Super cool sight to see in the city of El Paso it's huge! It's located on the south side of the…read moreFranklin mountains.

The El Paso Star was first lit in 1940 and for 50 years was only lit at Christmas. It starts at…read morethe top of the mountain and goes to about 300 feet over Scenic Drive. There are over 450 light bulbs and has been lit every night since 1993. In 2007 it was finally renovated to be turned on remotely. Prior to 2007 someone had to go up and turn it on manually. The star can be seen from the East, 100 miles from the air and 30 miles from the ground. The best view is from the intersection of Texas and Alameda Avenues. If you are in El Paso after dark, you should go see it.

A Veteran's Memorial in the middle of the Pollard Street City Park. According to the plaque placed…read morethere, it was dedicated in March of 2005. Immediate memorial area provides some benches as well as a well-maintained rock garden area with flag poles. If you want to spend some quiet reflective time, this would be a good place especially during early morning when air is still cool and surrounding area is rather quiet. I was there just as the sun was coming up one morning providing some spectacular view of the sunrise (e.g., photo).

The Family Resiliency Center is an outstanding facility in Fort Bliss Main Post that offers…read moreInformation, classes, and its facilities for the better well-being of Soldiers and Families. Their staff is knowledgeable and attentive. They offer several courses for families On Military Knowledge, Soldier Family Readiness Groups "SFRG" and the VMIS program, among others. The location is kinda tricky to get to, but you will not get lost with your GPS. The Building is Beautiful and great for hosting trainings. Also, the center has a big parking lot. If you are a unit CFRR, SFRG leader, or brand new base/military life, I highly encourage you to visit this facility because they have so much to offer.

When you walk in, make sure to go to the left to grab a ticket from the kiosk. I went to transfer a…read moreTitle. They staff are very helpful and answer any questions you may have. Also the earlier you go, the better!

Its easy to get to and a clean well built building. They are from the government and they are there…read moreto help you! Parking is convenient and the lot is well maintained. Theres a WalMart nearby and restaurants and a hotel if you get too tired to make it home.

"It's A Great Day To Be A Soldier"…read more FBTX is the US ARMY's largest instillation, and a historic one. Situated directly on the border of Ciudad Juarez Mexico, this post was used for everything from border security, to tracking down the local bad guy Billy The Kid. And today, still serves as THE premier MFGI for mobilization, training and deployment of our GFMAP units deploying worldwide. FBTX stretches from its main flagpole in El Paso Texas, all the way to White Sands New Mexico (and, the military installations Dona Ana, McGregor Range Training Complex, Biggs Army Airfield, White Sands Missile Range, and a few others, all belong to FBTX and fall under the Bliss Flag. Hence being the largest installation in the world / Army). Home to THE 32 Army Air and Missile Defense Command (32 AAMDC - provides Air and Ballistic Missile Defense for every single location in the entire CENTCOM AOR, and small portions of EUCOM and NORCON), THE United States Army Sergeants Major Academy (the only one in the world), the Noncommissioned Officer Leadership Center of Excellence (the only one in the Army - NCOLoE), the 1st Armored Division (1AD), Joint Task Force North (JTF-N multi agency CIA, FBI, NSA, DEA, ATF, FAA, CDC, CBP, DHS, USA, USN, USMC, USAF), Joint Modernizations Command (JMC), 5th Armored BDE - 1st Army Division West's premier MFGI host (5AR / 1A) providing the largest OC/T mission in the Army, and a slew of other units from Special Forces to William Beaumont Army Medical Center (WBAMC), the largest and newest hospital in the entire south west - civilian and military alike. FBTX is also constantly modernizing. Those that were here 2010(ish) or sooner, will not recognize this place. The shopping center (known as freedom crossing), is state of the art and absolutely incredible. The fitness facilities, the constantly updating and improving housing (honestly in 22 years in the Army, I've yet to find nicer on-post housing), and even the restaurants! There is SO much to do and eat on FBTX. This is a great day to be a soldier, and FBTX, is a great place to be a soldier.

