Veterans - were you ever stationed somewhere you thought you'd hate, but...

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Veterans - were you ever stationed somewhere you thought you'd hate, but... (Page 1 of 3)

Posted: 1/18/2021 2:51:05 PM EDT

ended up liking it?

I can't ask my birth father, he died in '78 (self inflicted).

I remember the Marines at the U.S. Consulate in Lome, Togo and wondered if they really wanted to be there.

Posted: 1/18/2021 2:57:25 PM EDT

[#1]

I enjoyed my time in Afghanistan.

18Z50

Posted: 1/18/2021 3:00:38 PM EDT

[#2]

I really liked my time in Bagram. AFSC 1A2x1.

I hated my job before that, but I kind of miss Columbus MS. That is the place that got me into guns in the first place.

Posted: 1/18/2021 3:02:01 PM EDT

[#3]

Quote History

Quoted:
I enjoyed my time in Afghanistan.

18Z50

View Quote

Tarin Kowt was nice.

Posted: 1/18/2021 3:02:18 PM EDT

[#4]

Great Lakes, IL staff - I lived in Kenosha, WI

In the 90s the woke movement was barely alive. So going to the city or other places was tolerable and fun.

Posted: 1/18/2021 3:03:20 PM EDT

[#5]

Arkansas grew on me. I thought I’d like being stationed in England but I am lukewarm at best on it.

Posted: 1/18/2021 3:05:35 PM EDT

[#6]

I got sent to Korea, and was sure I would hate it. Turned out it was pretty cool, got to spend my year with some great guys in the 8th army Honor guard. Saw the country from Jeju island to the DMZ.

Posted: 1/18/2021 3:07:53 PM EDT

[#7]

I thought Panama would suck. But, chicks loved GIs, white Sandy beach's, European style casino's, cheap good seafood.did I mention the cosmopolitan society and the girls loved GIs?

Posted: 1/18/2021 3:08:31 PM EDT

[#8]

Being on the DMZ was good enough to get me to extend there.

Posted: 1/18/2021 3:09:19 PM EDT

[#9]

I had the opposite happen.

Thought I was gonna love Carson, hated almost every minute of it.

Posted: 1/18/2021 3:09:27 PM EDT

[#10]

Quote History

Quoted:
I got sent to Korea, and was sure I would hate it. Turned out it was pretty cool, got to spend my year with some great guys in the 8th army Honor guard. Saw the country from Jeju island to the DMZ.

View Quote

Annyeonghaseyo!

Posted: 1/18/2021 3:09:53 PM EDT

[#11]

Thought I was going to hate Minot ND given the reputation. However we thoroughly enjoyed our time there and made some lifelong friends. I'd go back in a minute if given the opportunity. 3P0X1.

Posted: 1/18/2021 3:10:54 PM EDT

[#12]

I ended up on a LHD which sucked ass, but they dropped us off in Australia for a week so it didn’t suck.

Posted: 1/18/2021 3:11:48 PM EDT

[#13]

I thought i was going to a liberal shithole called Calif. But the northern area is actually conservative. I hated my job as an Army recruiter, but enjoyed Northern California. I did alot of
4 wheeling, Rubicon, Fordyce Creek, Hammers and alot of others numerous times.

Met alot of nice people with the Grass Valley 4 Wheelers.

Posted: 1/18/2021 3:13:48 PM EDT

[#14]

I thought I would hate 29 Palms when it came up on my order sheet. Turns out I hated 29 Palms.

Fuck that rat hole.

Posted: 1/18/2021 3:16:52 PM EDT

[#15]

I hate all third world shitholes pretty much equally.

Especially when I’m there for no purpose.

Posted: 1/18/2021 3:17:15 PM EDT

[#16]

Quote History

Quoted:

I thought I would hate 29 Palms when it came up on my order sheet. Turns out I hated 29 Palms.

Fuck that rat hole.

View Quote

I did SAR out there and can confirm this. Saved a few because of heat related issues including a Brit Marine. He’s probably saying the same thing you did.

