Post With the Most

Fort Wainwright, Alaska

Each month here at Army Wife Network, we do a segment that highlights an Army installation. We do this so we can provide you with as much information about a post as possible. We also call on you, our loyal AWN fans, to help us compile this information and give us a personal look at what life is like at each post. Look for these spouse’s personal comments in red below.

This month we are taking a look at Fort Wainwright, Alaska. Fort Wainwright is located adjacent to Fairbanks, Alaska which is the second largest city in Alaska. Here is what you need to know about Fort Wainwright, Alaska!

GENERAL INFORMATION
Major Units/What Post is “known for” (i.e. basic training, AIT, MP Headquarters etc):

Fort Wainwright is home to the following units:

1/25^th Stryker Combat Team:
1-5 Infantry
2-8 Field Artillery
3-21 Infantry
5-1 Cavalry
D Co. 52 Infantry
25^th BSB
16^th Combat Aviation Brigade:
1^st Battalion 52^nd Aviation
6^th Squadron, 17^th Cavalry Regiment
9^th Army Band
65^th Explosive Ordinance Disposal
Network Enterprise Center
507^th Signal Company
Northern Warfare Training Center
28^th Military Police
1984^th US Army Hospital (Reserve)
125^th Finance Battalion
AK Army National Guard Det. 1, CO A 1/207 AVN Regt

Name of Surrounding Cities:
Fairbanks, Alaska
North Pole, Alaska
Fox, Alaska

Closest MAJOR City:
Fairbanks, Alaska – 10 min.
Anchorage, Alaska – Approx. 6 hours

Names of Area Colleges:
Central Texas College
University of Alaska, Fairbanks
Wayland Baptist University
Embry Riddle Aeronautical University

Weather:

“COLD! JK, The interior of Alaska is a unique area to live when it comes to weather. During the summer months (June-Aug) it’s highs will range in the 60-70 degree range. In the month of September the temps plummet. It is not uncommon for us to get snow during this month. We usually see our first snow (that actually sticks on the ground) in October and our snowiest months of the year are from Oct-Dec with the temps ranging from an average of 30 in October to an average of 4 in December. January starts the hardest time of year as far as weather goes, with an average temp of -3 but we can see an excess of -50(this past winter we saw this for a week straight). February is also cold but usually has an average of 10 degrees. March brings us the start of our “breakup season”. Alaska does not have a spring. It literally goes from 3-4 feet of snow one week and in a couple weeks all of it is gone! “
Military Spouse, Dusti Cummins

POST INFORMATION

Post Website: http://www.wainwright.army.mil/sites/local/

Map: http://www.usarak.army.mil/main/Maps/FWA_Map.pdf

Historical Facts/Landmarks on post:

You can find a history of Fort Wainwright here:

http://www.wainwright.army.mil/history/FWA_history.pdf

“Home of the First Air Corps that worked closely with Russia.”
Military Spouse, Amber Rageth

Housing:
On-Post Housing:

http://www.nhcalaska.com/

“If there is a location that a military family should strive to live in on-post housing, FWW is it. Given the extremes in temperatures during the winter, the amount of snow, the heating costs, etc, losing one’s entire BAH as a trade off to live in a safe, well-cared for neighborhood, with maintenance, landscaping, trash removal and road plowing all taken care of by North Haven Communities is well worth it.”
Military Spouse, Sorrel Cooper

Major realty/rental companies in the area:
Birchwood

Adult Education:

ARMY EDUCATION CENTER
BLDG 2110 MONTGOMERY RD
FT WAINWRIGHT AK 99703-6600
907-353-7486

Schools:

School Liaison Officer: http://www.hoodmwr.com/school_liaison_office.htm

Districts:
North Star Borough School District – http://www.k12northstar.org/

“We homeschool, because the state of Alaska gives the family an allotment for all their homeschool curriculum and activities.”
Military Spouse, Amber Rageth

Elementary Schools:
Arctic Light Elementary school (On-Post) – http://arc.k12northstar.org/
Ladd Elementary (Off-Post) – http://lad.k12northstar.org/

Middle Schools:
Tanana Middle School – http://tan.k12northstar.org/

High Schools:
Lathrop High School – http://lth.k12northstar.org/

Youth Services: http://www.ftwainwrightfmwr.com/cyss.html

Army Community Service (ACS) – http://www.ftwainwrightfmwr.com/acs.html

PX: http://www.shopmyexchange.com/ExchangeLocations/FtWainwrightStore.htm

Commissary: http://www.commissaries.com/stores/html/store.cfm?dodaac=HQCWGG

On-Post Library: Army General Libraries: http://www.ftwainwrightfmwr.com/library.html

MWR Website: http://www.ftwainwrightfmwr.com/index.html

Hospital:
Bassett Army Community Hospital – http://www.alaska.amedd.army.mil/

Spouses Clubs:
Fort Wainwright Community Spouses Club:

http://www.wainwrightcsc.org/

They also have a FaceBook Page.

Chaplain & Religious Services/Organizations:

There are two chapels on post:
Northern Lights Chapel – Protestant Services
Southern Lights Chapel – Catholic Services

OFF-POST INFORMATION

Restaurants:
The Cookie Jar
Loose Moose Café
Silver Gultch (Fox, AK)
Sam’s Sourdough Café
The Chowder House
Alaska Salmon Bake

Best place to get your hair/nails done:

Elements Salon
L.A. Nails

Shopping/malls:
Old Navy
Barnes & Noble
Walmart
Home-Depot
Fred Meyers
Sears
Lowes
Safeways
Bentley Mall (about 6-8 shops)

Hidden Gems:

“The whole state is one gem. If you like the outdoors or seeing untouched land and animals this is the place to live. There is plenty of hunting, fishing, camping and winter sports available that you won’t get anywhere else!”
Military Spouse, Dusti Cummins

Must Do:

Visit North Pole City – decorated year round for Christmas
Riverboat Discovery
International Ice Art Championships
Berry-Picking
Hockey Games
Camping
Rafting

IMPORTANT FORT WAINWRIGHT LINKS

Fort Wainwright MWR FaceBook page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/FMWR-Ft-Wainwright/46212313962

THOUGHTS FROM SPOUSES:

“Sunlight is not always a given here. During the winter months we go down to 3-4 hours of sunlight a day, culminating in the shortest day of the year on December 21. After this date we start gaining 17 minutes of sunlight a day until we pretty much have sunshine around the clock on June 21. And then the reverse occurs. Often time the summer seems like one long day because the sun doesn’t actually set again until August. But having the darkness in winter can be blessing around Christmas time as everyone just leaves their Christmas lights on around the clock and it truly is a winter wonderland.”
Military Spouse, Dusti Cummins

“It is just a great area. We enjoy hockey games in the winter, camping and berry picking in the summer, and just love this area.”
Military Spouse, Amber Rageth

THANK YOU

Army Wife Network would like to thank the following spouses for their help in creating this Post With the Most segment:

Dusti Cummins              Amber Rageth                  Sorrel Cooper

If you have something to add about Fort Wainwright, please feel free to add your comments below! ” J”

Post with the Most - Fort Wainwright, Alaska, 5.5 out of 10 based on 2 ratings

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This entry was posted on Monday, August 20th, 2012 at 8:45 pm and is filed under Post With The Most, Relocation/PCS. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.