Freeper Poll: Best CONUS ARMY Post

U.S. Army ^ | 2-22-2003 | staff

[Notwithstanding]

Army vets and current Army soldiers, please participate. Explain what it is that you like.

[happydogx2]

Schofield barracks in Hawaii.

Redeployed there from Vietnam in October '69. Mai-tai's, beaches, no one shooting at you and the laid-back atmosphere. Life was good (and still is).

happydogx2

[Dutchgirl]

As a civilian (Former USAF Brat) I have to highlight Camp Blanding, about 20 miles south of JAX in the middle of the real Florida (Conservative, Christian, Football Crazy) The scenery may be familiar as "Jane Doe" was filmed here. The camp is on beautiful Kingsley Lake, not too far from Gold Head Branch State Park.

[kms61]

Since you expanded the thread to include the Air Force, I'll throw in Navy. My sister is a Navy wife and has lived in Jacksonville, in southern Spain (Rota) and Whidbey Island NAS on Puget Sound. She hated Jacksonville, Whidbey isn't bad, but she absolutely loved Spain. 300 days of sunshine a year, lots of cultural activities, and an insanely low cost of living. They were able to afford a (small) villa with a maid and gardener on a CPO's housing allowance.

It used to drive her up the wall that so many people there were completely oblivious to the cultural opportunities available, and hardly ever left the base. She hung out with British expats, hit almost every museum in Spain, and visited Paris, Morocco, Budapest, and London, among other places.

This, of course was pre-911, and though it probably wouldn't have stopped her from galivanting around over there, I'm a lot happier that she's back in the states.

[Tennessee_Bob]

The two best bases are the one you just left and the one you're going to.

[For_God_and_Country]

Former Army Medic here..when it was MOS 91B....Ft. Sam hands down!! Ten mins from downtown San Antonio, 2 hrs from Dallas, 2 hrs from Houston and 45 mins from the beach!!!!

[ABG(anybody but Gore)]

My experience is limited since I only served in the National Guard with just one extended active duty time, but I loved Fort Hood, TX. It's an hour from Austin, and two hours from Dallas. Killeen is a decent sized city with plenty to do(for a single guy anyway).

Post to avoid like the plague: Fort Polk, LA. There is no middle ground, it's either too hot or too cold. Every single RA type I ever ran into has called it the worst post in CONUS. Throw in the fact that Leesville is better known as "Sleazeville" and you start to get the picture. Best place to party is over two hours away in Lafayette.

[Volunteer]

The best choice, for you & the family, is Carlisle Barracks, PA - home of the US Army War College. There are 3 JAG slots on the garrison side of the house & an unknown number on the school side. Nice community, good schools, and you will have the opportunity for more school at Dickinson School of Law - they offer an advanced degree in law (something over and above the JD - forgive me, I am not a lawyer & do not pretend to understand the educational system). I served here in the early & mid 90's. The result was seeing the Army's best and brightest senior leaders. I watch Fox News now & see the same folks in the role or "RET. Military Analyst" Because this is a small post, you will have about ZERO competition to get here. Plus, it may help you get a seat in a War College Class some where down the line. I'm not a fan of ticket-punching, but I also know the reality of the Army. Best of luck to you & thank you for serving our nation & the Army.

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

PING!

[deport]

And the rest of the states........

---

Montana

• Fort Wm. H. Harrison (National Guard)

Nebraska

• Camp Ashland (National Guard)

Nevada

• National Guard Recruiting Area (National Guard)
• Regional Training Institute (National Guard)

New Hampshire

• Camp La Bonte (National Guard)

New Jersey

• Fort Monmouth
• Picatinny Arsenal
• N. J. National Guard Training Center (National Guard)
• Fort Dix (Army Reserve)

New Mexico

• White Sands Missile Range
• Deming Range (National Guard)
• Tucumcari Training Site (National Guard)
• Carlsbad Training Site (National Guard)
• DeBremond Training Site (National Guard)
• Roswell Local Training Area (National Guard)

New York

• Fort Drum
• Fort Hamilton
• Seneca Army Depot
• U.S. Army Military Academy
• Camp Smith (National Guard)

North Carolina

• Fort Bragg
• Camp Butner (National Guard)

North Dakota

• Camp G. C. Grafton (National Guard)

Ohio

• Camp Perry (National Guard)

Oklahoma

• Fort Sill
• Camp Gruber (National Guard)

Oregon

• Umatilla Army Depot
• Camp Adair (National Guard)
• Camp Rilea (National Guard)
• Camp Withycombe (National Guard)

Pennsylvania

• Carlisle Barracks
• Letterkenny Army Depot
• Tobyhanna Army Depot
• Fort Indiantown Gap (National Guard)

Rhode Island

• Varnum Memorial Armory (National Guard)

South Carolina

• Fort Jackson
• Clark Hill Training Site (National Guard)
• South Carolina Training Center (National Guard)

South Dakota

• Camp Rapid (National Guard)

Tennessee

• Catoosa Training Center (National Guard)
• John Sevier Range (National Guard)

Texas

• Corpus Christi Army Depot
• Fort Bliss
• Fort Hood
• Fort Sam Houston
• Red River Army Depot
• Camp Bowie (National Guard)
• Camp Mabry (National Guard)
• Camp Maxey (National Guard)
• Camp Swift (National Guard)

Utah

• Dugway Proving Ground
• Tooele Army Depot
• Camp W. G. Williams (National Guard)

Vermont

• Camp Johnson (National Guard)
• Camp Ethan Allen (National Guard)

Virginia

• Fort A. P. Hill
• Fort Belvoir
• Fort Eustis
• Fort Lee
• Fort Monroe
• Forty Myer
• Fort Story
• National Guard Bureau/National Guard Readiness Center (National Guard)
• State Mil. Res. (National Guard)
• Fort Pickett (National Guard)

Washington

• Fort Lewis

West Virginia

• Camp Dawson (National Guard)

Wisconsin

• Fort McCoy (Army Reserve)

Wyoming

• Camp Guernsey (National Guard)

[LouD]

Roger that, Wolf.

