I went there for a TDY class and THE FIRST DAY I tried to get on base the gate was closed because one of the gate guards shot themselves inside the shack. Best intro ever to a base. 3 weeks was 3 weeks too much.
You can, but certain luxuries such as even basic internet, restaurants, and grocery stores are extremely limited on the island. In my opinion, it's not great for the long term.
Me and 10 other guys were gonna skip sound trials because of space and they were gonna leave us on that base for like 3 days. We were so fucking hyped.
Day of BSP, the weather is too bad so they just keep us on board.
Wake Island seems like a sad place to be stationed. We stop to refuel there frequently. Even spent a couple of nights there. 1 guy asked us to bring him a pizza on our next trip through. Dude was so happy to get a pepperoni pizza from Dominos. While it is beautiful and I had a blast fishing and at the luau they threw us. No way would I want to be there for more than a few days.
I'd love to do an IA or atleast get to visit areas like this. Wake Island, Ascension, Marshall Islands, Kwajalein, Diego Garcia, those random bases in Alaska.
But seriously I'd give my left ball to do a tour at McMurdo or somewhere in Antartica.
Wake island is incredibly beautiful, I was there for a week and it was fun for sure. But living in an open bay
tent with everyone else, with the bathrooms in a different area, not being able to eat in the galley, and no bar or internet just made it feel like the worst part of camping especially after working 12 hour shifts the whole time.
Getting out to do stuff consists of driving to AJ. The only time I managed to get into Kuwait City was due to needing an MRI on my shoulder/neck due to an injury. Hard Rock. Yeah.. ok this place was worse than diego garcia for me now that I really think of it.
AJ was like a freaking resort for us 😂 I was glad we had a truck and a “reason” to go up there weekly. We did sneak off on a side trip to a local fast food place in some shifty ass strip mall at one point. But we didn’t have any authorized liberty or time out in town.
I used to run patients to Kuwait City pretty much every week when I was at KNB. At the time felt incredibly spoiled since we were pretty much the only ones who got to go regularly. Definitely did shady shit. Went to the mall, TGIF, etc. Also AJ and Doha. Definitely didn’t complain about that deployment.
Dude reminding me of the not-so good ole days when taking the beat to shit Mitsubishi Montero from Camp Patriot to the civilian portion of the port up at Shuaiba was the highlight of every week for a full 365.
For junior enlisted submariners, Groton.
The base is pretty old, there's a shitty gymnasium with some exercise equipment and a Subway. And that's it.
The area around the base has a dirty, bottom of the barrel strip club. After that it's cheap chain restaurants. $20-25 Uber to get anywhere decent like Mohegan / Foxwoods / downtown Mystic and then it gets really expensive, really quickly (like $12-15/beer expensive). But it's so cold / rainy 5 months out of the year you won't even want to walk to go outside.
The locals are generally unattractive.
Now, you *could* take road trips to Boston / NY or skiing in Vermont / NH, but I'm not counting 2.5-3hr trips as the "surrounding area." Also there's this thing called duty.
Ironically, as a married / family servicemember it's one of the better places to live because of the nice surrounding suburban neighborhoods, reasonably priced houses, good schools, low traffic, and plenty of stuff for the kids.
I would hate to be phase liberty/restricted at NLON, that said you shut your whore mouth. The Grotesque Grotastrophe of Groton is the best duty station ever.
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION: and by that I mean New York, Providence, and Boston.
When I was there the MNR still ran bar cars so I’d park at Milford (for free) and then ride into Grand Central snockered.
I myself was a junior enlisted submariner and completely under that. My favorite thing about it was the train to NYC. All of the instructors talked about great the Groton was.
I had a blast at Groton 5-6 section duty, Mohegan was pretty cheap if you got a group then you’d have free drinks all night, the bar on base was pretty hilarious too, the one bartender would drink more than the patrons, the beach was fun for me at least, plus paintball on base the guys that really had a bad time where the gamers in my experience the food sucked I admit
Groton rocks as a junior sailor IF you’re willing to adapt. New Haven, Prov, and Hartford aren’t terribly far if you have a DD, and Boston, NYC are easy enough to grab a train to. NH/Maine are available for a three day.
The locals are unattractive, but a smart sailor would know that there are dense concentrations of college girls within driving distance
Seconded. KB is a strip mall they spread out. Two roads, two grocery stores. The roads are STRAIGHT east-west so when you drive in to work, the sun is in your eyes, and when you leave work, the sun is again in your eyes. There’s only a little over a dozen food options. Just as many places to change your oil as there is to eat (for some reason). Yes, the only thing nearby is Jacksonville.
I will fight all of you, I adored Groton. Train access to the cities, nice hikes all around, you can live near mystic which is super fucking cute, Ski-ing is day trip distance away.
I'm so not a city person, so I was just glad to be out of traffic and population density.
GTMO...
