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Couple of questions about AirStas PR, Atlantic City, and Traverse City. Transferring this year.

AKCoastie

New Member
I will be up for transfer to my first station out of flight school in a few months. I was wondering if I could get some input on the above listed stations from those that have been there.

Air Station Borinquen is pretty high up on my list right now. I have heard from a number of people that it's a hard to fill station and I was just wondering if it was just because it is "overseas" or if there is something I am missing. Seems like a tropical island in the Caribbean would be a more popular place. Is it a major hurtle if you do not speak Spanish or does the majority of people down there speak English as well? I have heard some doom and gloom stories through the wives concerning giving birth on PR due to the hospitals being substandard compared to the US. That doesn't seem right and I was wondering what your experience has been if you have had kids down there being that my wife is due in a few months.

I have some preconceived notions about what I think Atlantic City would be like due to it being such a big AS. What are your opinions about this Station? Is it easy to get lost in the sea of pilots as far as OERs and flight time are concerned? What is the surrounding area like? I have heard the neighborhood get's kind of trashy once you get away from the tourist area but I have nothing else other than the word of a friend of a friend to go off of. Please, any input would be helpful.

As far as Traverse City is concerned, any thoughts good or bad about the missions or general area would be great. I have pretty much zero experience with anything near the Great Lakes.

Thank you ahead of time for any input you can help out with.
 

gaijin6423

Ask me about ninjas!
Ah, Puerto Rico... Land that spawned my wife...

I go there to visit the in-laws (who are awesome, actually) at least 3-4 times a year, got married there, and will probably eventually wind up moving back there to take over the family business.

Things in PR tend to follow those of CONUS by about 18-24 months or so. At least, that's what my father in law says, anyway. Consequently, the job market is in the absolute shitter right now there...still. This leads to more crime (already a problem there). Cost of living and the traffic are also serious considerations, as they both suck if you don't know what you're doing.

My in-laws run a chain of pharmacies there, and run with the medical crowd. So the few times that I've had to do anything medical there, I've never had any kind of issue. They still do house calls there for routine stuff, too.

I'm not going to lie, language is an issue. Sure, lots of locals speak English, but they tend to be kind of shy about speaking it. I've picked up quite a bit of Spanish--more than my wife knows about--and it helps...a LOT. Even before I learned much, though, I got by easily.

There's a lot of cool shit to be done there, and the people are, by and large, pretty damn friendly. If I had one gripe about going there, it would be that my wife doesn't take me to do enough touristy shit. She grew up there, so she's so used to it that she forgets I haven't seen it.

And since you're married, maybe yore not concerned with this, but the women... Well, there's definitely a reason why PR has had more Ms. Universes than anywhere else. The very first time I went there, my (future) wife told me, "Okay, baby. Now, joo gonna see a lotta hot weemen, an I don care if joo look. But donchu fucking touch NOTHING." She was right. Hell, half of every visit is my father-in-law, brother-in-law, and I just sitting around, drinking and watching the women. Nothing wrong with building an appetite, after all.
 

HercDriver

Idiots w/boats = job security
pilot
Super Moderator
I've spent quite a bit of time TDY to Airsta Borinquen. Plenty of folks LOVE it there; nice weather and great surfing (Rincon, the town the Airsta is in is known for its waves, I'm told). It is a bit of a small town and isolated, but if you go into the transfer knowing that, you will be OK. Good commissary and exchange, the on base housing is meh, but a short walk to the beach. Operationally, they stay pretty busy, but the CO is a super good guy, and so is the OPS boss, IIRC (not sure when they are transferring). Everywhere I went folks spoke English, so I never had a problem.

Can't give first-hand info on Atlantic City, except to pass what I've heard from pilots there-that it is extremely busy operationally with handling the National Capital Region air intercept mission.
 

AKCoastie

New Member
Small world. I worked with CAPT P in AK before I got flight school. He and the XO are good people to work for. With the town being on the smaller side, is there a lack of things to do besides beach stuff? We are in no way scared of getting out to explore but I am trying to think about my wife while she is stuck with a newborn and can't get out much.
 

sardaddy

Registered User
pilot
Air Sta Borinquen was my first duty station. It is actually a great place for a new CG pilot to cut his teeth. You get a good amount of SAR, lots of migrant and drug interdictions as well. Plus, you get to go eat lunch in the Virgin Islands on a fairly regular basis.