Posted: 1/18/2021 3:18:51 PM EDT

[#17]

I figured I’d hate 29 Palms , but I liked it . You could be in Vegas, LA, or exploring the desert. I liked the training areas also.

Posted: 1/18/2021 3:19:05 PM EDT

[#18]

Thought I would love being stationed at Schofield Barracks and I ended up loving Schofield Barracks.

Posted: 1/18/2021 3:22:22 PM EDT

[#19]

San Diego was pretty nice

Grew up in LA and was hoping to be stationed a bit further from home LOL. It worked well in the end because I could drive home on weekends and holidays instead of flying like everyone else.

Posted: 1/18/2021 3:25:16 PM EDT

[#20]

Thought I would hate being stationed in Iceland for 1-1/2 yrs (more that I did) but got on the pistol team there and that got me out of a lot of work. Plus got to come back to the states for competition. I wouldn't go back but I made the best of it while there.

Posted: 1/18/2021 3:35:37 PM EDT

[#21]

Ft. Chaffee, AR.

It was a big shit hole. Old school WWII barracks that had been closed since the 1950’s except one row renovated for our battalion (by renovated I mean they put siding on the rotting wood, but left all the asbestos intact).

It was a weird situation - they couldn’t officially station us at Ft. Chaffee because our little Infantry battalion was the only permanent party (no medical facilities or much of anything else), so they pretended we were stationed at LRAFB and all our records were kept at Ft. Sill. We went back to LRAFB for one week/month. AF only gave us two buildings so all NCO’s, whether married or single, had BAQ and lived off-base even though we were rarely there. That one week in Jacksonville was glorious though, because AF eats like kings.

It turned out to be a great assignment. Arkansas is a beautiful state and we were OPFOR for the original JRTC. JRTC didn’t move to Ft. Polk until late ‘92. The locals weren’t all right in the head, but for the most part they were really good to us. We were Airborne and there were plenty of C-130s at LRAFB to keep us jumping, plus we’d task visiting units with providing helicopters for jumps, especially when the 101st rotated through because they’d bring a sh*t-load of copters.

I went back a couple of years ago, was able to get into my barracks. Nothing changed except the bunks are gone.

Attached File

Everything on base looked like this

Attached File

Until the Ft. Chaffee Redevelopment Authority found out what it would cost to remove all the asbestos, then there was a mysterious fire that burned down hundreds of buildings....

Attached File

Posted: 1/18/2021 3:37:29 PM EDT

[#22]

1980's Korea .. mamasan love the GI .. ticket out ... lots O Ptang

Posted: 1/18/2021 3:38:39 PM EDT

[#23]

Quoted:
ended up liking it?

I can't ask my birth father, he died in '78 (self inflicted).

I remember the Marines at the U.S. Consulate in Lome, Togo and wondered if they really wanted to be there.

View Quote

Yep. Got sent to Alaska as newly 18 year old from a city with a bunch of shit to do. Hated it the first year or so but ended up loving it. Stayed there for many years after I got out and will be moving back here in a couple of years . Still have a house there I have been renting.

Posted: 1/18/2021 3:41:01 PM EDT

[#24]

MCAS Beaufort, SC.
OTOH, I thought I would love El-Toro and instead I hated SoCal.

Posted: 1/18/2021 3:45:40 PM EDT

[#25]

Quote History

Quoted:

I thought I would hate 29 Palms when it came up on my order sheet. Turns out I hated 29 Palms.

Fuck that rat hole.

View Quote

It is a decent location if you have a good jerb and a vehicle to get the fuck out on the weekends.

Billeting can make a big difference. I was in 14 Area at Campen and it sucked ass because of the WWII/Vietnam era barracks we had to live in. Our shop sucked ass because it was a Vietnam morgue, complete with coffin markers still on the deck and bulkheads.

The entire experience would have been better if I had just done a contract marriage so I could live off base. The chick I was living with has been around for 30 years now, so I passed up that sweet BAQ/VHA money for longer than I should have.

Posted: 1/18/2021 3:46:00 PM EDT

[#26]

Meh. Like is a relative term.

You can like the unit and/or hate the location. You can hate the unit and/or like the location. You can like both or hate both.