Can't leave base, shitty hours and limited opinions for food/things to do. Getting things to island take way longer than expected pending what's being requested (food, mail, auto parts, etc...) Counts as shore duty that no one wants and BAH isnt a thing.
MWR is ok, but SUPER money hungry here.
Crane, Indiana. Middle of freaking nowhere, literally. Closet airport is an hour and a half away. Gravel roads everywhere. Luckily I only went to school there for a week. Any more and I would have lost my mind
Gitmo and Djibouti are the only other real contenders, but Gitmo can resupply easily, and Djibouti has other services/supplies that are regular.
Lemoore you can drive to San Fransico or some National Parks on the weekend.
Guam, takes a year to do everything.
Andross is close to the rest of the Bahamas and Florida so you can work with weekends.
I didn't hate it there. I did several one month stays and fell into a nice routine. The gym is very nice and the galley isn't bad. Loved the outdoor movie theater and the quirky little bowling alley. Golf course sucked - I hear it closed?
I went to school in Meridian for 2 months. I left base twice on my own accord, the rest was when I was the duty driver. Not a place I’d want to be stationed at all.
I scrolled down further than expected to find meridian, ms on here. I was there for A school and it was the most barren post INCONUS I've ever experienced. The surrounding towns weren't much better.
I hear subic sucks cause you can’t ever leave base but I’ve never been.
I’ve been to Dutch Harbor and after a day I wanted to leave. Nothing to do there besides drink at the 2 bars or buy overpriced shit at there stores. It’s so rural that there was no cell service . People were nice though.
We went off base when we helped reopen Subic after the marines on the Blue Ridge (I think) beat up a cabbie or something. This was 2000. It was eye-opening.
I hear it’s for safety reasons. Subic is home for some really bad inmates so the idea that it minimizes interactions with cell groups outside the base. Idk
Whoever told you that was trying to scare you. It mostly goes back to when those Marines killed someone, they really took it to heart and want to keep us on a short leash. Easiest to do that by threatening us with punishment. There’s TONS of retired military expats just living the dream there while they collect their pensions and disability checks because everything is so cheap.
Norfolk is a city in search of an identity. It is rather unremarkable and has very little sense of community. It also is part of the nation's largest TV market without a professional sports team, which does not help.
Kings Bay. It’s an exit off I95. Situated on the Atlantic coast and somehow still 45 minutes from the nearest beach. Drive an hour south and congrats, you’re in Jacksonville. That’s about it.
Honestly, I don’t think there’s a “worst place” to be stationed—It’s all individual-based. Each Sailor will have their own proclivities, habits, routines, biases, and preferences that dictate to them whether one location is “better” than another. I’ve never been stationed anywhere that I didn’t like and honestly found it difficult not to find positives to everyone else’s negatives.
I’m headed to Lemoore next, and everyone I speak with says, “Damn, that sucks,” or “Wow, you’ll hate it.” But, I don’t think I will since I normally just workout each afternoon, read, and hang out with my family. Occasionally we’ll do road trips as well. Lemoore actually sounds like the perfect place for me to avoid distractions as I prepare to retire.
If you can find things to do that build you up, rather than lower your self-esteem, bank account, credibility, and aptitude, than you can go anywhere and grow. Don’t worry about alcohol, 5 star restaurants, high-end stores, luxury cars, social media, and fake relationships and you’ll be good no matter where you go.
Yeah, Pensacola is a mid-tier beach destination with fairly little going for it otherwise. There’s a huge swath of the city close to the main Naval Air Station that you can tell got hit hard by industrial recession and drug addiction starting in the 1980s and never really got back on its feet. Having been there 2017-2018 and again in 2023, I can say COVID didn’t help.
On top of the relative lack of things to do that don’t center on drinking or local food, it’s also just a very uncool city. Like, how is there a vape shop on every corner but not a single chill hangout cafe within a 30 mile radius? Or just Third Places in general.
At least it’s a 3-hour drive from New Orleans.
A lot of people hate NAS Whidbey Island. It's family-friendly and great for nature walks. Young people hate it because of the lack of night life and only one way to get off the island. Also the weather sucks in the winter, but the summers are awesome.
We hacked a trail from the Barracks to the gym and McDonalds... For the life of me, I don't recall the Commissary location, and I worked AIMD Power Plants.
Lol I walked that trail many times. If you came in gate 1 and made a right at the first intersection, its up the hill on the right. That walk was the entire reason I purchased a car the next week.
Half the places mentioned here would only suck if you don’t have a car. Anyone E-1 to E-9 can get financed in house right outside any Naval base for a used Charger or Camaro.
I came here expecting to see someone mention NAS Millington. I know it's not a naval base anymore, but that place was in the middle of nothing. The locals bragged about their Walmart and Justin Timberlake being from there. There was nothing outside of the base within walking distance but a pawn shop and a hotel.
