Fort Stewart, Ga. – On weekends, Army Pfc. Keith Smith used to drive 45 miles to Savannah to find a nightclub with hip-hop music, single women and a bar open well past midnight.
The 24-year-old would often have too much fun to make it back to the barracks.
“There’s been times I went to Savannah and had to sleep in the car because I didn’t want to get a DUI,” the New Yorker said.
But now he can do his drinking, dancing and lookin’ for love just blocks from his Fort Stewart billet, without even leaving the Army post.
Deciding too many soldiers were dying behind the wheel after partying out of town, Fort Stewart commanders spent $300,000 turning a defunct sports bar on the Army post into Rocky’s, a bar and nightclub that aims to mimic the after-hours party scene of Savannah’s hippest spots.
Knowing booze and dance tunes wouldn’t be enough, commanders also eased security restrictions at the post’s front gate to encourage civilians – namely women, who get free admission between 10 p.m. and midnight Fridays and Saturdays – to party at Rocky’s, which opened in November.
“We never want to glamorize alcohol, but we’ve got to be realistic about this,” said Col. Todd Buchs, garrison commander.
Fort Stewart has now gone more than 140 days without a traffic death.
At Rocky’s, lights above the dance floor flash to the beat of a sound system loud enough to vibrate the candlelit tabletops. The main bar area has 18 flat-panel TVs and 10 video-game kiosks that are networked so troops can play head-to-head in shootouts.
There is also a mini-theater where troops can watch DVDs on a 120-inch screen with surround-sound speakers.
