best &Worse Duty stations

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Hi guys,

What would you guys think to the the best and worst spots to practive medicien in the Navy?

Originally Posted by NAVYLABTECH08

Hi guys,

What would you guys think to the the best and worst spots to practive medicien in the Navy?

Anything in Hawaii, Europe or Japan in my opinion.

Originally Posted by NAVYLABTECH08

Hi guys,

What would you guys think to the the best and worst spots to practive medicien in the Navy?

I would imagine China Lake, CA would be the worst place, but I am unsure if they have any medical doctors there. There are other garden spots, deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan probably would be at the top of the list too.

Mark

Great idea!

But.....I want to stay anonymous.

Medicalcorpse?

Bad = 29 Palms
Good = Miramar or North Island (you know, if you like warm, sunny weather year round)

Originally Posted by NAVYLABTECH08

Hi guys,

What would you guys think to the the best and worst spots to practive medicien in the Navy?

Worst:http://www.nsgreatlakes.navy.mil/

I asked my IDC the same thing. He said:

Good: Gitmo, Iceland, Italy, Spain, Japan, and anywhere west coast.

Bad: NWS Charleston, anywhere east coast (due to proximity to DC)

Originally Posted by sunny08

I asked my IDC the same thing. He said:

Good: Gitmo, Iceland, Italy, Spain, Japan, and anywhere west coast.

Bad: NWS Charleston, anywhere east coast (due to proximity to DC)

What does the proximity to DC have to do with anything?

I find it hard to believe that gitmo would be a better station that Charleston...why is this the case?

Originally Posted by NNavy21

What does the proximity to DC have to do with anything?

I find it hard to believe that gitmo would be a better station that Charleston...why is this the case?

There's a belief that the closer you get to DC, the more anal everyone gets. I don't have experience with this so I can't say if it's true or not. I actually like the Charleston area. I can't imagine why it would be worse than being stuck on a base "eating breakfast 300 yards from 4000 Cubans who are trained to kill you".

Originally Posted by FutureNavyFP

I can't imagine why it would be worse than being stuck on a base "eating breakfast 300 yards from 4000 Cubans who are trained to kill you".

Why? Because US Marines are trained to protect 1. their fellow Marines and then 2. Americans. I've never served, and haven't talked to any of my Marine college classmates in years, but I get the warm fuzzies knowing that some 20 year old kid from Kansas is sitting there with the pig or the SAW or an M-16 or in a tower with a Barrett, and that he is ready and willing to turn as many of the 4K Cubans into a fine red mist as he can, at the risk of his own life, to protect me, whom he doesn't know and hasn't even ever met.

Originally Posted by Markp

I would imagine China Lake, CA would be the worst place, but I am unsure if they have any medical doctors there. There are other garden spots, deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan probably would be at the top of the list too.

Mark

China Lake!!! That brings back memories. Back in my former life, me and my dad were in business together (defense sub-contractor) and we had to make house calls up there when equipment would not do what it was supposed to do in the field.

About proximity to DC, what the above poster wrote is exactly what I've heard: closer to DC=more anal. Seriously anal, potty trained at gunpoint anal. Especially Bethsedsa (one reason why I turned down USUHS). Why not charleston? If you're working for MOMAU or EOD it might be great. NEVER take a billet where you're working anywhere near the nuclear navy. (no carriers, folks. Sorry). no one on the planet is as anal as nukes, especially those close to DC. West coast navy is TOTALLY different story. More relaxed, chill, etc.

Personally, I didn't believe him when he said Gitmo would be great. You're confined to like 150 acres of an island (could be more, but you get the idea). The only thing there is to do there is apply more bug spray, scuba dive (that has potential), work out, and eat. He said it was his most favorite duty station yet, and he has 20+ years of experience. He hated Japan, buy my FMF corpsman loved it. I think a lot of it is what you make out of your own situation. I love Charleston, hate the nuclear navy, though.

Also, I hear England is fantastic duty, but I think I remember hearing a rumor that they are closing that base. Can anyone input definitively?

All the best!

Originally Posted by Apollyon

Why? Because US Marines are trained to protect 1. their fellow Marines and then 2. Americans. I've never served, and haven't talked to any of my Marine college classmates in years, but I get the warm fuzzies knowing that some 20 year old kid from Kansas is sitting there with the pig or the SAW or an M-16 or in a tower with a Barrett, and that he is ready and willing to turn as many of the 4K Cubans into a fine red mist as he can, at the risk of his own life, to protect me, whom he doesn't know and hasn't even ever met.

Don't you watch movies? Jack Nickolson, Tom Cruise (pre-cult years), starting to ring any bells?