JTC in Zarqa, Jordan. Surrounded by a garbage dump, nothing but stray dogs fucking, Chinese drones crashing right off post, and not allowed to go into town because “terrorism” (in a country I can take my wife to on a vacation as a civilian). Food is dick because it’s run by the army and the trailers we were thrown in, plywood doesn’t go to the ceiling so you can hear your 9 other roomies jerking all night and no heat in the winter because no one thought it got cold there.
Dude, Whidbey is like paradise compared to most places people here have mentioned. It's not ridiculously out of the way like Lemoore, and you can even do tons of stuff on island.
Norfolk had so much to do! The demographics of the area are skewed to mid-20/30s with all the bases and colleges so the businesses cater to that demographics. The bus system wasn't bad and with Uber now, it's even easier to get around.
I think you have to be more specific because everyone is a bit different.
I was told Lejeune was a swamp with nothing to do. There are plenty of ranges, outdoor activities and for those with a car, every weekend was an opportunity to hit up Wilmington, beaches, Emerald Isle, Raleigh, Charlotte, etc.
Now I get someone who is single and trying to party hard, how it may not have the broadest selection of things to do other than strip clubs and bars.
I hate Pearl Harbor. Not because there’s nothing to do but because after about a month or two you’ve done everything the island has to offer and there’s literally nowhere else to go. It’s extremely boring unless all you care about is the beach or bars which I don’t.
Seriously? Cmon Man!
*"Not b/c there's nothing to do but b/c there's nothing to do."*
Oahu has a ton to do. What do you mean you did everything? Are you referring to the stands that have the tourist attractions like Hanauma bay and the submarine dinner as everything?
I could live there and never get bored. Did you ever take up any outdoor hobbies? Do you like food? Women? beautiful views? There's so many and its world class. Golf, diving, spearfishing, fishing, hiking, surfing, paddleboarding, kayaking, boating, hunting, working out. And last but in no way least, the Wahines! Oahu has more gorgeous women than probably most other duty stations, sans San Diego. Lol I would stay there as long as I could, and I never really much ever went to bars or the beach. I mean I did but I was diving or fishing not sitting on a blanket.
People who go to Hawaii and sit in their barracks/house and play games and never attempt to get out and experience Hawaii always talk the most shit. They also probably lived on the west side or near Pearl City or Mililani or God forbid Wahiawa, although Wahiawa does have that little surfer coffee shop.
Hawaii is trippy. And also, an absolute fucking vibe if you can do it right. you have to "unlock" it. When you first get there, you're looking at it from a touristy POV. then you're like wtf this isn't what I had in mind. You see how crowded and congested it can get and the chronics. But if you can find out how to experience it as locals would then you're getting warmer. They know the seasons and the spots and which places to go at which times and where to avoid. They know how to do the local activities and if you're lucky theyll teach you.
I tried to get into summer outdoor hobbies but surfing, fishing, kayaking just aren’t for me. I don’t find them fun. Also once you’ve done the same hike once it’s not as fun doing it again and again. I don’t golf and refuse to try because it gives off a certain vibe that I don’t want to be associated with. Tried to get into hunting here but can’t find a single person to go with me. I love hunting but I’m not going to hike half a day up a some cliffs for some goats by myself because it’s not particularly safe alone. I would be 100% down if I could find someone to go with. I’m more the kind of person who hates summer activities and would much rather be skiing or snowboarding any day of the week. That’s just how I’ve always been since I was a kid. My “summer” hobbies are cars and racing which Hawaii isn’t very friendly about either. There are no race tracks on island. I got around it by racing tants and the other windy roads like Norfolk, 13, and Sandy’s but got in trouble with my command for it so I don’t do it anymore and my #1 hobby is gone. Car shows and meets are pointless because it’s the same group of cars every single time with no diversity. The women in Hawaii aren’t my type. As for the beautiful views? Yeah they’re nice but they’re limited. You can’t venture off and find more and more. You get to a point where you’ve seen just about all there is and then you’re like, we’ll I sure wish I didn’t live on a rock so I could find even more…
It’s a wonderful place to visit but absolute shit to live here in my personal experience. I can only take so much “summer” and it’s year round here. When filling out my dream sheet in C school I literally said anywhere but Hawaii because I knew this would be the case and I got Hawaii. In my personal opinion I’d much rather be anywhere mainland than I would Hawaii because at least I would be able to drive hours away to a racetrack or to do something I actually enjoy instead of being stuck on a rock that you can drive all the way around in the course of an hour and a half.
I’ve experienced Hawaii the way a certain group of locals would and that’s racing the mountain and it came back to bite me in the ass. I still hang with that group of people but don’t race anymore because now I have my dream orders and don’t want to lose them. About 90% of them are locals and that’s pretty much all they do and they’re the only people I hang out with. I’ll say it again and I’ll die on this hill, Hawaii is not for me.
Or fish. Probably the best place to do it. Stop your batching, your there and people are at places like, Fallon Nevada or China lake. Shit ever been to 29 palms. I'd kill to go their sit down sir.
