I hate to give this rating because I am a supporter of our military and especially appreciate what they do for us all and this complaint, as it will become, is not all on Camp Pendleton, but also on The Paintball Park which resides in the confines of Camp Pendleton.
My wife booked a paintball party for my 9 year old with The Paintball Park plus 10 guests.. We received very specific instructions that we both had to go to the Visitors Center and bring two forms of ID (license not acceptable but Real ID is).
I decided to go there today and as I arrived, it appeared the visitors center was closed. I went inside one of the military buildings and I inquired about it. We were told to go to the other visitors center, about 8 miles away and that they would take care of us. Several people were walking in as we were walking out with the same questions. Apparently this visitors center got flooded.
We drove up to the next center and were allowed in by the armed military staff. We then went to the center and stood in line for approx. 15 minutes. W entered and explained why we were there, to obtain a day pass and had all of our documentation. We were told abruptly and unemotionally by the desk clerk, we don't offer day passes to The Paintball Park or any other recreational activities on the base. There was no offer of an explanation, but since we paid for it already, I asked if they would explain why. Another gentleman stepped in and said that they didn't have to staff to handle the requests and that this moratorium on day passes would be indefinite.
So here is my complaint and please take with a grain of salt: If the base knew this for a week, why wasn't this information shared and communicated with the South entrance so that they could let people (civilians) know not to drive another 8 miles and wait another 15-20 minutes to only be told what could have been said at the other end? Why wouldn't they also put up a sign outside the door as to alleviate unnecessary questions? Why was this not communicated with The Paintball Park? I called them and they were not aware.
Additionally, if you are going to tell me that you don't have enough staff, but I am standing at the desk with my credentials, how long does it actually take to look at my credentials and give me a day pass? Is it really a herculean effort? Don't you also have 48,000 personnel on base who might be able to help with the onslaught of visitors (sarcasm)? Lastly, (more sarcasm) did the number of visitors change or is there just one less modified building available? What exactly is so difficult, to handle?
Anyhow, I got this off my chest and I thank every service woman and man for their service. All of this could have been avoided with proper communication between gates/ visitor centers and a business on base, such as The Paitnball Park. read more