Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Zane Craig | U.S. Soldiers enjoy a game of pool in the North Fort Hood recreation center at Fort...... read more read more
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FORT HOOD, Texas – As the sun sets, Soldiers wearing civilian clothes stream through the door one by one, in pairs and small groups. Many are laughing and joking together, though a close look at their faces reveals a persistent weariness.
As they file in, some set up their computers, taking advantage of the reliable, free Wi-Fi, some take a seat on a comfortable sofa and watch a movie, while some play pool or ping pong.
Every Soldier in the North Fort Hood Recreation Center here is either preparing to deploy overseas or returning home from their deployment. Thousands of Soldiers every year pass through a mobilization site where their medical and administrative readiness are validated. The process adds several weeks to each deployment and, while necessary, can lead to boredom and isolation for service members.
“We give them a place to just do stuff that they want, take their mind off every day, Army activities, and then once they're ready to head out, they're refreshed,” said Bryan Berner, recreation coordinator at the North Fort Hood recreation center.
Berner explained that as a Navy veteran, he has seen some terrible recreation centers and feels a sense of mission providing a space with plenty of activities for mobilizing and demobilizing Soldiers here.
“On Thursdays, we have trivia nights, Fridays, we have karaoke night, and Saturdays and Sundays, weather pending, we can set out Almost Golf,” he said.
The rec center also features five gaming consoles, eight TVs and a self-serve kitchen inside, with basketball, pickleball, volleyball, football and Almost Golf outside.
“You have to give the Soldiers something to do,” Berner said. “When they don't have anything to do, that's when they start making their own activities, and when trouble starts happening.”
For Christmas, Berner and his six part-time colleagues set up a hot cocoa bar, Christmas movies and a variety of games. Volunteers from the local community provided approximately 500 stockings for the Soldiers. The center also provided a “make and mail” station that allowed Soldiers to read a Christmas story, scan a QR code, put it with a postcard and mail it home, so their kids could watch them read a bedtime story on Christmas.
“It was important for us to make this place feel homey for the Soldiers,” Berner said.
For New Year’s Eve, the center shifted its hours until just after midnight so Soldiers could gather and watch the ball drop on TV and hosted games similar to those on Christmas.
“It's kind of like a spot where you can come and communicate with others, meet new people and spend time with one another,” said Sgt. Jesse Lamas, a petroleum supply specialist with the 786th Quartermaster Company, 307th Quartermaster Battalion, 364th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, U.S. Army Reserve, based in Provo, Utah.
Lamas said he has enjoyed playing pool and watching movies in the center in the approximately one week he has been here demobilizing from a deployment in the Middle East.
According to Berner, there were approximately 300 Soldiers in transit here over the Christmas and New Year holidays, with between 50 and 100 using the recreation center per day. At busier times of the year, the center can handle up to 500 Soldiers per day.
“I'm just giving them something to do, to take their minds off things, whether they're deploying or coming back from deploying, we’re just giving them a place to relax,” Berner said.
The North Fort Hood recreation center plays an important role for Soldiers mobilizing and demobilizing here. It is what in the civilian world is called a third space, not home and not the workplace. These spaces are essential to combat isolation and improve general wellbeing, especially for service members under the stress of preparing to be away from their families for months or preparing to reintegrate.
| Date Taken: | 01.03.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 01.05.2026 11:38 |
| Story ID: | 555679 |
| Location: | FORT CAVAZOS, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 34 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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Christmas
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