So many changes on this post...

I can't wait until things settle out from this whole Freedom Crossing opening thing. Apparently there are a lot of civilians on post, and people are claiming that ID checks are not happening in the military-only portions of post (PX, Commissary, etc), and everyone is complaining profusely about what things cost now.

Partially, I understand. If I lived on post... or ever really went on post, I would be kind of pissed if I found a bunch of locals in the Commissary, picking over the stuff that's already picked over as it is after a few hours of military customers. They need to enforce ID checks. That is absolutely imperative. Now, as far as the cost of stuff, cry me a river. So they opened a giant 10 screen movie theater on post, which will show first-run movies. It replaced the standard crappy one-screen AAFES theater which shows movies that are about to come out on DVD anyhow. The old theater cost $1. The new one costs like $5. Mind you, $5 is still way cheaper than it is to see first-run movies off post. I people can't afford that, there are a couple theaters in town that have $2 movies that are old, just like what used to be shown at the old AAFES theater. They're not hard to find either. One is walking distance from our house.

I guess it's just annoying how people keep complaining about how "low ranking families with four children can no longer afford to go to the movies". I've said it 1000 times, and so have other wives, but whose fault is it if you choose to have a bunch of children with a man who does not have enough rank to give you a decent lifestyle? It is surely not the Garrison Commander's, the Post Commander's, the AAFES manager's, or the Mayor's. Hell, it isn't anyone's but yours. Why can't the rest of us have something nice?

I've had the experience of both styles of theater. On most of the posts I've been to, we had the old $1 AAFES theater, which was cheap, but if you didn't like the movie, you were screwed, and then once you saw the movie, you had to wait weeks before they'd show anything else. I was at one post that had a lovely 6-screen movie theater. It cost about $3 per soldier (this was 8 years ago), and they had first-run movies, six to choose from! It was great! It was walking distance from my barracks, I could go every day if I wanted, it was still cheaper than off post, and it was really nice just like a civilian theater. I preferred the big theater, and that is based on experiencing both types as a lower-enlisted soldier. Sure, maybe you can't go to the movies every single day if it's more expensive, but at the old $1 theater, would you even want to anyhow? Give these changes a chance, and remember that a lot of people do not have a million kids and a lower-enlisted paycheck. For single soldiers (who comprise fully 50% of the Army!!), and families with enough rank behind them to afford a half decent lifestyle, this big theater is a great thing.

I'll just be glad when all these changes have a chance to settle out, when all the people who just can't tolerate it find orders out of here, and they're replaced by new people who don't know this post to be any way but the way it is now, and when those who are left start to see the new changes as normal. I'm so tired of hearing how evil it is to have civilians on post. We have always had civilians on post. I'm so tired of hearing how things are no longer affordable to low ranking families. Get more rank. It's just time for people to accept the decisions made by our Command Group, and just roll with it. They live on post, too. If this were all that bad, they'd never have done it.

Of course, I also have had the fleeting thought to go on post at least once a week when Thak gets out of the Army, just so the ones who are so against it have to look at one more non-ID-Card-holder. I probably won't do it, though... I hate crowds, and main post is so far out of my way anyhow...