thedrifter
08-03-09, 11:57 AM
Military officers' clubs near extinction
By Larry Copeland, USA TODAY
FORT BENNING, Ga. — This sprawling Army installation, where generations of infantry soldiers have come to train, boasts an Internet cafe, a brew pub sporting pool tables and big-screen televisions, and six gymnasiums. It even has the area's only do-it-yourself dog wash. People bring Fido, place him on a platform and give him a flea-ridding scrubbing.
What Fort Benning does not have is an officers' club, a place where historically those with the rank of lieutenant and above could rub shoulders, break bread and drink with other officers.
This storied military post, which covers about 280 square miles near Columbus, reflects a trend: Officers' clubs — along with clubs for non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel — are disappearing.
Just seven officers' clubs remain on Army installations in the USA — down from about 100 in the late 1970s. The Marine Corps, which boasted dozens of officers' clubs in the mid-1980s, has 10 left. The Air Force has nine, down from 27 in 2003, and the Navy is down to 20. Clubs are nearing extinction because of changing demographics of today's armed forces; what the military calls the "deglamorization" of alcohol; economic realities; cultural shifts; and the availability of wider dining choices nearby.
'Alcohol deglamorization'
"There's been a bit of a cultural shift in the Army that's gone away from a membership club where you pay your dues to belong to it. There is a lot of focus in today's Army on programs that meet family needs," says Alvin Gelineau, civilian director of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation, overseeing Fort Benning's non-duty functions.
"The military demographics have changed," he says. "A lot of these youngsters that are coming into the Army now are already married. The important things to them are child care, libraries, activities for the family when the spouse is deployed."
"Alcohol deglamorization in the late '80s started the decline," says Carol Garland, head of the Marine Corps' Food and Hospitality, Personal and Family Readiness Division. "(Congressionally) appropriated funds to support the operation of clubs, including managers, were greatly reduced. Without appropriated funds, clubs had to be self-supporting businesses."
She says base closures, unit realignments and the demands of family life also reduced the number. "Finally, competition, both on and off base, from quick-service and casual-dining establishments has greatly increased … and impacted the use of clubs," Garland says.
At Navy installations, economics have prompted a shift toward clubs that welcome sailors of all ranks, says Lt.(j.g.) Laura Stegherr, a Navy spokeswoman.
The officers' club at the Army's Fort Bliss in Texas will close Sept. 3 after a 90-year run, says Mark Cauthers, civilian director of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation at Fort Bliss.
The club will be converted into a Family Readiness Center, which will offer child care, a video teleconference center and other services.
Clubs began as a way to offer benefits and prestige to often low-paid officers, says Geoffrey Wawro, director of the Military History Center at the University of North Texas. "The officers' club was a place where officers could meet socially. It gave them a certain cachet and standing they might lack in society."
Tapping troops' requests
Some mourn the clubs' passing. In the May issue of Marine Corps Gazette magazine, Lt. Col. Glen Butler traced the demise of officers' clubs to the 1991 Tailhook scandal, in which Navy pilots were accused of sexually abusing female officers at a convention in Las Vegas.
"Shocked and embarrassed by the incident, the Navy and Marine Corps moved to lay the foundation for dramatic, comprehensive changes that would ultimately shape the Services' cultural fabric of 2009," he wrote. "Many of the changes were positive and overdue; however, (some) have undoubtedly caused negative impact to today's Marines, sailors and families. The death of the O'Club is one example."
Gelineau says the Army regularly surveys soldiers and their families on what kinds of services they want. A recent survey found that "they're looking for kind of what you find off the installation. I don't recall seeing a need for a club, where you pay dues."
The Fort Benning dog wash grew out of such a survey. "Many of the families here live in small units," says Fort Benning spokeswoman Elsie Jackson. "If they have a big dog, it can really get the place messy."
"It was what the families wanted," she says. "We have a saying here — when a soldier's family is happy, a soldier is happy."
The Java Café also grew out of the survey. On a recent afternoon, a civilian couple and a handful of uniformed soldiers sit sipping coffee and listening to rock music.
"I think it's great," says Spc. John Lilienthal, 39, of Healdsburg, Calif., who just completed nine weeks of basic training. "It's just like what you would find in civilian life."
