69Nova355

Seems like everyone has something negative to say about their base....it could be the regional climate....it could be due to whatever MAJCOM you fall under...it could be what job you work and how good (or bad) your stuff you do for a job is....

I'll share my story....first off I'm at Pope which according to anyone who's PCS'd here from other bases, the way Pope does things is totally bassackwards from the way things are supposed to be done....

Pope is not up to speed on much of anything....for example we got our first tool accountability system (TAS) about 2 years ago....until that time we still were chitting tools out....from what I heard even the Korean AF bases had TAS issued to them I think 2003 at the latest.

Some of Pope's buildings are older than **** and condemned, yet because it's all we have to work out of is why we are still using it. For instance the shop I work at is nothing more than a tin metal pole barn that was built in 1960. The birds love to make nests in the ceiling tiles and **** all over everything. There's another aircraft hangar that was built in 1937 and looks like ***/about to fall down.

In our shop there's no A/C and it gets well over 100 degrees here. A few years ago our pro super announced the flight received some money for shop stuff and asked for our inputs on what we wanted....I said I'd like to have multiple fans placed on the walls in the shop so it's not so hot and miserable while inside working....of course that never happened...as the pro super works in an air conditioned office and is self centered to start with....

Getting Civil Engineering (C.E.) to come out and fix something such as a rusted metal roof that was allowing water into the electrical lighting system and posing a fire hazard....was harder than pulling teeth. They'd almost not take action until the building burned down. Now we have an issue with them getting our jack tester erected so we can test our jacks so they don't fail while trying to support a multi-million dollar aircraft.

They also have yet to fix the oil chief system in our shop which makes our job a little harder.

We're undermanned big time due to BRAC and we still have to support missions in Kuwait, Qatar, Iraq and Afghanistan. Our equipment is old and severely worn out to where it's constantly breaking all the time...which means we are always busting our asses and not really getting much ahead. Most of it looks like **** and performs like **** too. Many folks I have talked to that have PCS'd in from other bases have said they'd never seen the equipment in such poor shape.

The same goes for our tools....some of our tools are worn out, but it seems as if they never get replaced.

I won't even get into the micromanaging and head butting within the shop that goes on here. Tensions are high and folks don't want to work together. I've heard at other bases the morale is better and people actually go out together as a flight after hours and do things together. Not here. In fact most folks who PCS in to Pope are shocked that we don't get early Fridays cutbacks, and reminisce about "how that's what we did at my last base....".

We're next to Ft. Bragg so we have to use Bragg's BX and Commissary....we used to have a mini Commissary on base but they closed it down like 6 years ago. Of course we're a speck of dust as opposed to Ft. Bragg, most of the local yokels think we're Bragg soldiers.

This is an AMC base, supposidly the ACC bases are better about newer better facilities (so I am told), tools, etc.

About the only "good things" I've seen is they did build a mini BX/Burger King on base and about 6 years ago they renovated some 30 year old dorms back to like new livable conditions.

Anywho there's more I can think of but I'd like to here from you AF guys about your bases....

NightWindDriftr

iTrader: (4)

I'm at an ACC base (Mountain Home) and the facilities are nice, but we have our share of outdated/condemned buildings. Overall though, they're good. My only real complaint about this base is its location. We're about some 40-odd miles from Boise, and being a city guy, Boise BARELY cuts it for me.

If you love the outdoors though, it's right up your alley.

Splitz

iTrader: (1)

oh boy, isn't this a LOADED question?

Asking an open ended question like that you aren't going to get the information that you are looking for. Everybody has their own opinions.

Now, what I did when it was assignment time for me, I talked to alot of NCO's and SNCO's in my direct chain of command. Because, they have been to THOSE bases that you could goto.

Now, since I was F-15 backshop avionics (2A0X1A), there were only 8 stateside and 3 overseas locations to be transferred to, so the list was short and just about everybody that I had asked at one time or anther was able to answer any question about a future assignment possibility.

So, obviously, my suggestion would be to ask around your office or shop. Depending on how many locations that you job would goto, will depend on how much research that you need to do.