I've had multiple combinations of the two.

Posted: 1/18/2021 3:48:31 PM EDT

[#27]

Minot AFB, ND.....no, no wait....I hated that place. Now, Sheppard AFB, TX wasn't bad. The assignment was pretty easy and the area had a low cost of living. Only downside was the HEAT.

Posted: 1/18/2021 3:50:36 PM EDT

[#28]

Quoted:
ended up liking it?

I can't ask my birth father, he died in '78 (self inflicted).

I remember the Marines at the U.S. Consulate in Lome, Togo and wondered if they really wanted to be there.

View Quote

Even the shitty posts on Embassy duty can end up being a good tour. Romania was a total communist shit-hole when I was there, but I wouldn't trade my time there.

At times I miss being in Iraq.

Posted: 1/18/2021 3:51:38 PM EDT

[#29]

Pendleton sucked, for the most part. Memphis wasn't bad. Everywhere overseas was wonderful.

Posted: 1/18/2021 3:56:27 PM EDT

[#30]

Everyone talked shit on Fayettenam but honestly I enjoyed North Carolina.

Posted: 1/18/2021 3:58:32 PM EDT

[#31]

Long Beach, CA was pretty nice in the mid 80s. I had a good time there. I even bought my first handgun at a local gun store.

Posted: 1/18/2021 4:00:45 PM EDT

[#32]

fort stewart was a shithole, but then i realized i could go to savannah or statesboro on the weekends

haaf is not a bad place to get stationed conus imho

Posted: 1/18/2021 4:01:19 PM EDT

[#33]

Offutt

Nebraska (UNO and UNMC} coeds changed my perspective

Posted: 1/18/2021 4:04:29 PM EDT

[#34]

Who wouldn't love a year in Thailand?

Posted: 1/18/2021 4:05:36 PM EDT

[#35]

Guantanamo Bay, back in the 80's I figured I'd hate it. Ended up loving it.

Posted: 1/18/2021 4:07:08 PM EDT

[#36]

Ft Bliss has a rough reputation but I've actually really enjoyed being out there. The unit I'm with is..... different, but Bliss and El Paso are fine.

Posted: 1/18/2021 4:08:10 PM EDT

[#37]

I hated Norfolk til I left. Wasn't thrilled with Charleston but it was fun.

AFG was good in retrospect, but didn't feel all real useful. That really was a mental drag.

Posted: 1/18/2021 4:10:13 PM EDT

[#38]

Quote History

Quoted:
Pendleton sucked, for the most part. Memphis wasn't bad. Everywhere overseas was wonderful.

View Quote

What did you not like about Pendleton?

I thought it was going to be great swinging with the wing, but I pretty much hated Havenot NC and Cherry Point. I was a boot ass without wheels and the unit sucked donkey balls.

Posted: 1/18/2021 4:10:20 PM EDT

[#39]

Quote History

Quoted:
Ft. Chaffee, AR.

It was a big shit hole. Old school WWII barracks that had been closed since the 1950’s except one row renovated for our battalion (by renovated I mean they put siding on the rotting wood, but left all the asbestos intact).

It was a weird situation - they couldn’t officially station us at Ft. Chaffee because our little Infantry battalion was the only permanent party (no medical facilities or much of anything else), so they pretended we were stationed at LRAFB and all our records were kept at Ft. Sill. We went back to LRAFB for one week/month. AF only gave us two buildings so all NCO’s, whether married or single, had BAQ and lived off-base even though we were rarely there. That one week in Jacksonville was glorious though, because AF eats like kings.

It turned out to be a great assignment. Arkansas is a beautiful state and we were OPFOR for the original JRTC. JRTC didn’t move to Ft. Polk until late ‘92. The locals weren’t all right in the head, but for the most part they were really good to us. We were Airborne and there were plenty of C-130s at LRAFB to keep us jumping, plus we’d task visiting units with providing helicopters for jumps, especially when the 101st rotated through because they’d bring a sh*t-load of copters.

