FORT IRWIN, Calif.-- On his first visit to Fort Irwin, Congressman Paul Cook said he was impressed at how the Fort Irwin community came together after a freak Sunday afternoon thunderstorm on Aug. 25 caused more than $100 million in flood damage to many areas of the National Training Center, including the closing of Lewis Elementary School.
"This is a very special community," Cook told a crowd of about 60 Soldiers and civilians at a town hall meeting, the first stop of his visit on Nov. 5. As a retired Marine Corps infantry officer, Cook recalled how today's military services are different from the post- Vietnam War era. "Every time you go to a combat situation, if you have a difficult situation, you worry about the right flank, the left flank. Often times, it comes from the small unit involvement. That's what it's all about. That's the other reason why I'm so passionate about the military services. When you have that morale, it's going to contribute to problem solving."
Asked about his concerns for the local economy, Cook urged his audience to focus on education. "The services, especially the Army, have great schools. Take advantage of every school you can get. It's going to prepare you to make that transition....How much does an auto mechanic make now nowadays? It's the same thing in your chosen field. Get as much education as you can."
After the town hall meeting, Cook was guided by senior Fort Irwin officials on a tour of various flood-damaged areas, where microburst from the mid-afternoon thunderstorm flooded parts of Fort Irwin with more than three inches of rain in one hour.
Cook also viewed the ongoing repairs at Lewis Elementary School, closed because of extensive wall and floor damage. The school's principal, Patricia Baer, said her school's staff and 650 kindergarteners, first and second graders are now temporarily working out of the post's two other schools, Tiefort View Intermediate School and Fort Irwin Middle School.
The Congressman's tour also included a stop at Fort Irwin's new water treatment plant that will convert the post from a two-pipe (potable and non-potable) water system to a single system providing all of Fort Irwin with potable water.
"This is great. Water is huge," said Cook, a Yucca Valley resident, who had earlier described himself at the town meeting as a "desert rat" sensitive to desert issues.
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