at ease?

Prior to moving here, my experience with the military consisted solely of hacking into a ROTC file in my college's computer system.

While I did come away with some pretty cool new hand signals, it wasn't necessarily the best immersion into a soldier's life.

That all changed when I moved to Columbus. Fort Benning's presence made conversations with servicemen/women a standard part of any weekend party outing. What's more, I watched plenty of my close female friends deal with significant others who belong to the military -- elements like deployments, Army politics and PTSD.

Now, Columbus will see an even stronger military presence, as over the next two weeks about 3,800 Army soldiers will return to Columbus after deployments overseas.

If you're a soldier looking for stuff to do during your 48-hour break, check out this article I wrote for Sunday's paper.

I'll be updating this blog regularly with additional going-out suggestions, geared largely toward single folks.

But I'm also looking to offer some tips for nightlife partiers looking to adjust to soldiers' return. If you're a single woman well-versed in fending off pickup lines, send your comments my way. And if you're a soldier fed up with the stereotypes you think dominate the downtown scene, drop me a note as well.

And in the meantime, look forward to more "what to do" posts in upcoming days.

(Today's suggestion: Don't forget about Phenix City, sports bar fans. That's where you can find Sports Rock Cafe, a place where you can snag stellar food specials on Wing It Wednesdays. See the hot spot's MySpace here.)