So my dad spent some time at Fort Hunter Liggett in California in the early 1960s with his father (who was a British Army officer serving as NATO liaison of some kind).
We are in the area in September (camping at Morro Bay) and were thinking of popping by (there are some interesting things there as well nostalgic for my Dad). What is the chance of a couple of random Brits turning up and being let in?
Probably no chance at all of getting in if you just show up unannounced. You generally need to have someone on the inside to sponsor your visit/ act as a guide.
You might try contacting their public affairs office and explain your situation. Perhaps someone would act as your sponsor.
I’ll second this.
I used to work at Edwards AFB, but of course I never took the NASA tour or went to the museum until after I moved on. NASA has tours, so I called them (years later) to be put on the list. I stopped at the guard shack at the west entrance to the base and they verified that I was expected. Up here, Fort Lewis has a museum. It’s a bit of a haul from my house, but I assume that if I wanted to go to the museum I’d follow a similar procedure.
The first thing to do would be to contact the Hunter-Liggett PAO. They will have the information you need.
While I couldn’t find wording specifically identifying Hunter-Liggett as an “open post,” this page (http://www.liggett.army.mil/sites/newcomers/default.asp) indicates that you can get on as a civilian without a sponsor. The rules seem consistent with personal experience at other open posts. Last time I went to a closed post (Selfridge in my case), a sponsor was absolutely required (although that may not now be the case, as the air museum is bragging about public access).
Seriously? You can get onto Fort Jackson with your driver’s license, no problem whatsoever. A lot of people run and bike in there. I guess I assumed most bases were like that.
I can’t speak to the specific fort, but I grew up near Quantico Marine Corps base and we used to go onto it often. There was a lake and other parks that were open to the public, we just drove in.
Post 9-11 a lot of bases changed their policies on letting civilians in. They used to be able to roam on and off and use our facilities and go to our base clubs. After 9-11 they changed all that. A lot of on base clubs and what not went down hill and became really boring and were shut down to the cost to keep them open with limited traffic.
But, the website that was posted indicates one thing that you will need to have: a US ID as in a state drivers license.
As a foreign national the rules change and without a sponsor you will have difficulty coming in. This is the same for all military and federal installations. The reason being that military families live there and it’s a training center so there will probably be a restricted area within the base itself. So, you will need to contact the PAO (Public Affairs Office) and see if they will grant you access.
Even if you were a US citizen or has a US ID like a drivers license you still need a valid reason to be there. Such as being a vendor, contractor, delivery, etc. To walk around is not really a valid reason but that’s up to the person at the ID Office out front or the guard on duty. That’s why they mention official business. Most installations are not open to the general public due to 9-11.
If I were there --and I am active duty right now-- and you just wanted to reminisce I would not let you in, especially as a foreign national.
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When I visited Ft. Hood not too long ago, there was only a single way to get on post. It was a slow process, but it was still an “open post.” There’s just a lot more security, and everyone is registered to get on, but you don’t have to have any reason business there (my stated reason was to show my family where I’d been station those many years ago, and we were passing nearby anyway). This may have recently changed, but an open post traditionally doesn’t need a sponsor. Most big Army posts have traditionally been open posts.
When I visited Selfridge not too long ago, it was a “closed post,” meaning that the requirements were pretty much the same as above, except the additional requirement that one must have a sponsor to be allowed entry (which I did). This may or may not be the same today, because when I inquired of the ANG museum about sponsorship, they informed me that I only had to state my destination.
Not contradicting anything that anyone else said here; I mean only to point out that there are still “open posts” and “closed posts,” and that even if there’s a layer of security about the open posts, they’re still open posts.
Maybe that’s part of the reason soldiers stationed there call it Relaxin’ Jackson.
There’s a water park, dude. It’s open to the public. You just drive in and show your license at the gate.
I don’t think the kids in basic in July call it Relaxin’ Jackson, though.
Army bases with the continental US are simple. Driver’s License is all you need. Air Force bases are much, more strict. They actually still guard their bases with military personnel. You’ll find nothing but civilians at the front of an Army base.
The Air Force uses dogs to guard the gates. The Navy uses Marines.
(Air Force got first pick. 
)
Sorry, somehow missed the part about being British. Just go to the front gate in your (rental car?) and show them your passports. As long as everyone has photo ID, you can all get in. Be prepared for a possible vehicle search.
At the very most, you would need to go to the gate office and get a temporary vehicle pass or something, but seriously I would be surprised if it went beyond that.
This is false. There are Army bases that require you to be escorted by a sponsor at all times and will not let you on with just a driver’s license. I happen to work on one.
They do happen to have civilian contractors for gate security, though.