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Cannon AFB


Guest mil1

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It almost seems they are trying to make this place suck way more than it has to

Are you talking about Cannon or the Air Force in general. Either way the answer is yes.

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  • 3 months later...
  • 5 months later...

So I'll be heading out to Cannon in a few weeks to visit a friend, any manned aircrew guys on here who would be willing to show a wet-behind-the-ears cadet around their sq for a bit? I have base access and complementary beer for any takers. PM me if interested, thanks!

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  • 1 year later...

Been awhile since I posted, enough my account was deactivated apparently.  I'll start off with my .02 on this place.

I've been out here for almost 2 years now, 7th PCS, prior E married with kids, with the U28s.  It's definitely not where I'll call home forever but it's tolerable for a tour.  Having said that:

1) I live in Portales and don't enter Clovis unless need drives me.  I live on the south side of town and my commute is usually 25 min.  From what I can tell the commute is comparable from the much sought after NE quadrant of Clovis.

2) Portales has ENMU, and 2 clubs. One is more college oriented and the other is more western oriented and has a package store.  There's a local grocery and an Ace hardware.  There's a microbrewery and another in the works 3 storefronts down in addition to the smattering of locally owned restaurants .  I understand 90% of your bros live in Clovis which will not be conducive for after work house parties, but Portales to me seems like it has a bit more diversity due to ENMU with its international program.

3) The house gouging situation is the same.  I'm sure there's crime here, but I've never seen it or been a victim of it.  There aren't multiple schools to choose from down here.  System seems fine, but I know some people are picky as hell.  

4) Housing on base is expanding rapidly.  Most of the new stuff is still under construction.  Consider that when buying in the community with the intent to sell.  

5) Yes, you need to plan your day if you choose to leave the local area.  This is what I call a 'get shit done' base.  There's not many distractions if you have some PME or a hobby you want to take on seriously.  Not many professional opportunities for the spouses though.

 

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Been awhile since I posted, enough my account was deactivated apparently.  I'll start off with my .02 on this place.

I've been out here for almost 2 years now, 7th PCS, prior E married with kids, with the U28s.  It's definitely not where I'll call home forever but it's tolerable for a tour.  Having said that:

1) I live in Portales and don't enter Clovis unless need drives me.  I live on the south side of town and my commute is usually 25 min.  From what I can tell the commute is comparable from the much sought after NE quadrant of Clovis.

2) Portales has ENMU, and 2 clubs. One is more college oriented and the other is more western oriented and has a package store.  There's a local grocery and an Ace hardware.  There's a microbrewery and another in the works 3 storefronts down in addition to the smattering of locally owned restaurants .  I understand 90% of your bros live in Clovis which will not be conducive for after work house parties, but Portales to me seems like it has a bit more diversity due to ENMU with its international program.

3) The house gouging situation is the same.  I'm sure there's crime here, but I've never seen it or been a victim of it.  There aren't multiple schools to choose from down here.  System seems fine, but I know some people are picky as hell.  

4) Housing on base is expanding rapidly.  Most of the new stuff is still under construction.  Consider that when buying in the community with the intent to sell.  

5) Yes, you need to plan your day if you choose to leave the local area.  This is what I call a 'get shit done' base.  There's not many distractions if you have some PME or a hobby you want to take on seriously.  Not many professional opportunities for the spouses though.

 

So a west Altus, copy.

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4) Housing on base is expanding rapidly.  Most of the new stuff is still under construction.  Consider that when buying in the community with the intent to sell.  

Just to add a quick datapoint to this one.  It took us 3 years to sell ours, at a significant loss.  Also, all the new construction on base has tanked the rental market, so it's really difficult to find renters.   

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I've been here almost 2 years now. Yeah the town itself definitely is not the greatest. I'm from a bigger city so this was definitely a culture shock. Me and my buddies routinely travel to bigger cities just for the weekends. We also go hiking a lot. Of course to get to another city or do something outdoors-y, it's a bit of a drive. That's why we carpool and plan this shit out. My advice for anyone moving to Cannon, find yourself a good group of people and do shit together. It definitely takes away a lot of the suck. This goes for married folks too. Some of my best buddies are married and they'll go on these excursions too.

