Fort Johnson

Fort Polk is where soldiers go to train at JRTC and question every decision that led to this moment, including being born, enlisting, and that one time they didn't say 'no preference' on their dream sheet. Leesville, Louisiana has a pawn shop, a Church's Chicken, and dreams that died in the humidity — the town is what happens when a military installation is the only economic engine and everyone knows it. The swamps are full of things that want to eat you (alligators, snakes, mosquitoes the size of small birds), and the OPFOR — the legendary Geronimo — is full of permanent-party soldiers who have turned ruining rotational units' career evaluations into an art form. They know the terrain like their own barracks, they fight dirty, and they enjoy it. Every veteran has a Fort Polk story and not a single one is happy — the tales range from 'I got trench foot in July' to 'the MRE heater attracted a copperhead into my fighting position.' The crawfish is cheap because it has to be — it's the only thing keeping the local economy and soldier morale from complete collapse. Shreveport is 2.5 hours north. That's considered 'close.' The Kisatchie National Forest is beautiful in a way that seems cruel given the context.