Advice on Future Base Assignment?

[hull22]

It looks like I will be beginning to serve my ADSC in Internal Medicine this coming July. I submitted a preference list in December, not know much about the bases other than location. Just found out that I can update my preference list until the end of the month. Does anyone have insight into any of these bases? I'm not married nor have children so serving overseas is a possibility, though I'd still prefer to remain CONUS.

Academy
Aviano
Bitburg
Lakenheath
Landstuhl
Altus
Keesler
Lackland
Laughlin
Little Rock
Luke
Sheppard
Tyndall
Elmendorf
Kadena
Misawa
Osan
Yokota
Holloman
Langley
Minot
Mountain Home
Nellis
Offutt
Andrews
Dover
MacDill
Scott
Travis
Eglin
Kirtland
Wright-Patterson

Thanks,
Jacob

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[BOHICA-FIGMO]

It looks like I will be beginning to serve my ADSC in Internal Medicine this coming July. I submitted a preference list in December, not know much about the bases other than location. Just found out that I can update my preference list until the end of the month. Does anyone have insight into any of these bases? I'm not married nor have children so serving overseas is a possibility, though I'd still prefer to remain CONUS.

Academy--Fast,neat, average...
Aviano--never was stationd there but it is REALLY nice
Bitburg--the USAF still has a base here? I thought it closed after the cold war
Lakenheath--Good if you like special ops
Landstuhl--prototype for Purple-suit medicine, USAF still 2nd fiddle to Army
Altus--ughh, go here if you want to be bored to tears
Keesler--probably not a great choice after Katrina
Lackland--might be okay for IM if Wilford Hall picks up much of the area's outpatient burden. San Antonio is a good town, lots to do.
Laughlin-- Habla Espanol?
Little Rock--Haven't heard many positive comments about the city from those stationed there
Luke--HOT!!! Lots of F-16s here. Located in a descent part of Phoenix
Sheppard--Lots of enlisted medics and BSC training here.
Tyndall--Sierra Hotel!! My favorite assignment so far!
Elmendorf--Heard nothing but good things about Anchorage area
Kadena--Very busy base with lots of joint service activity (Navy, Marines)
Misawa-- Brrrr! Heard the Sapporo Ice festival is nice.
Osan --Not bad if you are single. Really enjoyed my year here. Big combat ready emphasis and lots of exercises!
Yokota--downtown Tokyo
Holloman--Ughh! Another good place to be bored to tears.
Langley--HQ ACC. Lots of brass here.
Minot--Why not Minot? Freezin's the reason!
Mountain Home--heard some good, some bad. Mix of aircraft types (F-16, F-15, B-1)
Nellis--Not sure about medical facilities here. Operationally, a good place ot be. Red Flag, Predators, and Special Ops.
Offutt--Omaha is a nice, mid sized town. STRATCOM Joint HQ
Andrews--enough Brass to fill a batlleship! Not sure status of IM with BRAC realignments in D.C. No inpatient at Malcolm Grow anymore
Dover--Nice base, if you like C-5s
MacDill-- never been here, but it has CENTCOM HQ.
Scott--US Transcom HQ, AMC HQ. My dad was stationed here for a while and I didn't think it was too bad.
Travis--Lots of radiologists!
Eglin--Great location. Lots and Lots of AFSOC
Kirtland--Again lots of AFSOC
Wright-Patterson--probably the new hub for USAF medicine after implemetation of BRAC. Otherwise, I hated the Dayton area.

 

[hull22]

Academy--Fast,neat, average...
Aviano--never was stationd there but it is REALLY nice
Bitburg--the USAF still has a base here? I thought it closed after the cold war
Lakenheath--Good if you like special ops
Landstuhl--prototype for Purple-suit medicine, USAF still 2nd fiddle to Army
Altus--ughh, go here if you want to be bored to tears
Keesler--probably not a great choice after Katrina
Lackland--might be okay for IM if Wilford Hall picks up much of the area's outpatient burden. San Antonio is a good town, lots to do.
Laughlin-- Habla Espanol?
Little Rock--Haven't heard many positive comments about the city from those stationed there
Luke--HOT!!! Lots of F-16s here. Located in a descent part of Phoenix
Sheppard--Lots of enlisted medics and BSC training here.
Tyndall--Sierra Hotel!! My favorite assignment so far!
Elmendorf--Heard nothing but good things about Anchorage area
Kadena--Very busy base with lots of joint service activity (Navy, Marines)
Misawa-- Brrrr! Heard the Sapporo Ice festival is nice.
Osan --Not bad if you are single. Really enjoyed my year here. Big combat ready emphasis and lots of exercises!
Yokota--downtown Tokyo
Holloman--Ughh! Another good place to be bored to tears.
Langley--HQ ACC. Lots of brass here.
Minot--Why not Minot? Freezin's the reason!
Mountain Home--heard some good, some bad. Mix of aircraft types (F-16, F-15, B-1)
Nellis--Not sure about medical facilities here. Operationally, a good place ot be. Red Flag, Predators, and Special Ops.
Offutt--Omaha is a nice, mid sized town. STRATCOM Joint HQ
Andrews--enough Brass to fill a batlleship! Not sure status of IM with BRAC realignments in D.C. No inpatient at Malcolm Grow anymore
Dover--Nice base, if you like C-5s
MacDill-- never been here, but it has CENTCOM HQ.
Scott--US Transcom HQ, AMC HQ. My dad was stationed here for a while and I didn't think it was too bad.
Travis--Lots of radiologists!
Eglin--Great location. Lots and Lots of AFSOC
Kirtland--Again lots of AFSOC
Wright-Patterson--probably the new hub for USAF medicine after implemetation of BRAC. Otherwise, I hated the Dayton area.

