If he s just joining, the Army will send him to his next school and duty station. You can request the west coast but, it all goes on the Army s needs, not your wants. My daughter just moved from Ft Ord / Monterrey to Fayetteville so she would have better knowledge. Personally, any base is what you make of it. As retired Navy, I ve lived all up and down the East coast, including 2 years at Ft Bragg as a civilian employee. Here s a link to Ft Irwin:http://www.irwin.army.mil/Pages/default.��
Hi Jennifer,Ft. Irwin is the National Training Center (NTC) of the U.S Military. It s out in the dessert pretty much in the middle of nowhere. It s closest town/city is Barstow, California. And I really don t think there is much to do there at all. From there you re just about in the middle point between Las Vegas Nevada (east) and Los Angeles California (west), about 2 to 2-1/2 hours each way. But the Nevada state line is closer to Ft. Irwin then both of those cities. There s a few Casinos there if you like to gamble. One of those casinos is called Buffalo Bill s, they ve got a roller coaster and a water ride, and there s also some video arcade games. There s also a buffet... If being out in the middle of the dessert sounds good for you and your children, then Ft. Irwin is for you... Good luck!!!