{"id":8149,"date":"2006-08-08T13:25:18","date_gmt":"2006-08-08T17:25:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com\/archives\/8149.html"},"modified":"2006-08-08T13:25:18","modified_gmt":"2006-08-08T17:25:18","slug":"lets-bring-the-kids-to-army-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/lets-bring-the-kids-to-army-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Let’s bring the kids to ‘Army World’?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I know kids frequently like to play with toy guns and war-themed video games, but there’s something about an Army theme-park<\/a> that seems over the top. (thanks to reader T.L. for the tip)<\/p>\n

The Army is considering a proposal to allow a private developer to build a military-themed park that would include Cobra Gunship rides and bars including a “1st Division Lounge.” […]<\/p>\n

Universal City Property Management III, of Orlando, Florida, submitted the unsolicited proposal for the theme park last year.<\/p>\n

“You can command the latest M-1 tank, feel the rush of a paratrooper freefall, fly a Cobra Gunship or defend your B-17 as a waist gunner,” according to the proposal, which was obtained by The Washington Post.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Nothing like brining the kids out for a day at the theme-park — where they can experience basic training.<\/p>\n

According the WaPo, the Florida developer has faced some fierce opposition from local officials. But as it turns out, the decision isn’t exactly up to them<\/a>.
\n<\/p>\n

Fairfax officials, who have no say over the Army’s decision because the site is federal property, said they are worried about an entertainment complex’s impact on traffic.<\/p>\n

Supervisor T. Dana Kauffman (D-Lee) was so upset after hearing about the Universal City proposal last year that he threw company representatives out of his office. He said he had no interest in turning a military history museum into “Disney on Rolling Road.” After the meeting, he said, he thought the entertainment concept for the Army museum was dead.<\/p>\n

But last week, the Army told Kauffman and other Fairfax officials that it intended to move the [new Army] museum from the Fort Belvoir entrance to the Engineer Proving Ground a few miles from the post because it needs to increase the size of the complex from 75 acres to 125, which Kauffman said is a prelude to an entertainment complex.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

An Army spokesman, in response to written questions, said the Army is studying what it calls “a visitor destination concept” for the museum but did not elaborate.<\/p>\n

I know Fairfax County, Va., and there’s simply no way the area can absorb an estimated 3 million visitors a year, which is what developers estimate for the Army theme-park.<\/p>\n

But there’s also the question of taste. Particularly in a time of war, combat is a serious matter, not an amusement-park simulation. Those who are brave enough to wear the uniform and put their lives on the line aren’t characters in some kind children’s entertainment show.<\/p>\n

I’m no expert, but theme-parks are about amusement, leisure, and fantasy. Is it me, or does military service not fit in with this description at all?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I know kids frequently like to play with toy guns and war-themed video games, but there’s something about an Army theme-park that seems over the top. (thanks to reader T.L. for the tip) The Army is considering a proposal to allow a private developer to build a military-themed park that would include Cobra Gunship rides […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[617],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8149"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8149\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}