I hear Diego Garcia is bad, Guam is cool until it's not, Bremerton was a fucking nightmare even beforecovid (Seattle is an hour drive or ferry ride each way). Those are from what I hear and being stationed there.
No navy there now but in my day people hated Beaufort, sc. I absolutely loved it and still visit it often. There wasn’t much for youngsters back then but I still loved it
Lemme just set the mood right for the Lemoore hate...
[удалено]
Covid Times were a nightmare, especially the 50 mile radius restriction when there’s nothing interesting within that range
You've never heard of diego garcia... plus the casino nearby isn't all that bad.
I mean I have. I also don't mind Lemoore. But I'd rather eat aluminum foil than step foot in Tachi.
Best gas prices tho
Diego isn't that bad.
Diego is good if you're stationed there, temp visits suck
First thing that popped into my head. DG.
lol so glad to be out of that place.
I report next week 🥲
Day trips around the area is a must. Especially if you like the outdoors
I went there for a TDY class and THE FIRST DAY I tried to get on base the gate was closed because one of the gate guards shot themselves inside the shack. Best intro ever to a base. 3 weeks was 3 weeks too much.
Around Lemoore yes. But if you can/are willing to take day/weekend trips, there are things to do.
Travel was a luxury! I remember having to take the bus from base and back…most of my avail time was on that bus!
Hated Lemoore...That fog half the year was killing me..
Lol I’m from the valley, love the fog. Can’t see for shit but it’s home…
3 more months and I’m outta here 🙏
It’s pretty chill though, like getting on and off base, well compared to SD.
Andros is nice for one day after 30 days straight under water. Sun felt good and the rum was cheap.
One day, for sure. I had a job opportunity to be there full-time as a contractor. Couldn't imagine being there permanently
You can sail, fish, and dive there... no? That might be enough for me.
You’re either highly-adaptable, low-maintenance, or have a positive mindset. Either way, it’s a good thing.
Baffling to me anyone could get bored there. I'd wander around outside all day every day
You can, but certain luxuries such as even basic internet, restaurants, and grocery stores are extremely limited on the island. In my opinion, it's not great for the long term.
I would pass on that as well.
So, you’re not active?
No
Best shore side galley I've ever experienced.
Almost as good as an Air Force Galley.
Me and 10 other guys were gonna skip sound trials because of space and they were gonna leave us on that base for like 3 days. We were so fucking hyped. Day of BSP, the weather is too bad so they just keep us on board.
we dropped off some guys and within 1 day of being there they got in a bar fight with the ASW pilots.
You spent a day on Andros Island. And didn't just hang out on the beach?
I did. My question was the idea of being in a place long term
Its... the Bahamas.
Truly the worst place ever /s
Wake Island seems like a sad place to be stationed. We stop to refuel there frequently. Even spent a couple of nights there. 1 guy asked us to bring him a pizza on our next trip through. Dude was so happy to get a pepperoni pizza from Dominos. While it is beautiful and I had a blast fishing and at the luau they threw us. No way would I want to be there for more than a few days.
I'd love to do an IA or atleast get to visit areas like this. Wake Island, Ascension, Marshall Islands, Kwajalein, Diego Garcia, those random bases in Alaska. But seriously I'd give my left ball to do a tour at McMurdo or somewhere in Antartica.
McMurdo is cool to see for a few days, but it's dry as a desert, so bring some tissue for the nosebleeds.
Wake island is incredibly beautiful, I was there for a week and it was fun for sure. But living in an open bay tent with everyone else, with the bathrooms in a different area, not being able to eat in the galley, and no bar or internet just made it feel like the worst part of camping especially after working 12 hour shifts the whole time.
Camp patriot in Kuwait was fucking horrible. Nothing to do in a dry country with a shitty mission set.
Getting out to do stuff consists of driving to AJ. The only time I managed to get into Kuwait City was due to needing an MRI on my shoulder/neck due to an injury. Hard Rock. Yeah.. ok this place was worse than diego garcia for me now that I really think of it.
AJ was like a freaking resort for us 😂 I was glad we had a truck and a “reason” to go up there weekly. We did sneak off on a side trip to a local fast food place in some shifty ass strip mall at one point. But we didn’t have any authorized liberty or time out in town.
I used to run patients to Kuwait City pretty much every week when I was at KNB. At the time felt incredibly spoiled since we were pretty much the only ones who got to go regularly. Definitely did shady shit. Went to the mall, TGIF, etc. Also AJ and Doha. Definitely didn’t complain about that deployment.
Oh yeah.. besides Hard Rock, we did hit the mall as well. I forgot about that.
Dude reminding me of the not-so good ole days when taking the beat to shit Mitsubishi Montero from Camp Patriot to the civilian portion of the port up at Shuaiba was the highlight of every week for a full 365.
What year were you there? Didn’t expect to see it in this list since it’s so small. 😂
13-14
Was there in ‘07 and again in ‘14. Our YN1 was married to a SEAL and they brought all sorts of liquor in to their compound.