Presidio of Monterey, or (gone but not forgotten) Vint Hill Farms Station, Virginia. Presidio of San Francisco was a pretty awesome place too.

[SAMWolf]

The only Conus duty I did was a Ft. Leonard Wood in the Fall and Winter. It sucked.

[ccmay]

Sgt. B. what kind of animal is that???

Probably a mountain lion or bobcat. They can both make some ungodly sounds.

I remember being on a camping trip in Arizona one night, and we must have camped too close to the animal's favorite spring or something, because it circled the camp for an hour. Every five minutes or so we heard what sounded like an opera singer being garroted. What was really freaky was how it always seemed to come from behind us, no matter where we were looking. Found the tracks in the morning, it was a mountain lion. I slept with my Buck knife open under my pillow.

It's amazing how the old caveman instincts surface in that kind of situation.

-ccm

[Intolerant in NJ]

Fort Lewis, Washington (of course, that was thirty-five years ago, but I doubt that it's any farther now from the major attraction, Seattle, than it was then)....

[kms61]

I guess it all depends on what a person's interests are. There's good deer hunting, and if fishing is your thing, Toldo Bend Reservoir is a short drive from Ft Polk.

OTOH, it IS out in the middle of nowhere, with not much in the way of cultural diversions, and it's blistering hot in the summer, and cold and rainy in the winter.

But I've lived about an hour away from Polk most of my life, and I kinda like it around here :-)

[ABG(anybody but Gore)]

I live in Lafayette, and I spent many a weekend and several months at Fort Polk, and while the scenery is beautiful(the woods and hills of central Louisiana are fabulous), it loses its luster compared to the drawbacks, Leesville being the first one. I can't think of too many posts where virtually the entire neighboring town is off limits to the troops for their own safety. And the weather is extreme. Totalling up my active duty for Desert Shield/Storm, weekend and annual training, I spent about a year there, and I can count on one hand the number of days where the weather could be considered pleasant.

[Born on the Storm King]

I was born and raised in West Point, New York, so there is no question about my favorite. I had a one bedroom apartment overlooking the bay in the Presidio of Monterey when I learned Russian there. To the 7th Inf Div vet who didn't like Fort Hunter Liggett---just go over the Nacimiento Coast Road and hang out in Big Sur---I used to live there on my days off from FHL!

[Rain-maker]

 

Ft. Belvoir, VA (my favorite base and school, 1987)

Past home of  the US Army  Engineers School

 

 

 

 

For 68 years, Ft. Belvoir was the home of the Engineer School. It produced thousands of officers, NCOs and enlisted engineers who saw action in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. Thousands more passed through the Engineer School during the peacetime years. In 1988, the Engineer School and Center moved to Ft Leonard Wood, Missouri.

 

 

 

[fightin kentuckian]

Even though I grew up in the hills of Kentucky where everything is lush and green, I'm partial to Ft Huachuca (aka Ft Hoochie Koochie), AZ. The first three letters are HUA however the post is somewhat laid back.

Being an Intel guy I get back there now and again but haven't been lucky enough to get stationed there, but I'll keep trying.

[Norman Arbuthnot]

To the 7th Inf Div vet who didn't like Fort Hunter Liggett---just go over the Nacimiento Coast Road and hang out in Big Sur---I used to live there on my days off from FHL!

Yeah, Big Sur is spectacular. One time my battalion marched from inside Liggett to Highway 1 on the coast, up and over those mountains at Big Sur. It was an absolutely brutal march, about 25 miles, but the views when we got to coast were beautiful.

In general, field problems at Liggett were not fun. We rarely carried sleeping bags so we usually baked in day and froze our asses off at night (Fight Light, Freeze at Night!!).

[AlaninSA]

I've been both enlisted and an officer in our Army. My vote for favorite CONUS post goes to three places, each for a different reason:

1. Fort Knox, Kentucky. Beautiful post. Outstanding quarters provided. Excellent schoolhouse. Close to fun in Louisville (most underrated city in America IMHO).

2. Fort Hood, Texas. Excellent place filled with two -- count 'em -- TWO fully armed combat divisions. A joke in my peer group when I was stationed there was... "Who's got the most powerful Army in the world? Why, the US of course. OK, who's got the second most powerful? The III Corps commander at 'the Hood.'"

3. Fort Irwin, California. Desolate. Remote. Hot. Dusty. Coyote-infested. And the best damn training site anywhere. Realistic, combat-oriented training against an outstanding OPFOR. I went to NTC more times than I can count and learned a ton each time.