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Towards the end of my tour at Griffiss AFB in Rome NY that area became run down and riddled with crime and unemployment. Especially after the base closed. While it was open the area was not very friendly towards military, if you were in uniform all they saw was dollar signs and that's all they wanted from you. I was glad to get out of there.
The towns outside of McGuire AFB in NJ (Ft. Dix to you Army types) is pretty dumpy. Wrightstown I believe? I stayed there for a six week TDY, what a hole.
From my experience I find that big cities are typically more friendly towards military. Their economy normally doesn't depend upon them. You would think that a small town that depends on a base for much of it's revenue would be very pro-military, but I've found the opposite to be true in many cases. Lot's of animosity, jealousy, and bitterness is extended towards military either because they are from out of town, are "stealing" the local women from the local men, lot's of military drive newer cars, or judged the GI's based on a single bad experience. I never want to be stationed somewhere that depends heavily on the base for revenue/economy again. The only exception for me was Lompoc outside of Vandenberg AFB in California. That was a good assignment.
Coolhand68, I found Del Rio, TX (home of Laughlin AFB) to be a pretty military-friendly small town. The base and town came to the correct conclusion that they needed each other and got on with life, I believe. I met many wonderful locals while I was there. I guess there was the perception, of permanent party Airmen, that the USAF officer student pilots had a better chance with the local women than WE did...
I see what your saying Crew Chief, there are examples out there of small towns outside of an installation that are pro-military and work well together, such as Cocoa Beach outside of Patrick AFB and Vandenberg AFB, but those towns also had a strong retiree population as well. When I was down in Biloxi there was not a very strong pro-military sentiment. It was the same in Rome and the surrounding towns in upstate NY. They went out of their way to pull us over and give us tickets because we were nothing more than revenue to them. Glad to hear there are some small towns out there that appreciate having a base in their backyard though.
I was in Fort Hood, Texas from 97-99 and I hated it. I felt Killeen was a bit too rough and small for me. The only thing I liked was being close to major cities like Austin and San Antonio. Not my style of city for me at all, but I have heard it has grown since then. Lived in Fort Wainwright, Alaska and I would rate it as somewhat bad. I can say I have survived the Arctic from 99-2002, meaning below 60 weather. As for the best I have yet to experience...I am in Fort Bliss, TX at the time and I do like it but ready to move on, have been here 6 years so far.
Coolhand68, I found Del Rio, TX (home of Laughlin AFB) to be a pretty military-friendly small town. The base and town came to the correct conclusion that they needed each other and got on with life, I believe. I met many wonderful locals while I was there. I guess there was the perception, of permanent party Airmen, that the USAF officer student pilots had a better chance with the local women than WE did...
I'm going to have to disagree with you here.
I'm currently stationed at LAFB and think a majority of the Del Rio locals could care less about us. The Mayor and Chamber of Commerce robots might tell us otherwise, but I see it on a daily basis. We aren't treated any differently than the locals are, and I'd say some might dislike us even more. I don't think 95% of Del Rio residents realize how much the base contributes to their economy, and that lone 5% are the ones that really appreciate us.
I was born and raised in Texas, so I don't mind Del Rio as a whole, but I can't wait to leave.
San Antonio(Texas)-nice
McGuire (NJ)-not too good,desolate
Whiteman(MO)-nice small town,but also desolate(1 hr to KC)
Ramstein(Germany/TDY)not bad
March(Calif/TDY)very pretty area but major gang activity nearby
Eglin(FL)dead area accept for snakes,spiders,and flying bugs
Soto Cano Honduras was my first duty station. Wish I can go back! its not for married people tho. If you go there be smart and don't come back w/ a souvenir! Like a wife ect...
McChord AFB is okay. there's a lot to do there. Casino's, Seattle, Mt. Rainer, and Olympia. Only thing bad about the place is that it's raining 24/7. Coming from California I was seriously depressed for the first 6 months I was there. But once you get over the rain it's not too bad. Very diverse, that's wut i liked most about it.
San Angelo was a small base but the town was awesome.
I've also been to Tydell AFB for training. It was very nice there. The beaches looked great. I didn't mind the weather at all. It was humid but that didn't bother me. I was just amazed at the beaches. White sandy beaches, warm water and the people there seemed welcoming. I was there in 2006 and got out of the AF in april 2007. I went back to cali and now I just landed a Job at Pensacola Fl. About 1 hour away from Tydell AFB. So I'm really excited about relocating there. Ill be there in March.
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