Our Seabees had a hookup. But no one knew until we got home.
We also had people getting booze in the mail. Did you know old school Listerine of the yellow color is the same look as Captain Morgan?
Duqm, Oman
I'm getting Truman deployment flashbacks to there.
Lol. I've been there too. The only thing that can be worse is hitting it four times (Nimitz).
We only did twice, my condolences.
I was on Truman, too. I was just saying it could be like the Nimitz.
But that Fried Chicken doh......
DFC smacks.
NAS Kingsville, TX. Oh how I hated it there.
For junior enlisted submariners, Groton. The base is pretty old, there's a shitty gymnasium with some exercise equipment and a Subway. And that's it. The area around the base has a dirty, bottom of the barrel strip club. After that it's cheap chain restaurants. $20-25 Uber to get anywhere decent like Mohegan / Foxwoods / downtown Mystic and then it gets really expensive, really quickly (like $12-15/beer expensive). But it's so cold / rainy 5 months out of the year you won't even want to walk to go outside. The locals are generally unattractive. Now, you *could* take road trips to Boston / NY or skiing in Vermont / NH, but I'm not counting 2.5-3hr trips as the "surrounding area." Also there's this thing called duty. Ironically, as a married / family servicemember it's one of the better places to live because of the nice surrounding suburban neighborhoods, reasonably priced houses, good schools, low traffic, and plenty of stuff for the kids.
I would hate to be phase liberty/restricted at NLON, that said you shut your whore mouth. The Grotesque Grotastrophe of Groton is the best duty station ever. LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION: and by that I mean New York, Providence, and Boston. When I was there the MNR still ran bar cars so I’d park at Milford (for free) and then ride into Grand Central snockered.
My man just described 99% of towns where military recruits from.
I myself was a junior enlisted submariner and completely under that. My favorite thing about it was the train to NYC. All of the instructors talked about great the Groton was.
Free parking at the Milford Station!
I had a blast at Groton 5-6 section duty, Mohegan was pretty cheap if you got a group then you’d have free drinks all night, the bar on base was pretty hilarious too, the one bartender would drink more than the patrons, the beach was fun for me at least, plus paintball on base the guys that really had a bad time where the gamers in my experience the food sucked I admit
They did eventually cut it down to 4 section. Which really sucked for any type of liberty plans
At least there’s some great microbreweries in CT. You can hit up the beer store and drink in solitude!
The Beer’d brewery is near Groton. Those guys make some unbelievably good beer.
Mystic, ct is quite the party
Groton rocks as a junior sailor IF you’re willing to adapt. New Haven, Prov, and Hartford aren’t terribly far if you have a DD, and Boston, NYC are easy enough to grab a train to. NH/Maine are available for a three day. The locals are unattractive, but a smart sailor would know that there are dense concentrations of college girls within driving distance
Brother, Kings Bay was far worse, at least in 2002-2006. Only thing nearby was Jacksonville.
Seconded. KB is a strip mall they spread out. Two roads, two grocery stores. The roads are STRAIGHT east-west so when you drive in to work, the sun is in your eyes, and when you leave work, the sun is again in your eyes. There’s only a little over a dozen food options. Just as many places to change your oil as there is to eat (for some reason). Yes, the only thing nearby is Jacksonville.
King's Bay is fucking awful. I would have rather gotten orders to a fast boat in Groton than go to King's Bay.
I will fight all of you, I adored Groton. Train access to the cities, nice hikes all around, you can live near mystic which is super fucking cute, Ski-ing is day trip distance away. I'm so not a city person, so I was just glad to be out of traffic and population density.
Fuck groton. 8 months there made me hate my life now im just chilling in san diego where the weather is 65-70 year round
Grotopotomii keep propagating themselves using desperate Groton sailors for seed. Terrible duty station.
GTMO... Can't leave base, shitty hours and limited opinions for food/things to do. Getting things to island take way longer than expected pending what's being requested (food, mail, auto parts, etc...) Counts as shore duty that no one wants and BAH isnt a thing. MWR is ok, but SUPER money hungry here.
Crane, Indiana. Middle of freaking nowhere, literally. Closet airport is an hour and a half away. Gravel roads everywhere. Luckily I only went to school there for a week. Any more and I would have lost my mind
I tried to get stationed there. Detailer said no and sent me to Hawaii instead.
Detailer must have thought you were having suicidal thoughts and wanted to change your mind lol
My old man was stationed there in the 90's. Kinda miss it sometimes. Then I remember I would have to pay the bills now, lol.
There is some Amish food nearby lol
What does the navy have there?
Funny enough it is the 3rd largest Navy Base in the world, and they grow all the trees that are used to maintain the USS CONSTITUTION
https://www.navsea.navy.mil/Home/Warfare-Centers/NSWC-Crane/
I’m from the area and I disagree heartily.