Ellie
Ellie
By Larry Copeland, USA TODAY
FORT BENNING, Ga. — This sprawling Army installation, where generations of infantry soldiers have come to train, boasts an Internet cafe, a brew pub sporting pool tables and big-screen televisions, and six gymnasiums. It even has the area's only do-it-yourself dog wash. People bring Fido, place him on a platform and give him a flea-ridding scrubbing.
What Fort Benning does not have is an officers' club, a place where historically those with the rank of lieutenant and above could rub shoulders, break bread and drink with other officers.
This storied military post, which covers about 280 square miles near Columbus, reflects a trend: Officers' clubs — along with clubs for non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel — are disappearing.
Just seven officers' clubs remain on Army installations in the USA — down from about 100 in the late 1970s. The Marine Corps, which boasted dozens of officers' clubs in the mid-1980s, has 10 left. The Air Force has nine, down from 27 in 2003, and the Navy is down to 20. Clubs are nearing extinction because of changing demographics of today's armed forces; what the military calls the "deglamorization" of alcohol; economic realities; cultural shifts; and the availability of wider dining choices nearby.
'Alcohol deglamorization'
"There's been a bit of a cultural shift in the Army that's gone away from a membership club where you pay your dues to belong to it. There is a lot of focus in today's Army on programs that meet family needs," says Alvin Gelineau, civilian director of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation, overseeing Fort Benning's non-duty functions.
"The military demographics have changed," he says. "A lot of these youngsters that are coming into the Army now are already married. The important things to them are child care, libraries, activities for the family when the spouse is deployed."
"Alcohol deglamorization in the late '80s started the decline," says Carol Garland, head of the Marine Corps' Food and Hospitality, Personal and Family Readiness Division. "(Congressionally) appropriated funds to support the operation of clubs, including managers, were greatly reduced. Without appropriated funds, clubs had to be self-supporting businesses."
She says base closures, unit realignments and the demands of family life also reduced the number. "Finally, competition, both on and off base, from quick-service and casual-dining establishments has greatly increased … and impacted the use of clubs," Garland says.
At Navy installations, economics have prompted a shift toward clubs that welcome sailors of all ranks, says Lt.(j.g.) Laura Stegherr, a Navy spokeswoman.
The officers' club at the Army's Fort Bliss in Texas will close Sept. 3 after a 90-year run, says Mark Cauthers, civilian director of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation at Fort Bliss.
The club will be converted into a Family Readiness Center, which will offer child care, a video teleconference center and other services.
Clubs began as a way to offer benefits and prestige to often low-paid officers, says Geoffrey Wawro, director of the Military History Center at the University of North Texas. "The officers' club was a place where officers could meet socially. It gave them a certain cachet and standing they might lack in society."
Tapping troops' requests
Some mourn the clubs' passing. In the May issue of Marine Corps Gazette magazine, Lt. Col. Glen Butler traced the demise of officers' clubs to the 1991 Tailhook scandal, in which Navy pilots were accused of sexually abusing female officers at a convention in Las Vegas.
"Shocked and embarrassed by the incident, the Navy and Marine Corps moved to lay the foundation for dramatic, comprehensive changes that would ultimately shape the Services' cultural fabric of 2009," he wrote. "Many of the changes were positive and overdue; however, (some) have undoubtedly caused negative impact to today's Marines, sailors and families. The death of the O'Club is one example."
Gelineau says the Army regularly surveys soldiers and their families on what kinds of services they want. A recent survey found that "they're looking for kind of what you find off the installation. I don't recall seeing a need for a club, where you pay dues."
The Fort Benning dog wash grew out of such a survey. "Many of the families here live in small units," says Fort Benning spokeswoman Elsie Jackson. "If they have a big dog, it can really get the place messy."
"It was what the families wanted," she says. "We have a saying here — when a soldier's family is happy, a soldier is happy."
The Java Café also grew out of the survey. On a recent afternoon, a civilian couple and a handful of uniformed soldiers sit sipping coffee and listening to rock music.
"I think it's great," says Spc. John Lilienthal, 39, of Healdsburg, Calif., who just completed nine weeks of basic training. "It's just like what you would find in civilian life."
Ellie
Ellie