Thanks for your input. I wondering how people who have been overseas like it. A lot of people are encouraging me to go to Germany or Italy. I'm a bit hesitant because I've become so accustomed to American culture and convenience. Before recently, I couldn't imagine living in a place where I didn't have cable tv, my TiVo, and a local Best Buy to purchase my the latest gadgets. Don't get me wrong, I just visited Italy last year and loved it. While it may be nice to visit a new country, I think after a while, I may miss having certain things. Anyone who's been over there care to comment? Thanks

 

[dpill]

Thanks for your input. I wondering how people who have been overseas like it. A lot of people are encouraging me to go to Germany or Italy. I'm a bit hesitant because I've become so accustomed to American culture and convenience. Before recently, I couldn't imagine living in a place where I didn't have cable tv, my TiVo, and a local Best Buy to purchase my the latest gadgets. Don't get me wrong, I just visited Italy last year and loved it. While it may be nice to visit a new country, I think after a while, I may miss having certain things. Anyone who's been over there care to comment? Thanks

Italy was the most difficult place I have ever lived in my life. We just returned from a 3 yr assignment in August and I would rather be stationed at Grand Forks, ND than deal with Italy again. Don't get me wrong- the traveling was great, but like you said- Italy is a great place to visit as a tourist. I have also lived in Japan and England and I have spent a lot of time in Germany- I would definitely recommend any other overseas assignment over Aviano.

 

[Mirror Form]

Italy was the most difficult place I have ever lived in my life. We just returned from a 3 yr assignment in August and I would rather be stationed at Grand Forks, ND than deal with Italy again. Don't get me wrong- the traveling was great, but like you said- Italy is a great place to visit as a tourist. I have also lived in Japan and England and I have spent a lot of time in Germany- I would definitely recommend any other overseas assignment over Aviano.

Really? I had heard that Italy was awesome, but not to bother trying to go there b/c unless you have a lot of seniority you won't have a chance of getting it. Was it just inconvenient b/c of how everything in Italy seems to run slow and late?

 

[orbitsurgMD]

Really? I had heard that Italy was awesome, but not to bother trying to go there b/c unless you have a lot of seniority you won't have a chance of getting it. Was it just inconvenient b/c of how everything in Italy seems to run slow and late?

I lived there a short while, but in Sig, not Aviano. Things are different than the US. Housing can be a little funny to work out, an apartment is usually completely outfitted by the tenant, meaning lighting fixtures, kitchen cabinets and appliances, even bathroom fixtures, toilets and sinks, etc. Convenience and service does not seem to be a priority for public utilities. Arranging that could be a pain if you had to hit the ground running in you job. Organized crime can also be a problem in some places. A FS I knew literally had his entire household goods stolen out of his apartment when he was away (tell me the neighbors didn't have a clue). Most junior officers bought local cars rather than deal with importing a US vehicle. They sold them before leaving. Gas is subsidized for active duty with coupons.

 

[dpill]

Really? I had heard that Italy was awesome, but not to bother trying to go there b/c unless you have a lot of seniority you won't have a chance of getting it. Was it just inconvenient b/c of how everything in Italy seems to run slow and late?

Many of the issues were Aviano specific- being part of USAFE is challenging enough, then you add the Aviano specific problems. We heard that it was "a great place to live but a terrible place to work" before we got the assignment. We didn't believe it (how bad could it be?) and we both took unaccompanied assignments (Guam/ Korea) just to get there. In addition to issues with the Wing itself, living in Italy was incredibly challenging- everything you have to do when you arrive and when you leave (and pretty much everything in between) is inconvenient, and everything has to be done in person. Which would be fine if the base allotted you a reasonable time to do those things. But that usually isn’t the case. I think Italy would be a fine place to live, if you could live like the Italians (especially riposo- forget doing ANYTHING during lunch hour)- but throw in the American (especially military) pace of things, and it just isn't very fun. I LOVED Okinawa, England and Guam, so it wasn't just the adjustment living overseas. Pros are that it is beautiful, the food is great (as long as you don't get tired of Italian food), and you can travel quite easily from N. Italy. Unfortunately the negative list is much longer. It was one of those experiences that I don't really regret (esp. from the travel perspective) but would NEVER do again. I think we could have had a better assignment somewhere else.