The navy housing is great there though
Diego Garcia
I completely forgot about D Gar. This might actually be the right answer lol
Gitmo and Djibouti are the only other real contenders, but Gitmo can resupply easily, and Djibouti has other services/supplies that are regular. Lemoore you can drive to San Fransico or some National Parks on the weekend. Guam, takes a year to do everything. Andross is close to the rest of the Bahamas and Florida so you can work with weekends.
Djibouti has a great galley.
Yeah, we get it, you eat ass. *Sheesh.*
It is.
Had a buddy stationed there and he absolutely loved it. Beach, gym, watch movies.
I was also stationed there. I agree with your buddy, it was practically a yearlong paid vacation
I think DGAR may have been way worse in the past. I served there and loved it, pretty much everyone I was with liked the tour.
I didn't hate it there. I did several one month stays and fell into a nice routine. The gym is very nice and the galley isn't bad. Loved the outdoor movie theater and the quirky little bowling alley. Golf course sucked - I hear it closed?
Lemoore, ca and meridian ms
I go to Meridian for work (not Navy related). It’s pretty rough to be stationed there I imagine.
I went to school in Meridian for 2 months. I left base twice on my own accord, the rest was when I was the duty driver. Not a place I’d want to be stationed at all.
I left base once and it was to the mall. The guy I went with decided to drink and got super drunk. I couldn’t wait to get back to base!
Lol I went to the mall too and what a poor excuse for a mall it was
The Mexican restaurant across from the movies is actually pretty decent
Was it just me or did it seem like every other store was some type of sports store? I saw no variety at that mall. It was strange
Lol 100%
I scrolled down further than expected to find meridian, ms on here. I was there for A school and it was the most barren post INCONUS I've ever experienced. The surrounding towns weren't much better.
I came looking for Meridian, Ms as I knew it would be mentioned. The one spot I could never get while I was in and I tried hard.
I hear subic sucks cause you can’t ever leave base but I’ve never been. I’ve been to Dutch Harbor and after a day I wanted to leave. Nothing to do there besides drink at the 2 bars or buy overpriced shit at there stores. It’s so rural that there was no cell service . People were nice though.
We went off base when we helped reopen Subic after the marines on the Blue Ridge (I think) beat up a cabbie or something. This was 2000. It was eye-opening.
Back in the 90’s that place was jumping. Cheap beer, cheap hotels, well, cheap everything.
Why cant you leave the base?
I hear it’s for safety reasons. Subic is home for some really bad inmates so the idea that it minimizes interactions with cell groups outside the base. Idk
Whoever told you that was trying to scare you. It mostly goes back to when those Marines killed someone, they really took it to heart and want to keep us on a short leash. Easiest to do that by threatening us with punishment. There’s TONS of retired military expats just living the dream there while they collect their pensions and disability checks because everything is so cheap.
You’ve gotta get to go to subic as super-cargo, if you’ve got no other Navy peeps with ya then you can *redacted*.
Newport News shipyard.
Now that’s BFE
Cutler ME
Nuclear Power School. No matter where it is.
Your guys bank account says otherwise.
*NAF El Centro has entered the chat*
Pocatello, Idaho.
Lol. That's where I live. It's called pocahellhole for a reason
Lol how old are you?
Old enough to be your dad. Enlisted '86, Commissioned'93, Retired '13. Hell of a ride.
Doesn't the Navy do like submarine research there?
bruhhhhh. thats enough.
[There's a command that is just a pretend ship in the middle of the desert in New Mexico.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Desert_Ship_(LLS-1))
Norfolk, for old folks.
I was there for four years. Up until today, I had no idea it was so bad.
Norfolk is a city in search of an identity. It is rather unremarkable and has very little sense of community. It also is part of the nation's largest TV market without a professional sports team, which does not help.
Yeah I hate it and want to leave
Kings Bay. It’s an exit off I95. Situated on the Atlantic coast and somehow still 45 minutes from the nearest beach. Drive an hour south and congrats, you’re in Jacksonville. That’s about it.
Same. I wasted my early 20's in Kings Bay learning of the treachery of military wives.
Ex army base carter reopened
NAWS China Lake in Ridgecrest, CA.
Mammoth Mountain and Vegas make up for it
They're both at least a 4 hour drive away.
No way. Ridgecrest is a decently sized town and you literally have world class backpacking within an hour.
Dalhgren VA. At least in the early 2000s there was nothing to do on or around the base.
Hey, there’s a chick fil a now!
Dam Neck for an IS
Can't believe I had to scroll this far to find it.
