By: Logan Toth, 2027
Hanscom Air Force Base is an official military installation located primarily within Bedford, with parts extending into Lexington and Concord. Hanscom has only two entrances, the Ruiz and Sartain Gates. Any person above the age of 18 is required to present a valid Military ID in order to enter, and it is highly encouraged for those above age 16 to do the same.
Hanscom students make up about 12% of Bedford High School’s student body as of this year. All are military dependents, children of active service members or retired members of the United States military. With an increase of incoming freshmen that attended Hanscom Middle School last year, many of the difficulties of living on Hanscom are entering the conversation.
“Over the past couple of years, we’ve kind of made it the norm,” BHS Freshman and Hanscom resident Paisleigh Wagner explained, “If we made friends, we could just walk over to their house.” Now, with many of their new friends living in Bedford and other neighboring communities, Freshmen base kids are experiencing a sudden loss of personal freedom regarding their friendships. “I can’t just walk over to their house. They can’t walk over to mine.” Freshman Pip Slinsky elaborated.
This change in their level of independence also changed how they viewed themselves. “I feel like a little kid.” Freshman Lillian McCamey stated when asked what it was like making plans with friends who lived off base. “I have to get a ride from people.” Another Freshman, Charlie Suden, answered the same question. “It’s hard to hang out with people when they’re not, like, allowed on base. So it creates kind of a division between us.”
Because of Hanscom’s heightened security, Hanscom students cannot simply invite a friend over. They have to pick up their friends from their house, by the school, or just outside the gate, and then drive them onto base. For those who cannot drive, every attempt to hang out becomes a full scale operation that requires a parent willing to bus people around. As a result, Hanscom students feel separated from their Bedford peers, an invisible barrier that is difficult to overcome.
The logistics of getting on and off base apply to many aspects of normal student life. Randi Smith, a Senior who has lived on Hanscom for over 5 years, responded to a similar question pertaining to after school activities. “Because my father is deployed right now, there is no one else to pick me up but my mother, or if I can carpool home.”
Her experience also emphasizes another complicated circumstance of having military parents, deployments and the pressure it puts on their dependents. “Especially with him being in Kuwait right now…” Randi explained “…I feel like I need to give everything I have all the time to make it worth it. You know, for him to be doing that.” Randi reported that she has had to miss several after school rehearsals due to helping her mother at home and not being able to get a ride back onto Hanscom. For students like Randi who are in this balancing act of taking care of their family and participating in what they enjoy, logistical challenges make the weight far harder to carry.
If getting a ride back onto base is so difficult, why don’t students walk or bike home? The closest gate to Bedford is the Ruiz Gate, located at the end of Hartwell Avenue in Lexington. On one side of the road are office buildings, whose parking lots are often used by students for impromptu pick ups and drop offs. On the other side is marshland, cloaked by trees and separated from the road by a small wooden fence.
From Ruiz leading all the way up to the intersection at Hartwell Avenue and Maguire Road, there are no sidewalks, and the bike lane is notorious for being unsafe. When the interviewed underclassmen were asked if their parents felt comfortable letting them walk or bike on that stretch of Hartwell, all answered no.
A road safety audit for the Town of Lexington completed by the MassDOT in November of 2011 evaluated many of the safety concerns regarding Hartwell Avenue. They evaluated the intersection at Hartwell Avenue and Maguire Road, as well as at Hartwell Avenue and Bedford Street.
The Lexington audit asserted that the bike lane was insufficient as it stopped abruptly without proper indication of where bikers were supposed to continue. It emphasized that signage is often confusing or inconsistent, including speed limits and turn indications. Congestion around peak commuting times for people traveling through Ruiz only amplified these issues. In 2022, signage was updated on many parts of Hartwell Avenue covered by the audit, and minor changes were made to the bike lane. Despite the audits and updates, there is still no sidewalk along that stretch of Hartwell.
When asked if she would make use of a sidewalk or a further updated bike lane to get into Bedford, Lillian McCamey answered, “If I had someone with me, I would do that all the time.” A similar sentiment was emphasized by Pip Slinsky. “Oh, I would totally do that. If there was a sidewalk or at least a decent bike lane.” A sidewalk would grant Hanscom students some personal mobility, allowing them to participate in after school activities and hang out with friends without requiring a parent to make it accessible.
Until a sidewalk is implemented, Hanscom students have to make due with what they have. This includes the late bus that leaves from the school at 4:05, but even that only provides a limited window of opportunity. “I could only do things on a Tuesday at the time because I knew there was a late bus that came at four,” said Junior Leah Baumgartner.
For activities like the cheer team and marching band that take place after the late bus leaves, Hanscom students tend to get creative. “I’d have to walk off base and Uber.” Senior Connor Howell reports, spending an estimated $30 per trip in order to get to cheer practice.
Now, with his Junior Operators License, Connor will drive other Hanscom kids to and from activities. Even the process of gaining your license adds complexity, as students getting dropped off at the school after lessons have to plan rides into their already hectic schedules. These circumstances make Connor the only base kid on the cheer team able to drive his teammates home to Hanscom.
Connor is one of many who looks out for his fellow base kids. Pip Slinsky describes their experience, “Every time my dad picks me up, he asks, ‘oh is that your friend? Do they need a ride?’”. Carpooling is one of the most common ways Hanscom students work together to accomplish their goals, both planned and unplanned. Senior Isabella “Bella” Goeke described the Hanscom student community. “We have all been through a lot with being associated as a military ‘BRAT’, and we can lean on one another. We can stick up for each other.”
Hanscom Students hold an important place in the Bedford High School community, earning leading roles in a large variety of clubs and activities. They manage to do this despite the logistical isolation they face, cultivating a caring community that relies on each other and works together to solve shared problems.
Base kids have learned to take care of their own, but this doesn’t mean their lives cannot be made a bit easier. Being transparent with activity schedules and requirements, understanding a specific student’s needs, and staying informed on how circumstances are changing are the best ways to accommodate Hanscom students. Base kids want to participate, and acknowledging their needs is the first step towards tearing down that logistical barrier.