 

[dfwentpa]

Spangdahlem/Bitburg...still open. Very nice area with mild temps in the winter. Live off base if possible (should be). A good sponsor to show you the ropes really makes it easier to deal with the utilities/banking, etc. Excellent location for travel. You can drive to London on a long weekend, but why drive when you can fly commercial for 60 euros RT.
Good wine/beer and food. Just make sure you get off-base and explore. Too many Americans get trapped into not exploring out of fear of the unknown. We were actually stationed at Gielenkirchen Nato AB which is about 100 miles west of Spang. We would go back in a heartbeat.
Offutt is downsizing- very low morale in the surgical flight. IM is seperate from the FP clinic and doesn't seem as stressed. I just retired from there.
Luke- Phx is a great town, the base is busy. Easy place to get a FAM flight in an F-16. Home prices escalating. We lived in Litchfield Park just down the road from the base and loved it. Good skiing 2.5 hrs away.
WPAFB- There for a year. Hospital was ok ( I was in the ENT Program for PAs). Didn't care for Dayton at all. They were trying to revitalize downtown so it may be better now.
I agree with Bohica about Tyndall- Lower Alabama part of Fl. Good fishing and beaches. No surfing. Excellent seafood!
I was at MacDill in 92-93. Base was nice, city sucked. I hear it has improved.
Sheppard- nice base, very low cost of living. Hear the commander is a real piece of work (nurse Col.). Community loves the military.
If at all possible go overseas!!!!!

 

[hull22]

I appreciate all of the input everyone has given. Feel free to keep it coming.

 

[hull22]

Alright, so I was assigned to Lackland AFB in San Antonio, which is not bad. I'm getting engaged and my fiance would really like to go to Germany. How soon after your first assignment can you ask for reassignment and how hard is it to get Germany? Thanks

 

[BOHICA-FIGMO]

Alright, so I was assigned to Lackland AFB in San Antonio, which is not bad. I'm getting engaged and my fiance would really like to go to Germany. How soon after your first assignment can you ask for reassignment and how hard is it to get Germany? Thanks

If you volunteer for overseas, you can PCS after 2 yrs. CONUS to CONUS you have to wait at least 3 yrs. When I got out last July, the USAF was really trying to cut down on PCS expenses by keeping officers in one place for longer periods of time.

To increase your odds of getting to Germany (a VERY popular assignment), your best bet as a medic would be to volunteer to do a 1yr remote in Korea with a follow-on to Germany. This gives you the highest odds, but there are obviously other ways to get there (never rule out ass-kissing ). Is your fiancee military? That could complicate things depending on his/her AFSC.

 

[hull22]

No, she isn't military. But doesn't want to be going to places in the middle of nowhere. Is Travis a popular choice too? Thanks

 

[USAFGMODOC]

No, she isn't military. But doesn't want to be going to places in the middle of nowhere. Is Travis a popular choice too? Thanks

I'm going to Rads residency, so see you at Wilford Hall....

 

[hull22]

you're quite lucky. Wish I could do rads, did a rotation there, nice department. See you there.

 

[coolslugs]

No, she isn't military. But doesn't want to be going to places in the middle of nowhere. Is Travis a popular choice too? Thanks

I am not military, but I live in the city where Travis AFB is located. All I have to say is it's at a great location.
Sacramento (capital of California): 1 hour east
Lake Tahoe/Reno (great for skiing + casinos): 3-4 hours east
Napa/Sonoma (wine country): 30-40 min north
San Francisco/Oakland/Berkeley (great cities + sports teams): 1 hour west
San Jose (silicon valley + ice hockey team): 90 min south
....And it's all in northern California, and you can always drive or fly down to LA (5 hours drive) and see what that city's got to offer you!

 

[The White Coat Investor]

I am also entering active duty this summer but in emergency medicine. Don't put too much effort into your rank list. I just talked to my assignment officer. He offered me a choice between the last place on my list and a place that doesn't have an emergency department yet. Why they asked me to make a list I'm not sure.

 

[Pemberley]

I am also entering active duty this summer but in emergency medicine. Don't put too much effort into your rank list. I just talked to my assignment officer. He offered me a choice between the last place on my list and a place that doesn't have an emergency department yet. Why they asked me to make a list I'm not sure.

Welcome to the Air Force!

 

[hull22]

I know they keep saying that "don't make any arrangement for housing and anything at all prior to arrival because it's not official until you shake the commander's hands". How common is it to have your assignment changed en route or before starting active duty?