Help with air force bases

[Pathfreak1]

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I was told that these are the bases where I could potentially be assigned:
USAFAcademy in Colorado
Lakenheath in England
Landsthul in Germany
Keesler in Mississippi
Lackland in Texas
Langley in Virginia
Elmendorf in Alaska
Nellis in Nevada
Offutt in Nebraska
Travis in California
Eglin in Florida
Wright-Patt in Ohio
Andrews in Maryland

Any thoughts taking into consideration cost of living, variety of things to do/entertainment? I will really appreciate any comments!

 

[GeoLeoX]

Where you are stationed depends on a number of things, your preference being fairly low on the list. First of all there has to be space, then that space has to be able to be filled by someone with the appropriate rank/skills/experience. As you can imagine this is a constantly shifting target. Many of the small shops in desirable places are going to be filled by those on "twilight tours" (near to retirement). Your chances of going to one of the big places are much greater. If I can safely infer your desired future career from your username then your options are probably more limited. Of course your specialty has a lot to do with it. There are greater opportunities (and opportunities are not always good) in primary care than in subspecialty medicine. Maybe if you told us what specialty you are interested in you may get more information.

 

[DocKodak]

Judging from your SDN name, you are going into path? Of those you listed, Offutt no longer has pathologists and Langley hasn't for a long time but there are occasionally rumors that they might get them back but so far it hasn't happened.

Actually, within pathology in the Air Force they are *pretty* good at getting people to one of the places they want. Compared to some other specialties I've seen, it isn't too bad.

PM also sent.

 

[DrZuza]

If you would like to combine work with lots of leisure travel, then I would say Landstuhl, Germany is THE place2B.

 

[USAFGMODOC]

Slow for business in Keesler (Biloxi). Good if you like a slower pace of work and lots of time off.

Pros: They have every other Friday as a "down" day.
Casinos have some decent shows and bars don't have cover charge
Track and gym directly across from hospital
Nice marina if you have a boat or like to boat
Golf nearly year round
Beach has nice sand - but water isn't nice unless you go out to island.
1 1/2 hrs to New Orleans and 2 Hrs to Pensacola (for a nice beach)

Cons: Schools are decent in Ocean Springs, but not alot of things to do
for kids (unless you like fishing/boating)
Hot - Hot and really HOT with Humidity in summer
Can fly into Gulfport, but flights are limited and usually more expensive
(fly out of N.O.)
Alot of things are still expensive here post Katrina - homeowners insurance is ridiculous (RENT - Don't Buy unless you are a native)

Hope this helps a little

 

[loveboatdoc]

You forfeit leave time when crossing the English Channel, if stationed in the UK. At Landstuhl, you can drive quite a ways on weekends and not consume leave days.

While over there, you avoid jet-lag and can go places like Egypt (best trip I ever took / Nile Cruise + 3 days in Cairo / great pyramids + museum).

Fuel on-base is at USA prices. Off-base it costs a fortune.

You'll get a cost of living allowance, depending upon the strength of the dollar. COLA fluctuates throughout your tour.

They still pay for you to return to CONUS for CME, so you can see relatives then. I got 2 trips/year for CME, plus various trips for training in San Antonio and at USUHS. ATLS was in Germany (I was stationed in the UK), so that was another good benefit.

Had no trouble getting time off for deaths in the family, to return to CONUS. Also got paid to take a house-hunting trip to CO when transferred to the USAFA. Then, got paid to travel from CO to St Louis to pick up my car they had shipped...free week off. (I was amazed they required ME to do it...my hubby couldn't go)

Bought antiques in England to ship back, but the military movers destroyed stuff pretty thoroughly...so buy extra insurance.

 

[loveboatdoc]

Florence, Italy
San Gimignano, Italy
York, England
London (went at least 20 times / awesome theater)
Rome
Ireland
Scotland
Paris
Egypt
Med Cruise / but skip Barcelona (French Riviera OK)

(managed to do all of this, during a 3-year tour)

You'll also get paid as a doc to take somewhat silly training days, to do stuff like chem warfare class, bioterrorism class, set up big tents as a team, practice mass casualty drills, and go to admin meetings. I always felt as if they were wasting their money during some of this stuff, but it's their dime. You get unlimited sick leave (like the 5 weeks post-op I needed once...no deduction from pay).