Z28/2002

iTrader: (27)

Don't get me started on Seymour Johnson

Splitz

iTrader: (1)

I hear ya on that one, I was there 13 months...

jasonk

iTrader: (29)

Best base will always be the one you are going to and the one you left depending on your outlook

whiteLS1

iTrader: (15)

In some cases i would say for sure its the area. but in most cases i would say its an internal problem like supervisors, supervision, comanders stuff like that the people and if you hang out with people you work with all the time it will make things worse you have to have people outside the military so you can forget about work when your not there. b/c everyone always has something to say about work when your not there. dont get me wrong sometimes you can find people you work with that are pretty cool and are worth hanging out with but over all that isnt all true.

im so sick of the military. im ready to get out but i still have just over two years hopefully when i leave korea thing get better but as of right now i feel like im in jail i feel to trapped here. and maybe thats where all my bitterness comes from.

only good thing about the military is job security, a steady pay ck and i dont work to much my job is pretty laid back but i hate the people i work with they f***ing suck.

notice i said ntohing about medicial b/c thoses doctors suck and wont do anything for you unless your in pain and i think that is such bullshit.

Snootch

iTrader: (3)

Look at the bright side... at least your at Osan. I'm at Camp Red Cloud, and this place blows. My wife is at Osan right now, and I look forward to going because there's lots of **** to do, and there's a freaking Chili's on base. We don't have **** here.

whiteLS1

iTrader: (15)

ok your right there are things to do here but i cant get away from work when im not at it. i really truly do hate 90% of the people i work with and its not like in the states where you can avoid them when your not at work. thats my complaint really about osan.

Z28/2002

iTrader: (27)

I've been here since Oct 2004

camaroguy_02

i think it primarily depends on who you're working with and your supervision. when i first got to kadena back in '03, as my first base, i hated my shop chief. tsgt (e6) who seemed like he pretty much didnt care what happened in your personal life, and when you didnt do something right, he'd treat you as if you're stupid...at least, thats how i felt, anyway. the ssgt's that were in the shop really didn't impress me. my first supervisor - i was his second troop (his first one beat me there by 2 weeks). granted, he was new to the supervisory role so mistakes were often, but his attitude toward me, and others, really pissed me off. i almost got up an decked him after he yelled at me for no reason. my first year on kadena, i got 2 LORs, 3 LOCs, 2 verbal counselings, and 5 tickets (various reasons). one of those LORs was from the shirt since he had a policy where anyone who failed room inspection gets an automatic LOR. i failed mine because i left my receiver on, as well as my fan (which the A/C in the building was broke at the time). anything electrical left on was an automatic failure. so that screwed my chances of going to the Academy...which really pissed me off.

by all rights, i should be kicked out with a dishon. discharge for underage drinking and driving on-base, without updated insurance paperwork on me. but thanks to the Man upstairs, the SP didnt catch the alcohol on my breath...or just overlooked it.

i got a new shop chief - tsgt. - a lil bit before the start of my 2nd year, and he easily gained the attention span, favor, and hearts, of those he had working for him. i got to this base and talked to a few guys and they said that he's more like a shop "dad" in the way he cares for his troops. outstanding tsgt., from an airman's perspective. seeing his philosophy in action, kicking the ssgt's butts into gear, made me realize there are good, wholesome NCOs out there who genuinely care about their job.

my second year at kadena was great...i wish i wuld've stayed just a bit longer though.

jester177

the only thing bad about grand forks is the climate. buildings are pretty much brand new, our shops is only 3yrs old. new base housing, new gym, etc etc. everybody hangs out with each other. now the bad if you like working in 60 below temps you will love it here. summer time highs are mid 80s doesnt rain constantly in oct it starts to snow generally and jan - mar its neg 30 for an average, oh yeah its windy as a **** up her too, common to see street signs and light poles blown over.

Malicious

iTrader: (1)

Cannon sucks, but fortunate for everyone but AFSOC, we don't have to go there anymore. Can't wait to leave, assignment team gonna be there in Oct when I get back from this AEF and see where the hell I can get sent to this time Will have been at Cannon for a bit over 3 years when they finally let me leave..

