Naval Air Stations, your experiences...

[BusyBee604]

Au Contraire...

Jacksonville - My personal favorite actually. Never stationed there, just spent a crapload of dets there. Weather: awesome, Women: beautiful, Flying: what I've done there was easy. The town is super spread out so I've heard people complain about how going out is a pain in the ass if you don't live by the beach, which if you do, makes for a longer commute to work, but whatever I really enjoy the place .

+1 Nice post Morgan! :icon_mi_6

Oops, Mosquitos t*e size of Sky*awks, w/ drop tanks: "S*all we drain 'em *ere, or carry 'em *ome?"; t*e 'occasional' 100-year *imicane; marginal flying WX; *umidity requiring uniform s*irt c*ange 2-3 X daily; Blanding Blvd. "love bugs" permanently entombed in your beootiful Porsc*e 911 paint finis*, etc. Awesome! :hot_125:

But t*e rest is all good, and you do *av t*e Jaguars!aperbag_

Did 2 yrs. @ VA-44 Cecil, couldn't wait to get back to Lemoore!
BzB, still awaiting new 'puter...

 

[zipmartin]

Every place is what you make of it.

That is THE BEST description of all. If you CHOOSE to be happy, you'll have a great time. If you CHOOSE NOT to be happy, you'll be miserable. The PEOPLE are what make the Navy, the locations, and everything else, good or bad. Where ever you end up, you decide to make it the best place to be, and it will be.

 

[scoolbubba]

+1 Nice post Morgan! :icon_mi_6

Oops, Mosquitos t*e size of Sky*awks, w/ drop tanks: "S*all we drain 'em *ere, or carry 'em *ome?"; t*e 'occasional' 100-year *imicane; marginal flying WX; *umidity requiring uniform s*irt c*ange 2-3 X daily; Blanding Blvd. "love bugs" permanently entombed in your beootiful Porsc*e 911 paint finis*, etc. Awesome! :hot_125:

But t*e rest is all good, and you do *av t*e Jaguars!aperbag_

Did 2 yrs. @ VA-44 Cecil, couldn't wait to get back to Lemoore!
BzB, still awaiting new 'puter...

Agreed. Too damn hot in Jackson-vile. The month of fall and month of spring are decent, winter's eh, and summer makes me want to murder everything.

 

[The Chief]

... If you CHOOSE to be happy, you'll have a great time. If you CHOOSE NOT to be happy, you'll be miserable.......

Heed the wisdom in that. Life is simply too short to choose to be miserable. Be happy whereever you are, what ever life throws your way. Enjoy it. Life is good.

 

[Swanee]

Any Marines care to weigh in on Yuma or Beaufort? I don't really hear much about them. People say Yuma is a suck hole, but no one I've talked to have lived there.

 

[KBayDog]

People say Yuma is a suck hole...

People know what they're talking about. Yuma sucks. Nothing to do, and hot as balls. ("But it's only 2.5 hours to San Diego!" Well, la-de-frickin' da.)

Beaufort is a great little southern town, very pro-military, but very quiet. Also, there's nothing to do, and it's hot as balls. Charleston is ~45 mins north, and Savannah is ~45 mins south.

That said, while I've got a snowball's chance of being stationed at either place, I'd take Beaufort any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

 

[Pugs]

People know what they're talking about. Yuma sucks. Nothing to do, and hot as balls. .

Lots of great quail hunting but that does not make up for the level of suckatude.

 

[cfam]

Interesting so far. cfam, what do you think of Whidbey? Can you give more details? I like the idea of living in the northwest, and I think I would totally dig the prowler/growler mission

Well, I've only been here since last August, so I don't have a ton of experience so far. That being said, I love it here. The island is beautiful, and if you're into outdoors stuff, it can't be beat. 1 1/2hrs to the mountains to ski during the winter (4 hrs to Whistler, ie: skiing Mecca), during the summer you have sailing/camping/hiking within 10mins. Seattle is about 2hrs south (depending on traffic) and Vancouver about 2-2 1/2 hrs north (depending on how long the border crossing takes). There's also a ferry to the San Juan Islands and over to Vancouver Island, there's a ton of stuff to explore over there as well.

The base is pretty nice, you have the main side with the flightline and hospital, and then a satellite NEX/Commissary about a five minute drive across town.

Downsides: There's not much to do on-island during the week. You really won't have a ton of time during the week, unless you have an early work day, to get off island. Oak Harbor (where the base is) is a military town, and there's really not much in the way of cool bars/restaurants, but they do have a wal-mart/home depot/kmart, so at least you can do most of your shopping on-island. Anacortes (20mins North) is better, but there's still not much in the way of a bar scene. You'll end up staying on-island all week, and doing trips all weekend.

