[pabianice]

When we Navy types landed at a USAF base we couldn't believe how well they lived. On one flight we had a windshield crack and had to make an emergency landing at Wright Patterson AFB to wait for a new windshield. We were given two brand new AF vans and put in quarters like a Sheraton hotel, private rooms with A/C, color cable TV, and wet bars. A week later we landed at NAS Bermuda. There was no ground transportation so we had to ride in the back of a base garbage truck to and from quarters. Quarters were a 40 year old barracks. There was no food because we had landed after midnight. The contrast was stark.

[Brilliant]

Congressional Bone-Heads.

[nevergore]

My daughter is currently at USAFA......

The facilities there are incredible......

However, Annapolis is not that far behind....

West Point...well nobody likes them anyway :^)

[BritExPatInFla]

You kow what the difference between an Air Force pilot and a Naval Avaiator is?
Air Force pilots squat when they pee.

:p

(Sorry, former Royal Navy, couldn't resist)

[rhombus]

As the youngest service it only makes sense that the base would be newer. Heck the Navy's been around since when? JP Jones?

[Mike Bates]

When we Navy types landed at a USAF base we couldn't believe how well they lived.

When I was in (a lifetime ago), we Army types had the same experience when we spent overnight at a Texas USAF base.

[Moonman62]

Isn't Wright Patterson the center of the Air Force? While Bermuda is a nice location, it's probably just another stop the to Navy.

[KeyLargo]

Us Army guys would visit the Air Force base in Tuy Hoa, Vietnam just to have a chance to use a flush toliet!

[mbynack]

A lot of the AF Morale, Welfare, and Recreation facilities are self sustaining. They make enough money through fees to pay for themselves.

I've been assigned to Army, Navy, and Marine facilities and can vouch for the fact that the AF treated their people the best. I don't know if I would have stayed in beyond my first enlistment if I had to live like the other services.

[f zero]

Ping to sis

[19th LA Inf]

When we Navy types landed at a USAF base we couldn't believe how well they lived.

In 1952, a couple of us (Army PFCs) traveling cross country on TDY in an Air Force B-25, landed at Memphis NAS in a hammering rainstorm. My first impression of Navy ways was seeing the two tiny coffee urns in Ops, labeled "officers" and "crew". Then we were put up for the night in a transient barracks. Next morning, we two lowly grunts could not dine with the Air Force crew chief from the B-25, who had to join the Chiefs and Waves on the other side of the mess hall. Our unforgettable Navy treat: Beans for breakfast!

[NonValueAdded]

Better to build nicer facilities, stock them with the latest video games, and tell the troops to practice, practice, practice. Meanwhile. build more Global Hawks ... and the next gen, and the one after that. Worried about the impact on the aircraft industry, needing far fewer employees to build pilotless vehicles? Airbus has a 2,000+ plane backlog.

Imagine if those same generals ran the LA Times ... they would be ordering new printing presses right about now.

[justshutupandtakeit]

There appears to be no doubt that the strategic needs of our military requires a cutback in the Air Force. We are more likely to need tactical forces available only in the Navy, Army and Marines to fight the fights ahead of us.

Could this be one of the reasons Rumsfeld is hated by some?

[Traditional Vet]

When we Navy types landed at a USAF base we couldn't believe how well they lived.

LOL.

I joined the AF in 1962 and it was that way then.

"We" lived large, compared to our brothers in the other services.

Of course there was a trade-off.

While the Army and Navy promoted their personnel (and here I'm referring to enlisted, although it may apply to Officers as well) rapidly--especially with the "Specialists" grades, the Air Force ALWAYS lagged behind in that respect.

While it took on the average of 3 1/2 - 4 years (at that time) to achieve Staff Sergeant (E-5) in the Air Force, it was NOT unusual to see Specialist 5's in the Army with only 2 1/2 - 3 years in service.

Therefore, our "perks" of nice mess halls with good chow; barracks with 2-men rooms; and other amenities not enjoyed by the Army or Navy (and I wouldn't even dare address the poor Marines) were ways the Air Force attracted and retained "quality" personnel.

I don't know if the situation has changed over the past 35 years or so since I got out (1970) regarding promotions, but if not, then it would be a big mistake for the Air Force to be considering cutting back on the one "advantage" they enjoyed over the other branches, UNLESS, they begin making up for those losses with equal time and grade promotions much the same as the Army and Navy.

[armymarinemom]

Our Marine enlisted in the Air National Guard after serving nine years. He is now in Texas training as a medic. It's a big culture shock. After his first day on base he called home and said "I ate at the chow hall, you won't believe this but the bused my table!". He still can't believe the difference in quarters.

[CholeraJoe]

Just don't close the air-conditioned Officers' Clubs!

[Steel Wolf]

Anyone remember the movie Bat 21? Where Gene Hackman is the Air Force officer who gets trapped behind enemy lines. He's got no real combat experience, or training, but needs a code to communicate to his rescuers with. Anyone remember what that code was? :-)

[Gay State Conservative]

Recruitment and retention should be job #1 at the Pentagon. Doing anything that would harm either of these endeavors is stupid beyond belief.

[meandog]

Yup...I've had the same experience. I was in the Navy Reserve after active duty as a submariner and when on my two-week "summer vacation" would usually have to check into a Navy transit barracks (open bay) where the Master-at-Arms would give me a "fart sack" and a pillow (no pillow case). About 20 years ago I went to an ACTDUTRA at Peterson AFB in Colorado and was completely blown away by the clean sheets, single rooms and hospitality. I'd second the "Chair Force" as having the best to offer in the way of bases (Navy probably comes in second, then the Army, with Jarheads being the cow's tail--they don't even give you a sheet; you're lucky to even get a mattress--especially if you're a Sailor ("Hey Squid, we need a messcook and you just volunteered.")

[VoyagerXII]

Does Anyone remeber the MWLK barracks at Kadena in the late eighties / early nineties?

The Airforce has nice facilities, but they would not trust
them to Marines.

MWLK=Marine Wing Liason Kadena, in case you were wondering.

[jess35]

It should be noted that NAS Bermuda was formerly known as Kindley Air Force Base. ;-)