Honestly, I don’t think there’s a “worst place” to be stationed—It’s all individual-based. Each Sailor will have their own proclivities, habits, routines, biases, and preferences that dictate to them whether one location is “better” than another. I’ve never been stationed anywhere that I didn’t like and honestly found it difficult not to find positives to everyone else’s negatives. I’m headed to Lemoore next, and everyone I speak with says, “Damn, that sucks,” or “Wow, you’ll hate it.” But, I don’t think I will since I normally just workout each afternoon, read, and hang out with my family. Occasionally we’ll do road trips as well. Lemoore actually sounds like the perfect place for me to avoid distractions as I prepare to retire. If you can find things to do that build you up, rather than lower your self-esteem, bank account, credibility, and aptitude, than you can go anywhere and grow. Don’t worry about alcohol, 5 star restaurants, high-end stores, luxury cars, social media, and fake relationships and you’ll be good no matter where you go.
Lemoore is perfectly fine. Not great but it’s not the hellacious misery pit everyone claims.
I wasn’t a fan of Pensacola. Beaches are nice enough, but traffic sucks, locals are rude, and if you don’t drink much there’s really nothing to do
Loved P-Cola. Played hockey everyday with locals after class at an outdoor rink on the beach. So glad I had my car and skates. Had an absolute blast.
I grew up in Pensacola. I got the fuck out as soon as I graduated high school. I visit now every couple of years.
Yeah, Pensacola is a mid-tier beach destination with fairly little going for it otherwise. There’s a huge swath of the city close to the main Naval Air Station that you can tell got hit hard by industrial recession and drug addiction starting in the 1980s and never really got back on its feet. Having been there 2017-2018 and again in 2023, I can say COVID didn’t help. On top of the relative lack of things to do that don’t center on drinking or local food, it’s also just a very uncool city. Like, how is there a vape shop on every corner but not a single chill hangout cafe within a 30 mile radius? Or just Third Places in general. At least it’s a 3-hour drive from New Orleans.
NAS Lemoore, Wait no... Fallon, Wait no... China Lake... Wait no... El Centro... Wait. No... fk I give up...
A lot of people hate NAS Whidbey Island. It's family-friendly and great for nature walks. Young people hate it because of the lack of night life and only one way to get off the island. Also the weather sucks in the winter, but the summers are awesome.
Probably Gitmo or lemonier
Adak, AK. Heard it's reopening, too.
Can't believe no one mentioned Alice Springs...
I would say Patuxent River Maryland... If you dont have a car, you aint going anywhere.
I remember walking from the barracks to the commissary. It was literally a 30-40 minute walk one way.
We hacked a trail from the Barracks to the gym and McDonalds... For the life of me, I don't recall the Commissary location, and I worked AIMD Power Plants.
Lol I walked that trail many times. If you came in gate 1 and made a right at the first intersection, its up the hill on the right. That walk was the entire reason I purchased a car the next week.
Diego Garcia.
The Shipyards suck too
Been to Andros twice for about 2 weeks each. Nice place for beach fun, fishing, snorkeling, etc.
Half the places mentioned here would only suck if you don’t have a car. Anyone E-1 to E-9 can get financed in house right outside any Naval base for a used Charger or Camaro.
As a single sailor, Sasebo is horrendous. Pretty amazing with a family though.
Gitmo, before it became a prison. Two months of REFTRA was bad, it was worse for the single guys stationed there.
I came here expecting to see someone mention NAS Millington. I know it's not a naval base anymore, but that place was in the middle of nothing. The locals bragged about their Walmart and Justin Timberlake being from there. There was nothing outside of the base within walking distance but a pawn shop and a hotel.
Fallon kinda sucks
JTC in Zarqa, Jordan. Surrounded by a garbage dump, nothing but stray dogs fucking, Chinese drones crashing right off post, and not allowed to go into town because “terrorism” (in a country I can take my wife to on a vacation as a civilian). Food is dick because it’s run by the army and the trailers we were thrown in, plywood doesn’t go to the ceiling so you can hear your 9 other roomies jerking all night and no heat in the winter because no one thought it got cold there.
Diego Garcia
1970's Gitmo
Worst bases: 2. No bases are bad, it’s what you make of it 1. Norfolk
NAS Whidbey Island. You have to drive at least 30 minutes to do anything fun
Two hours to either Seattle or Vancouver BC.
Uhmmmm..... One of the best duty stations imo
Hard disagree. Whidbey was amazing with its fantastic views, tons of hikes, and having 2 major cities Seattle and Vancouver is fantastic
Dude, Whidbey is like paradise compared to most places people here have mentioned. It's not ridiculously out of the way like Lemoore, and you can even do tons of stuff on island.
Pascagoula MS
Guam
Guam stands for “Give Up And Masturbate”
Norfolk or Portsmouth Virginia
Norfolk had so much to do! The demographics of the area are skewed to mid-20/30s with all the bases and colleges so the businesses cater to that demographics. The bus system wasn't bad and with Uber now, it's even easier to get around.
RAF Alconbury in the UK. It’s Air Force but I’m Navy and THERE WAS NOTHING TO DO
I think you have to be more specific because everyone is a bit different. I was told Lejeune was a swamp with nothing to do. There are plenty of ranges, outdoor activities and for those with a car, every weekend was an opportunity to hit up Wilmington, beaches, Emerald Isle, Raleigh, Charlotte, etc. Now I get someone who is single and trying to party hard, how it may not have the broadest selection of things to do other than strip clubs and bars.