Geography is like beauty...in the eye of the beholder. Also, it's conceiveable to have a miserable time in paradise if your job sucks or the people you work with are tools. That being said, you have little control or intel about those last two, so all there is left to obcess about is the geography.
29 Palms, Yuma and China Lake seem pretty miserable, but keep in mind you're an easy weekend trip to San Diego, Phoenix, Tahoe and Sequoia. That's pretty appealing. I hear bad things about Camp Lejune, but have never been there, same with Great Lakes. Gulf Coast is okay, if that's your thing, but it is what it is. Spent some time in San Diego, and enjoyed it, but I believe SoCal is way overrated. Hidden gem.... Key West.
Speaking from experience, I can tell you that a positive attitude will go a long way to making a seemingly crummy place tolerable.

Originally Posted by FutureNavyFP

Don't you watch movies? Jack Nickolson, Tom Cruise (pre-cult years), starting to ring any bells?

Coincidentally, Top Gun is on cable right now. From what I've heard, Gitmo is great, because it's a Marine's paradise - even though you ain't shootin' no one, you get to be the Marine's Marine.

Cruise had already been in the cult for 9 years when that movie came out.

Was reading through this discussion. Any updated recs for selecting a first duty station?
I'm an allied health professional/direct accession who works with wounded warriors. Warm weather preferred and single professional/no kids. Thanks!

Originally Posted by Redfish07

Was reading through this discussion. Any updated recs for selecting a first duty station?
I'm an allied health professional/direct accession who works with wounded warriors. Warm weather preferred and single professional/no kids. Thanks!

Totally depends on what you want. Career satisfaction or apres work lifestyle? Conus or Oconus? Do you want city life, outdoors, east coast, west coast? People knock China Lake and 29 Stumps, but if you are into outdoors China Lake is barely over an hour to Lake Isabella and the Kern River Valley, maybe two hours from Lone Pine (epic climbing so I hear). Almost the same for 29 Palms being right next to Joshua Tree NP. City life - go for DC or San Diego though they are completely different kinds of cities.

And yes, the closer to DC you are the more anal the Navy is.

Very helpful, and it does sound like there can be positives about every place. Family and friends wise, East coast would be a better fit.....am still thinking through all options, though. Would like to work with Marines. Would be nice to have some proximity to a variety of folks, not exclusively military, and I realize that can be tough in a place like camp lejeune or maybe even Portsmouth.
That said, I recently went on the medical VIP trip and NMCSD was amazing, plus there's the proximity to camp pendleton. Tough to beat San Diego area for quality of life.

One of the keys to being happy in the military is to learn to love where you are since you don't always get to go where you want. If I lived in San Diego I would learn how to surf. If I were at 29 Palms I would probably get more into climbing and off road driving/motorcycling. There are enough "bad" locations that you should plan on thinking them through and prioritizing. Better to get one of the "bad" ones you would prefer over one you wouldn't.

East coast plus Marines and it sounds like you are interested in cities? Quantico might be the place. I wonder if the Marine Corps Barracks at 8th & I have a spot for a doc ...? I doubt it.

El Centro, 29 Palms, G'tmo, or Diego Garcia = worst

Excellent idea about Quantico - hadn't even considered asking about that one!!!
Sounds like some wise words about learning to appreciate and making the most of your environs, wherever you are stationed. I must be hearing that for a reason now!
It is good to read folks' thoughts as the Navy did ask me to think about preferences.

I has to look up Diego Garcia -- Looks like it's had a fairly intense past, which is probably the understatement of the year!

How about sea duty? for me, I prefer to be in china lake or 29 palms.

Originally Posted by rmed

How about sea duty? for me, I prefer to be in china lake or 29 palms.

No sea duty based at China Lake, but 29 Palms has debloyable units so you might be able to be with the Marines there.

Follow up question to this post....
are there circumstances under which you can pick your duty station before you sign on the dotted line? or not so much? just curious about the order of the events.
also wondering whether you are held to the duty station preferences you entered on your application, or whether you can vocalize different preferences when you talk to the detailer? if duty station preferences have changed since application submission, it is better to let the Navy know now while they have my application?
thanks in advance!!!

So much nonsense in this thread. Best and worst? Like a few posters have commented, all depends on what you want. Traditionally people turn their noses up at Lejune, Gitmo, 29 Palms, China Lake but I'd personally go insane if I was at Tinker AFB (yes there are Navy billets there for flight surgeons).

When I was in flight school the billets people wanted least were at Cherry Point (essentially Lejune) and the few in Japan. We had billets at Point Mugu which is basically Mailbu and it wasn't very highly contested. In fact the billet in Norfolk was the most sought after. No one cared a whole lot about Navy versus Marines or helos or fixed wing. It all came down to location and if it is isn't obvious already, it's all relative.