Oh, and the weather's not that horrible. Yes, it rains, but the temps never get really cold (lowest I've seen this winter was in the 30s) and the summers are absolutely amazing (high 70s, no humidity).

 

[BusyBee604]

MeCas Yum!

People know what they're talking about. Yuma sucks. Nothing to do, and hot as balls. ("But it's only 2.5 hours to San Diego!" Well, la-de-frickin' da.)

I'm not a Marine, but I made many a Wpns Det. t*ere back in t*e day, but it may *ave c*anged over t*e years. We always enjoyed Yuma.

Some t*ings to do off duty: dog track (T*ere goes Swifty!), Nite-lit par-3 Golf, nite spts (t*en), "Palomino Pony" (to us aka "Palimony Penis"), *oliday Inn @ nite, Red's Place in Winter*aven, just across t*e Colorado River in CA (later closing time t*an AZ), crossing border to San Luis is a no no no in t*is era. As said previously, bot* Sandy Eggo & P*oenix in 3-*r driving range. arty_125

MCAS: Good flying, WX, Yuma/El Centro gr8 target complex/ranges, poor quarters, fairly nice O'club...oops, t*ey don't *as dem no mo...%#*&(+@%! :icon_rage

It's a quck & dirty, s*owing my age, er... experience! :idea_125:
BzB, dozing :sleep_125

 

[Harrier Dude]

People know what they're talking about. Yuma sucks. Nothing to do, and hot as balls. ("But it's only 2.5 hours to San Diego!" Well, la-de-frickin' da.)

Beaufort is a great little southern town, very pro-military, but very quiet. Also, there's nothing to do, and it's hot as balls. Charleston is ~45 mins north, and Savannah is ~45 mins south.

That said, while I've got a snowball's chance of being stationed at either place, I'd take Beaufort any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

This is bullshit.

There is plenty to do here, it just may not be what you want to do.

First off, the flying and the ranges are the best on Earth. That's why everybody comes here to train.

When you're not flying:

Dirtbike riding, golf, bird hunting, shooting, and spending time with your family and friends.

If you're looking for:

Booming night clubs, hot young college chicks, 5 star dining, multiple malls carrying Versace, and a BMW dealership....... You are SOL.

I've been stationed in Yuma off and on for 14 years. I love it here. That said, I'm married with kids, prefer flying to shopping, and would rather play golf or go shooting than hang out on the beach. I'd also rather hang out grilling burgers with my friends than go to downtown SD. That's just me, though.

I've also been stationed (and deployed to) Okinawa, which is another much-hated place to be stationed for those who have never been there.

Philosophically, they're similar in that it's great to be stationed in either place (Okinawa and Yuma), but it really sucks to be on det there.

 

[KBayDog]

I was hoping HD'd pipe in WRT Yuma. Dissenting opinions are okay in my book.

I'll freely admit that I've been spoiled - KBay, Charleston, Pensacola, and San Diego were some of my "main" duty stations. I've also spent way too much time in Yuma, and I hated it. (It ranks right down there with Quantico and Jacksonville NC.) The only thing Yuma has going for it is the opportunity to kill liver cells with Harrier Dude and Squeeze (and Crowbar, when he's forced to be there, too).

Based on where I've been fortunate enough to be stationed, though, it's easy to see why I don't spare my opinion of Yuma. Different strokes, I guess.

 

[Harrier Dude]

You're missing the point (partially). Part of it is what you like to do. You get that part. What you're not getting (I don't think) is that being on det somewhere is NOT a good determination of what it's like to live there. Particularly places like Yuma, Okinawa, and presumably Fallon.

I've done Yuma dets as well (from the PRCP).

Being stationed here is a WHOLE different thing.

 

[KBayDog]

What you're not getting (I don't think) is that being on det somewhere is NOT a good determination of what it's like to live there.

Oh, I get it. That's why I can't really talk too much about Fallon, Mugu, Los Alamitos, Bridgeport, and the myriad of other places I've spent some time. However, I've spent enough time in places like Yuma and El Centro where I know enough about it to give a semi-educated opinion. Is it the same as being stationed there? Of course not.

I'll just have to take your word for what it's like to live in Yuma. I'll just continue to cross my fingers that I don't wind up there.

And if life hands me that lemon...

 

[Harrier Dude]

I did a 6 month UDP to Okinawa, and pretty much hated it.

I lived there for a year and loved it.

It wasn't the 6 month difference that mattered. It didn't "grow on me".

It's just a whole different experience to live there.

Same here in Yuma.

 

[bunk22]

Just personal opinion, based on social life, beach, etc:

Pensacola: loved it
Whiting: without p-cola, it would suck
Corpus/Kingsville: sucks
Norfolk: either way but I hate the east coast
North Island: San Diego is God's country...bars, women, things to do and women