Fort Bliss is a great post with many military school opportunities. For the past 6 years Fort Bliss…read morehas gone through several renovations including housing. Because housing does Rock there is a long waiting list but calling at least 3 months before PCSing here and patience it is not impossible to get a home on post. Day Cares and Before and after program for kids are top of the line. The PX Rocks. The PX has BWW, Nice New Cinema, Texas Road House, Under Armor, 3 different places to get a hair cuts, bank, Orange Julius, Smash Burger, Bars, biggest class six I have seen, pretty decent clothing and sales (if it wasn't for their sucky costumer service) game stop, wide variety of other restaurants to get a quick bite to eat during lunch .. etc etc. Fort Bliss is large, it is in the corner of Texas so you must drive for hours if you want to change the scenery a bit. Soldiers and their families complaint but as humans thats what we do. Fort Bliss has an affordable golf course. The soldiers activity center in east Bliss has a rock wall, Eats Bliss also has a large indoors pool for you and the family to enjoy. Two USOs, Two libraries, plenty of green like areas yet Below are the complaints but regardless of them I have seen plenty of people getting out of the military and stay here lol - Its so Hot, During the Summer, Yes it is. - Its so dry, Of course! its the desert. - Looks just like a Afghanistan, Yes it does why do you think our training remains to be here. - The traffic lights on post take forever, Mainly on main post. - FORSCOM sucks - Of course, here and everywhere. - Its so windy during spring, this is my only legit complaint, yup.. Mid Feb to April the combination of wind and sand .. oh my, you better wash your face. - There is nothing to do, This is no tourists city but there is plenty to do in the area, specially if you are open minded, like hiking, and you are planning to drive. - The barracks suck, most barracks buildings have been renovated, many barracks in east Bliss has a large kitchen and a dinning room/living room like area. Now, if you are on main post yes your barracks will suck, but hopefully this gets fixed soon. - DFAC Food - Its not terrible. Fort Bliss and White Sands are the largest training area in the Army. Its Medical facilities need improvement, currently a new and large hospital is being built in East-east Bliss but til that opens they need improvement. Overall, With the money the DOD provides Fort Bliss is doing fine.

April 2021 I visited this Texas National Guard establishment for a two day training…read more Regardless of the road construction outside their parking lot is ample Their building is large and new. When you first come in the COVID19 measures consist of getting your temperature taken, wear sanitizer and put your name and number in a roster. The conference/classroom training area was also large and it had good lightning and sound making easier to hear and see the presentation. The restrooms were clean and well taken care of. The only thing is I did not see any coffee place or shop where to get something to drink for the training time.

I've been to the library a handful of times now and so far I've been really pleased! I set up my…read moreaccount and request for a library card online. Once it was approved, I picked it up at the library. So far I've browsed books at the library and checked them out, rented ebooks through Libby, and placed books from other branches on hold at this library. It's all been super easy! And staff has always been very friendly and helpful when I've gone it. It's a great part of the community!

The first library I ever went to in El Paso was Richard Burges Library and I pretty much thought it…read morewas the best thing ever because all I really cared about was if they had the books I wanted (which they always did and I didn't even know about the system they had in place where you can request basically any book). I never used the computers or anything like that, I was always in and then back out. Falling in love with this library can be likened to falling in love with Chili's. It's okay and certain aspects of it are more than okay, but better exists. Most of the libraries in EP have something unique about them whether it's the design of the entire building or hidden reading spots throughout. I do find the RBL a bit dull in that aspect, but by the same token it kind of reminds me of the school library from The Breakfast Club. The isles of books are pretty straightforward. Kiddie section to the far left. Information desk as soon as you walk in. Tables in the open areas. It's just simply a library. Nothing more, nothing less. This library is one of the older ones so I really do hope that they take some interest in it and make some changes that could definitely liven the place up. It's also conveniently in the same building as the police station in the NE. I don't know why that would be convenient, but in case you need to report a crime and pick up a book or two, this is your one stop shop. This library is good for the person who just wants some peace while reading or working because I have noticed the RBL is ten times quieter than any of it's sister libraries. I know all the other ones don't care if you're having a full fledged convo or if you're talking business on the phone, but I never see that at this one. Also it's all an open room so that may be why since the sound would travel through the entire place if you were yapping away on your cellphone.

I got here a little before 5 am on a Tuesday morning. Already, quite a crowd. I love the…read moreembellishments outside. They have gold or blue lights on the trees that line the sidewalk. Sculptures tastefully down leading up to the entrance. Then when you open the grand, opened area you see a larger than life draped USA flag. The TSA lines start down stairs. You don't go upstairs unless you have a boarding pass. There were lines already for regular boarding and for TSA Prescreen. I heard NO yelling. Every TSA agent that wanted to say something to someone, looked them in the eye and in a normal and respectful tone, said it. I believe that the TSA agents are a good representation of the average personality in that area. I'd like to come back. Yesterday we walked 3 miles for dinner. The roads were clean. Drivers were respectful. Everyone we spoke to was polite. Love it!

Feb 2021 Every time I have been through the El Paso International Airport TSA Checkpoint it has…read morebeen a smooth process. Yes, there will be lines, yes there will be waiting but not near as bad as many other airports. Now, yes wear a mask, keep your distance, take off your mask momentarily to show your face so it may be compared to your ID. Yes, you will have to take off your shoes, leave all your electronics and carry-on bag on a big tray for the search detector leaving you a bit vulnerable but its all good, we all who travel often do this things. We are use to it, we do them all for our own safety. Yup. The key is that El Paso International Airport TSA team makes this process faster and smoother than any other. Just follow the guidelines and you'll be fine.