Washington City Paper: Contents for Apr. 5

Exiled on Main Street
The only town in the U.S. surrounded by a military base, Quantico is a Jarhead’s paradise of barbershops and bars. But for its civilian residents, the “Crossroads of the Marines’’ is just a dead end.

Cover Story

Where you headed?”

A sentry stands next to my car, which is idling at the entrance to Quantico Marine Corps Base. A cold March rain drips from his camouflage uniform. He’s one of two armed MPs guarding the gate—manned 24 hours a day—a few hundred yards past a minireplica of the Iwo Jima Monument. Barely old enough to shave, the MPs are empowered to do pretty much whatever the hell they want: stop, search, seize—anything short of firebombing suspicious vehicles. Mostly though, they politely direct visitors around the sprawling Potomac River base, 30 miles south of Washington in southern Prince William County, Va.

There are many answers I could give to the MP’s query: the Snipers’ School; the Drug Enforcement Administration; Marine Corps War

College; the FBI Academy, where Jodie Foster got her anti–serial killer training in The Silence of the Lambs; and the Wargaming and Combat Simulation Division, among many facilities on the 60,000-acre base.

A dozen lies cross my mind, and I’m tempted to blurt, “The Amphibious Warfare School snack bar, sir.” Instead, I tell him the truth,

“Quantico town.”

He doesn’t inquire about the nature of my visit. The base and the town are completely separate, and Quantico town means nothing more to him than a place to drink a beer, cut his hair, or get his uniform cleaned. In fact, he seems almost amused, if that’s possible for an MP standing in the pouring rain. His rigid face remains expressionless, but as he waves me on I detect a slight condescension in his “Have a good day.”... Continued

Issue of Apr. 5 - 11, 1996

News and Features

Exiled on Main Street
The only town in the U.S. surrounded by a military base, Quantico is a Jarhead’s paradise of barbershops and bars. But for its civilian residents, the “Crossroads of the Marines’’ is just a dead end.
Cover Story By Eddie Dean
Republicans Support Gay Rites
The City By John Cloud
Dream On
Will the Ghermezians’ American Dream become Silver Spring’s nightmare?
The City By Perri Morgan
Free Speech
Fourth Estate, Meet Chapter 11
The City By Dave McKenna
Playground Feud
Shaw Neighborhood Now Has a Future Worth Fighting Over
The City By Stephanie Mencimer
Be True to Our School
The Mail By Timothy Parks
Shadow Boxing
The Mail By Danielle Bright
Simon Says
The Mail By Robert I. Simon and M.D.
Hedging BET
The Mail By Byron Jones
Cali Couch Potato
The Mail By Bob Davidson

Columns

A Train in Vain
Cheap Seats By Dave McKenna
The Rich Get Richer
City Desk
Watergate Fire Sale
Loose Lips By Ken Cummins

Eats

Tongue Thai’d
Young & Hungry By Brett Anderson

Movies

Kill Your Mums
Film Review By Mark Jenkins
Crimes and Misdemeanors
Film Review By Joel E. Siegel

Music

House of GVSB
Music Review By Tina Plottel
Nowhere to Here
Music Review By Brett Anderson
Africa Worldwide
Music Review By Steve Kiviat
Smooth as the Wind
Music Review By Reuben Jackson
Joie de GBVivre
Music Review By Dave McKenna

Theater

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakthrough
Theater Review By Trey Graham

Arts and Events

Fun Boy Three
Artifacts By Ben Buja
Voice of Harold
Artifacts By Louis Jacobson
Takes Three to ’Dango
Artifacts By Nicole Arthur
Deep Dis
Arts By Christopher Porter

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