I live on the eastern side of Clovis and I like where I live (as far as the neighborhood goes). My neighbors are cool and when it's warmer outside, we're usually out and about and drinking beer with each other in each other's driveways. My house is a bit older too...it was built over 20 years ago. It may have been built in the 70s, not sure. Anyways, my point is it wasn't built by the one and only builder in town. I have a friend who had a house built by him and the damn house is just falling apart. Idk, many folks have houses made by him though and are fine though. I personally like living in an older house. It's sturdy.  

When not out of town, there's usually a house party or at the very least a gathering of some sort going on at someone's house. There's really not much else to do in town other than to hang out at each other's houses.

There's karaoke at Kelly's on Thursdays...I've been only a couple times but it can be fun if with the right people. I know Kelly's had some crime there but I don't think anything has happened in at least 2 years (at least nothing that I've heard of). I know there were stabbings in the past but now, I guess it has gotten better. I say this now, watch there be a stabbing soon haha  

As for the folks stuck in the dorms, make friends. I asked an airman what it was like living in the dorms and he said that for the most part, folks keep their doors closed (maybe it was just his hallway at the time, I don't know). I lived in the CSO dorms in P'cola and we always had our doors open. It was so folks can just walk in and out and made it easier for folks to hang out and get to know each other. I was friends with just about everyone who lived in my hallway. Why the hell not?! We always hung out together too and had a lot of fun. We even had our own Thanksgiving potluck that we put together. I know Cannon isn't the most desirable place on earth and it has to really suck for someone fresh out of basic or tech school. Just make friends and avoid any stupid drama.

Apparently there's gonna be a Starbucks put in the grocery store. Progress. haha (There is one on base...it's been open only a year now. Apparently the locals got pissed off when they found out one was put on base...because the shifty 50 didn't want one in town. So the base took it.) Hopefully the shifty 50 allow more progress. I feel like Main St could be a really damn cool place to hang out on the weekends if it was allowed to grow. Instead, more than half of the lots are empty. If they put some cool bars and restaurants there, that would be awesome! I have downtown Pensacola in mind (minus the water, duh!)...WOB, Whiskey Bar, some restaurants, pizza place with a lot of taps, a few art stores, etc. Idk, apparently it was like that decades ago. It's probably wishful thinking on my part. 

Also, Allsups and the churches need to give up those damn liquor licenses they've been hoarding. That's why a liquor license costs half a million dollars here whereas in any other place they're usually only $1-5k.

  

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  • 2 years later...
On 10/2/2018 at 5:51 PM, Jess said:

Im about to go to cannon i was wondering about housing. Im A1C and single. How long do we live in the dorms. How are the dorms? Can we move off base? 

AFI32-6005, para 4.8 has the answer to your question.  Having spent a few years in Clovis, I wouldn't be in a rush to move off base.  Clovis is not horrible, but the base life is much more convenient for a young Airman.

How are they?  Here's the first result that came up on google.

 

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On 10/2/2018 at 4:51 PM, Jess said:

Im about to go to cannon i was wondering about housing. Im A1C and single. How long do we live in the dorms. How are the dorms? Can we move off base? 

I can ask my Es at work on Tuesday the current details, if it’s your first duty assignment (assuming it is) you will probably have to live in the dorms. Expect to be in them for about a year, maybe less. They recently were kicking dudes out of the dorms that had chose to stay in them longer than a year. We have had a huge influx of young guys at this base. If you are a RPA sensor I heard you can opt out of the dorms as soon as you complete your mission qual because of shift work/crew rest/roommates on different schedules, not sure if they are allowing the other enlisted aircrew guys the same deal. 

Highly recommend finding some bros and splitting a place if/when you move off base. The nicer houses in good neighborhoods have rent prices that will far exceed your BAH as a young airman. It’s shitty but the owners do it to keep the rift raft away. 

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