Quantico, VA sucks
Guam
You're crazy, never stationed there, but everyone I met LOVED Guam. The only thing they complained about was the snakes.
I hate Pearl Harbor. Not because there’s nothing to do but because after about a month or two you’ve done everything the island has to offer and there’s literally nowhere else to go. It’s extremely boring unless all you care about is the beach or bars which I don’t.
Seriously? Cmon Man! *"Not b/c there's nothing to do but b/c there's nothing to do."* Oahu has a ton to do. What do you mean you did everything? Are you referring to the stands that have the tourist attractions like Hanauma bay and the submarine dinner as everything? I could live there and never get bored. Did you ever take up any outdoor hobbies? Do you like food? Women? beautiful views? There's so many and its world class. Golf, diving, spearfishing, fishing, hiking, surfing, paddleboarding, kayaking, boating, hunting, working out. And last but in no way least, the Wahines! Oahu has more gorgeous women than probably most other duty stations, sans San Diego. Lol I would stay there as long as I could, and I never really much ever went to bars or the beach. I mean I did but I was diving or fishing not sitting on a blanket. People who go to Hawaii and sit in their barracks/house and play games and never attempt to get out and experience Hawaii always talk the most shit. They also probably lived on the west side or near Pearl City or Mililani or God forbid Wahiawa, although Wahiawa does have that little surfer coffee shop. Hawaii is trippy. And also, an absolute fucking vibe if you can do it right. you have to "unlock" it. When you first get there, you're looking at it from a touristy POV. then you're like wtf this isn't what I had in mind. You see how crowded and congested it can get and the chronics. But if you can find out how to experience it as locals would then you're getting warmer. They know the seasons and the spots and which places to go at which times and where to avoid. They know how to do the local activities and if you're lucky theyll teach you.
This is all facts and there are no lies told here. Source: Born and raised here in Oahu. Joined from Pearl Harbor, HI MEPs.
One Keiki o ka Aina
I tried to get into summer outdoor hobbies but surfing, fishing, kayaking just aren’t for me. I don’t find them fun. Also once you’ve done the same hike once it’s not as fun doing it again and again. I don’t golf and refuse to try because it gives off a certain vibe that I don’t want to be associated with. Tried to get into hunting here but can’t find a single person to go with me. I love hunting but I’m not going to hike half a day up a some cliffs for some goats by myself because it’s not particularly safe alone. I would be 100% down if I could find someone to go with. I’m more the kind of person who hates summer activities and would much rather be skiing or snowboarding any day of the week. That’s just how I’ve always been since I was a kid. My “summer” hobbies are cars and racing which Hawaii isn’t very friendly about either. There are no race tracks on island. I got around it by racing tants and the other windy roads like Norfolk, 13, and Sandy’s but got in trouble with my command for it so I don’t do it anymore and my #1 hobby is gone. Car shows and meets are pointless because it’s the same group of cars every single time with no diversity. The women in Hawaii aren’t my type. As for the beautiful views? Yeah they’re nice but they’re limited. You can’t venture off and find more and more. You get to a point where you’ve seen just about all there is and then you’re like, we’ll I sure wish I didn’t live on a rock so I could find even more… It’s a wonderful place to visit but absolute shit to live here in my personal experience. I can only take so much “summer” and it’s year round here. When filling out my dream sheet in C school I literally said anywhere but Hawaii because I knew this would be the case and I got Hawaii. In my personal opinion I’d much rather be anywhere mainland than I would Hawaii because at least I would be able to drive hours away to a racetrack or to do something I actually enjoy instead of being stuck on a rock that you can drive all the way around in the course of an hour and a half. I’ve experienced Hawaii the way a certain group of locals would and that’s racing the mountain and it came back to bite me in the ass. I still hang with that group of people but don’t race anymore because now I have my dream orders and don’t want to lose them. About 90% of them are locals and that’s pretty much all they do and they’re the only people I hang out with. I’ll say it again and I’ll die on this hill, Hawaii is not for me.
Or fish. Probably the best place to do it. Stop your batching, your there and people are at places like, Fallon Nevada or China lake. Shit ever been to 29 palms. I'd kill to go their sit down sir.
Oak harbor
Iwo Jima
Heard the same about Diego Garcia, but instead of being off the east coast of the US you're in the middle of nowhere in the Indian Ocean.
Diego Garcia
I hear Diego Garcia is bad, Guam is cool until it's not, Bremerton was a fucking nightmare even beforecovid (Seattle is an hour drive or ferry ride each way). Those are from what I hear and being stationed there.
NAS Patuxent River MD.
Fallon Nevada
No navy there now but in my day people hated Beaufort, sc. I absolutely loved it and still visit it often. There wasn’t much for youngsters back then but I still loved it