Posted on 02/20/2005 8:55:28 PM PST by NormsRevenge
Interesting...left Bitburg in June 1981. I had 1 year and 2 months left on my active duty and was really hoping to get a base "somewhere" in the southeast (home). Where did I wind up? You guessed it...the Pacific Northwest (McChord to be exact). Nothing like filling out "dream sheets".
Used to hate when the F-4's at Spang would come over and do "touch-n-go's" on our runway. Loud and oily! Nothing like the old F-15'S we had.
Were good taco's eh! And always remember to order you "pomme frites" with no mayo. Germans loved mayo on French fries...yuk!
"LAAFB, the only Air Force Base without a runway"
Kinda stifles your argument...check out Bolling AFB....
Or Onizuka AFS.
Dream sheets...LOL!
I filled mine out requesting Langley, and the Eastern seaboard. Some smarta$$ at personnel said "hmmm...Langley has an N, an E, and two L's....so does Nellis...he really wants to go there!"
On the flip side, Nellis was cool - I spent ten years there working on prototypes and "special" projects as an engine mechanic.
The 525 gang will whine incessantly.
~ Dream sheets...LOL! ~
Yep, Remember my very first one we filled out at Lackland said "Overseas Volunteer; yes or no"
I put "no" and my first duty station was Germany. Didn't learn did I?
On the other hand, saw alot of nice places and met people that I might not have had the chance to otherwise.
Exactly right. Getting rid of underutilized/unused domestic real estate does not mean you are reducing troop strength, or impacting readiness. The purpose of the Department of Defense is to defend the nation. It's purpose is not to serve as a jobs program to prop up local economies.
(BTW, I work at a base in the Northeast which stands a very good chance of being closed).
You're correct. I stand corrected. Shame on me for relying on the LA Times for my information. It wasn't part of my argument though. I was arguing either -- merely stating an observation.
Technically not an AFB, but I get your point. Thanks.
Why do we still have troops in Bosnia and Kosovo?
There are already a lot of "smart" folks in Alabama. Huntsville is suppose to have more PhD's per capita than any other city in the USA, and yes, many of them are rocket scientists and aerospace engineers. The city has one of the largest research technology parks besides Silicon Valley and Raleigh-Durham. Huntsville isn't at all what most people expect when they think of Alabama.
If you have ever been on a base that was closing you will find a furious level of new building and rebuilding in an effort to stave off the closure. Those that are pretty secure don't have to prove themselves -- the mission does that. Those with a dubious mission will overbuild at the last minute to try to compensate.
ok, that makes perfect sense. I guess...
True - it's a station, not a base - just like Gunter and Ent used to be.
What happens is like this; once the threat of closure becomes real to the locals then suddenly the impass that was preventing local construction disappears. The local contractors make concessions that they wouldn't have earlier in order to try to ensure the base stays open.
Contractors probably put their individual politics aside, however temporary. Some of them are in there building runways and towers, etc. but don't expect them to come to the airshows for anything but the possibility of a crash and burn if at all.
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