 8:14:09 EDT
FORT IRWIN, Calif. — More than two dozen assault rifles have been stolen from this base, and investigators sought the public’s help as they looked to arrest suspects and recover the weapons, federal officials said Friday.

Twenty-six AK74 assault rifles and one Dragunov sniper rifle were stolen from a supply warehouse at Fort Irwin on July 15, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives says in a statement.

Some arrests have been made and one rifle has been recovered, but the agency is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to further arrests, the statement said.

“Community participation is necessary to improve the likelihood that ATF and our law enforcement partners will track down the firearms as well as the criminals who have sought to destabilize our community through illegal activity,” ATF Special Agent in Charge John A. Torres said in the statement.
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Assault sniper rifles stolen from Irwin

Autopsy: Mix of pain meds killed Irwin soldier

Autopsy: Mix of pain meds killed Irwin soldier
The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Aug 22, 2008 8:08:04 EDT

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — An autopsy of a soldier who died while training at Fort Irwin has revealed she was killed by a combination of prescription drugs she was taking for pain.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department made the finding about the accidental death of Spc. Emily T. Ort, 24, of Willis, Texas.

“There is no evidence of suicide,” the report said. “The decedent did not have a history of chronic drug abuse.”

On May 3, Ort was discovered unresponsive in her sleeping bag and was rushed to the hospital where she was pronounced dead. An autopsy was performed a few days later, but the report was not released until this week.

Ort had acetaminophen, morphine, hydrocodone and gabapentin as well as anti-anxiety drugs Valium and oxazepam in her system, the report said.

The soldier was apparently taking Vicodin and Valium for injuries she sustained during a 2007 car accident.

The night before she died, Ort told her mother that her medication was stolen and her doctor prescribed morphine and a muscle relaxer as replacements, the report said.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/08/ap_irwindeath_082208/

Spc. Emily Ort, re-enlisted for better life for son

UPDATE:
A reader pointed out that while I had the title of the post as "for daughter" it was in fact a "son" she left behind. I still have no idea how I managed to make that mistake but it looks as if other mistakes have been made on the story of this woman's life. Army Times had her last name as "Ort" on this report. Yet on the report from AP, her name is "Ortiz". Since the reader didn't manage to point out the error in the name, now I wonder what her name was. Was it Ort or Ortiz? I did a Google to see what other reports had and it looks like her last name was Ortiz since the majority of the reports had her name that way. There was a lot of mistakes on the story of this woman's passing and I am guilty of either reading too fast or typing too fast. I do apologize for this error.

While trying to make sure all their stories are achieved in one place, sometimes the magnitude of the reports blurs one into another. There are over 2,000 posts on this blog alone in less than a year. Have there been so many that few reports manage to stand out in my memory? Apparently, yes. Reporters will ask me if certain stories stand out in my mind. I can only remember a few of them that touched me deeper than all the others. That's sad. These people all had lives and people who loved them, yet I've forgotten most of their stories. There is the problem right there. Most of us have. It's also one more reason why I wanted their stories all in one place, but as of today, I haven't managed to move the older posts from my other blog, which has over 9,000 posts collected since 2005. I am far from achieving what I started out to do. That's sad too.

Autopsy done on Carson GI who died at Irwin

By Michelle Tan - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday May 7, 2008 18:29:37 EDT

Authorities have completed the autopsy on a Fort Carson, Colo., soldier who was found unconscious in her sleeping bag while at Fort Irwin, Calif., for training.

The cause of death of Spc. Emily Ort, 24, is pending, Sandy Fatland, public information officer for the San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner Department, told Army Times Wednesday.

The doctor is reviewing more medical records, and officials also are waiting for toxicology results, Fatland said. Toxicology results typically take at least four to six weeks.

Ort was found unconscious in her sleeping bag on Saturday morning, said John Wagstaffe, a Fort Irwin spokesman. She was treated on the scene and taken to Weed Army Community Hospital on post, where she was pronounced dead at 8:22 a.m., he said.

At the time of her death, Ort and her fellow soldiers had been at Fort Irwin for about two weeks to train for an upcoming deployment to Iraq. The soldiers, from 2nd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, are still at Fort Irwin’s National Training Center, Wagstaffe said. They are expected to be there until the end of next week.

A native of Willis, Texas, Ort joined the Army in 2004. She was a human intelligence collector assigned to the brigade’s Special Troops Battalion.

Ort’s remains will be flown to her hometown Friday, and the viewing and funeral are scheduled for Monday, Wagstaffe said.

A statement from Ort’s family said: “Emily was a beautiful woman with a tenacious will. She recently re-enlisted in the Army in order to continue to provide a good life for her 16-month-old son. She was spontaneous and loved spending time with her family and friends. Emily was determined to succeed in everything she undertook. Emily’s loss will be deeply felt by her friends and family for years to come. She was a loving mother, sister, daughter and a wonderful aunt.”
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/05/army_irwin_death_050708w/

Soldier found unconscious in sleeping bag dies

The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday May 6, 2008 11:19:21 EDT

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Army investigators are looking into the death of a Fort Carson soldier who died Saturday while at Fort Irwin, Calif., for training.

Spc. Emily T. Ortiz, 24, of Willis, Texas, was found unconscious in her sleeping bag in a tent-city bivouac area called the Dust Bowl, said Fort Irwin spokesman John Wagstaffe. When Ortiz didn't wake up, medics were summoned for first aid. She was pronounced dead at the hospital on post.

An autopsy was scheduled Monday to determine what killed Ortiz, a member of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division. Ortiz was in California with the 3,800-soldier unit's Special Troops Battalion as it prepares to go to Iraq later this year. She is survived by a 16-month-old child, the Army said.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/05/ap_irwindeath_050608/

Soldier found unconscious in sleeping bag dies

Soldier found unconscious in sleeping bag dies

The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday May 6, 2008 11:19:21 EDT

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Army investigators are looking into the death of a Fort Carson soldier who died Saturday while at Fort Irwin, Calif., for training.

Spc. Emily T. Ortiz, 24, of Willis, Texas, was found unconscious in her sleeping bag in a tent-city bivouac area called the Dust Bowl, said Fort Irwin spokesman John Wagstaffe. When Ortiz didn't wake up, medics were summoned for first aid. She was pronounced dead at the hospital on post.

An autopsy was scheduled Monday to determine what killed Ortiz, a member of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division. Ortiz was in California with the 3,800-soldier unit's Special Troops Battalion as it prepares to go to Iraq later this year. She is survived by a 16-month-old child, the Army said.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/05/ap_irwindeath_050608/