69Nova355

Yep, everyone I have talked to has said Cannon sucks.

I just did talk with a guy that's originally from ND, he told me the same thing....you guys get blinding snow storms and such....he's got PCS orders to SD....

As far as Seymour Johnson...yeah pretty much heard it blows too....though their shop is 10 times nicer than ours....I went to 7 level school with a guy now at Spangdalem that was formerly stationed at "Shady J"...

99Hawk262

iTrader: (19)

Little Rock AFB is actually pretty nice. It does get hot as hell though. My first base, McChord AFB, WA has got to be the best assignment! Yeah, it rains all the time...but damn is it beautiful and you'll never run out of things to do. I hope to get back there some day.

BigT2002

iTrader: (2)

I despise Shaw. The people I work with, for the most part, are awesome and the only good thing going for it. The base is located in BFE, SC. Literally 40 miles to any type of normal civilization that actually has an education. The base is filled with retirees so you wait in line everywhere you go for the old people. The buildings are condemned or should be, the newest buildings are from 2000 but even those need work. The MPF is "one stop shop" thankfully but its a ******* maze. Seriously...the place can eat a donkey ball

Mullet

iTrader: (2)

The concerns I see here are at just about every base out there. CE sucks everywhere I have been and old buildings is a great concern. The problem with a lot of this is the lack of funding for these bases. I seen it at Griffiss, and see it at Barksdale. Got to love a war time budget.

Since Pope is on BRAC, don't expect much. In the past, bases that were closed down were getting new multi million dollar buildings, and even though the base closed, the contracts on these still had to be honored. ($6.8 Million golf course at Griffiss just completed 1 year prior to being closed, Big million $ hospital at Pease that was completed AFTER they closed, etc.) Money planners seem to be waiting for these closures now to avoid this, but for the remaining bases, it takes a good 3-5 years from planning to the actual brick and morter to show up.

What is the time table of the BRAC? This will be a chance to go elsewhere where conditions will improve in some areas, but others might be worse.

As far as bases that don't suck, well, I have not seen one yet. MacDill is pouring in millions for new for CENTCOM, but I don't know about what maintenance is looking at. At Barksdale, 2 ea. new 2-bay hangers have been built in the past 10 years and it was a huge improvement for Phase and Fuel Cell, but again, they worked in crap for years. They have built a few of those "apartment" dorms here and they are sweet, but again, it was years in planning and building. Self help was doing a lot of improvements to the older shops, but money is drying up.

As far as the ******* Flight Chiefs, they don't hold their positions forever. Someone will replace him sometime.

I am completing my 22 year hitch in a few months, and things seem to look worse now than 1985, but we had a lot of the same things even back then, so all I can do is advise you to keep the chin up, things do get better. As for morale, yes, it's bad here, but not rock bottom yet. A lot of folks are getting out in droves. Op's tempo is huge, and manning is way down, but this seems to be an issue at every base. Will it get better? It has to, but as said before, it will take time.

Just remember this: All you can do is your job by the book. If you see hazards, report them, and use the AFOSH regs to help your case. Sometimes it doesn't work and people might turn a blind eye, but it doesn't hurt to try. As long as you are doing the right thing and document it, your case will be stronger.

Splitz

iTrader: (1)

But, what you are forgetting to mention is, even though BRAC is forcing a closure of Pope doesn't mean that it "disappears" either. The base will be turned over to local municipalities, so, "new" building will be put to good use by the city that annexes the property. All is not lost when it comes to BRAC closings.

It's happened many times, look at Castle AFB in California which closed about 15 years ago. The cities will decide what to do with the old buildings, either tear the ones that are bad and sell to a developer or see the "neW" buildings to private businesses. So, the money spend on BRAC bases isn't going for no purpose.

Mullet

iTrader: (2)

Yes, but the mindset is why should the AF fund these buildings and sell them for pennies on the dollar when that money would be put to better use on an active base?

Ruckus46Gt

iTrader: (9)

i'm at luke and have no complaints at all. However wouldnt want to be out on the flight line working in the heat of the summer.