I went back a couple of years ago, was able to get into my barracks. Nothing changed except the bunks are gone.

https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/180048/9074B43A-9FFB-4733-9A26-AD020BE379B1_jpe-1785288.JPG

Everything on base looked like this

https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/180048/1064CB6C-9816-4F3D-809C-C56449554024_jpe-1785290.JPG

Until the Ft. Chaffee Redevelopment Authority found out what it would cost to remove all the asbestos, then there was a mysterious fire that burned down hundreds of buildings....

https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/180048/803B0D7B-7A43-4A30-9BC0-593F2AD39851_jpe-1785293.JPG

View Quote

I was there doing pre-mob stuff for a few months in 2008. That place was a shithole of epic proportions.

The black widow infestation in the WWII barracks we were staying in really kept us on our toes.

Posted: 1/18/2021 4:12:33 PM EDT

[#40]

Camp Casey Korea. Dreaded going there but ended up loving it there and extended for a second year.

Posted: 1/18/2021 4:12:53 PM EDT

[#41]

I was stationed at a place I thought I would love
And for awhile I hated it.
But then it became numb to me.

MCBH Hawaii

In all honesty, I got in trouble in California for wearing open toed sandals on base once.
In Hawaii, we were told open toed sandals are OK since it was Hawaii as long as it's not shower shoes, and that was the norm there
I completely forgot about the whole sandals dress code thing

Posted: 1/18/2021 4:13:36 PM EDT

[#42]

Ft Drum 11b.. Enjoyed off base stuff

Posted: 1/18/2021 4:16:53 PM EDT

[#43]

I thought I would hate Puget Sound, loved it. The 90s were great.

Posted: 1/18/2021 4:17:16 PM EDT

[#44]

Pearl Harbor, I can't complain too much.

Posted: 1/18/2021 4:21:02 PM EDT

[#45]

Okinawa. Up until I went I only heard gripes about what lousy duty it was. It was actually the best year I had in the Corps. I had a Japanese college girlfriend with her own car. I stayed out of the bars, away from BC Street and Whisper Alley, and managed to have the time of my life. This was 1980 by the way.

ETA- Was barracked at Camp Butler, worked the MACG-18 TACC underground in an old Nike-Herc bunker alongside the runaway at Futenma.

Posted: 1/18/2021 4:22:44 PM EDT

[#46]

Quote History

Quoted:

What did you not like about Pendleton?

I thought it was going to be great swinging with the wing, but I pretty much hated Havenot NC and Cherry Point. I was a boot ass without wheels and the unit sucked donkey balls.

View Quote View All Quotes

View All Quotes

Quote History

Quoted:

Quoted:
Pendleton sucked, for the most part. Memphis wasn't bad. Everywhere overseas was wonderful.

What did you not like about Pendleton?

I thought it was going to be great swinging with the wing, but I pretty much hated Havenot NC and Cherry Point. I was a boot ass without wheels and the unit sucked donkey balls.

I disliked being around grunt officers, new officers, and especially new grunt officers. Also, the MPs at Pendleton apparently hated life and took it out on us.

ETA and training squadrons served a purpose, but the fleet was where things happened.

Posted: 1/18/2021 4:22:57 PM EDT

[#47]

I was deployed on a carrier and really didn't like it but after hitting a couple of ports in the Med it was okay.

Posted: 1/18/2021 4:26:54 PM EDT

[#48]

Quote History

Quoted:
I was deployed on a carrier and really didn't like it but after hitting a couple of ports in the Med it was okay.

View Quote

I loved my time on a LPH. Loved everything about it, including typhoons. So badass.

Posted: 1/18/2021 4:36:31 PM EDT

[#49]

Went from great assignment to great assignment until the very end. Thought I'd love McChord (and in truth, parts of western WA are just amazingly beautiful), but the people there are some of the most self-centered, unpleasant assholes I've ever met in my life. Couldn't wait to get out of that part of the country.

Posted: 1/18/2021 4:43:00 PM EDT

[#50]

Looking back it was never the place that made the difference. It was always the people you were with.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Veterans - were you ever stationed somewhere you thought you'd hate, but... (Page 1 of 3)

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