The lifestyle is VERY different than from living in the states but it is a good time. Housing is pretty basic but everyone seems to make it a home and it is a very tight unit. Learning spanish won't hurt and would be beneficial but not necessary. I spoke just enough to be dangerous and my wife didn't speak a lick and we got along fine.

You do have to take the good with the bad. The area is very relaxed, there are some nice beaches and there is a golf course right down the road. Plus, there are a lot of on base perks like a pool, an exchange and your own beautiful view of the ocean. But there are many power outages, water may stop for no reason, hurricanes come through and some other challenges arise. If you keep a good attitude it is overall a good time.
 

sardaddy

Registered User
pilot
Traverse City is highly desired. It is pretty laid back there as they are one of the few units that still do just the basic CG missions and it is very beautiful. You are gone from home quite a bit though. An air facility is manned in Waukegon, IL during the summer and there are ship deployments in the winter. Of course they get like 100 feet of snow each winter so that isn't a bad thing. I would suggest buying a snow plow for you wife though.

Atlantic City is very busy and you are gone quite a bit doing air intercept in the DC area. It is also only a 3 year tour just like overseas stations like Puerto Rico. But if you go there, you get preference on where you want to go next after you are done.
 

AKCoastie

New Member
Thanks for all the input so far. You guys have been a lot more help than the folks on the spouses forum my wife has been talking to. Officially turned in my wishlist so now we are playing the waiting game. Rumor mill seems to think we may hear something as early as two weeks from now but we'll see. Ended up going in this order: HI, GA, PR, Port Angeles, North Bend, NJ, Miami, Traverse City.
 

sardaddy

Registered User
pilot
Good luck getting what you want. The assignment process is always a bit nerve racking while you wait. I have been to every one of those stations and they are all good in their own way.
 

AKCoastie

New Member
No, we had San Fran on there originally in the number 5 spot. But, with the new kid on the way, our priorities have changes and we want to stay away from any big west coast cities this go around. Humboldt Bay didn't really interest us either.
 

KB17

Member
pilot
Just found out I'll be out of the Army and into the Coast Guard in the next 10 days with orders to Atlantic City. Any gouge on the air station and places to live would be great. Thanks!

-Kyle
 

HercDriver

Idiots w/boats = job security
pilot
Super Moderator
Congratulations - that is a very dynamic spot and a great place to do some exciting missions (flying around DC comes to mind). Wish I could help you on housing, but I don't know anyone there right now.

Good luck!
 

Brunes

Well-Known Member
pilot
Just found out I'll be out of the Army and into the Coast Guard in the next 10 days with orders to Atlantic City. Any gouge on the air station and places to live would be great. Thanks!

-Kyle
Hey - Congrats on the transfer to the blue suit. I'm slated to move to ACity this summer.

You reporting in 10 days from now?
You single or married/kids? I only ask cause there is a neighborhood that lots of the single folks split rent on houses.

Has anyone contacted you yet? If not - When I get back to my desk - I can send you a few e-mail addresses and work phone numbers for folks there.
 

KB17

Member
pilot
Hey - Congrats on the transfer to the blue suit. I'm slated to move to ACity this summer.

You reporting in 10 days from now?
You single or married/kids? I only ask cause there is a neighborhood that lots of the single folks split rent on houses.

Has anyone contacted you yet? If not - When I get back to my desk - I can send you a few e-mail addresses and work phone numbers for folks there.


Hey Brunes, thanks for the reply. I'm not sure when my actual report date is. I'm sure I'll get more info during this upcoming week but as of right now all I know for certain is I'm swearing in at ATC Mobile this Friday the 14th of March. I'm married w/ kids and a couple of people have recommended "coasties on the move" to find some decent housing. I haven't heard from anyone at AC yet but I'm assuming that's because I don't have a hard copy of my orders so they don't know I'm coming yet. Once I get more information on dates I might hit you up for those POCs. Thanks again and I look forward to meeting this summer!

-Kyle
 
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