Gunships arriving at Cannon

[Guest]

How long were the Viper guys usually assigned to Cannon?

It was a one year remote but most guys were able to get command sponsored to bring their families.

[Whitman]

It was a one year remote but most guys were able to get command sponsored to bring their families.

LMAO

[Ram]

It was a one year remote but most guys were able to get command sponsored to bring their families.

Not true for the guys I know.

3 year CONUS tour...standard. I know several Viper buddies (O-4 / O-5 types) who did a year remote at Kunsan and then 3 years at Cannon. Doing the Cannon to Kunsan path is referred to as the "CanKun" tour in the Viper community to this day.

[BigE]

Not true for the guys I know.

3 year CONUS tour...standard. I know several Viper buddies (O-4 / O-5 types) who did a year remote at Kunsan and then 3 years at Cannon. Doing the Cannon to Kunsan path is referred to as the "CanKun" tour in the Viper community to this day.

Hey NASA....you missed the joke

[Ram]

Hey NASA....you missed the joke

It really used to be a remote, so no...I didn't.

But I'm nursing a Class A hangover right now...let me be miserable in peace.

[tac airlifter]

I bet former members of the 522 FS, 523 FS, and 524 FS find this thread really funny.

Copy, but they were in Clovis back when assignments really were only 3 years (none of mine have been that short) and there were tons of other places for F-16 guys to PCS. An AC130W (for example) dude is stuck in CVS till he gets a school slot or a RIF or a crossflow. Similar with other airframes. AFSOC tends to homestead guys; not uncommon for me to find 03's with 8 years at HRT.

[Guest]

what is that high pitched sound? Are guys who have been cursed with being trapped in Ft Walton Beach complaining about places fighter guys (excluding the Eagle) have always had to deal with?

This is terrible. Someone should do something about it.

[tac airlifter]

what is that high pitched sound? Are guys who have been cursed with being trapped in Ft Walton Beach complaining about places fighter guys (excluding the Eagle) have always had to deal with?

This is terrible. Someone should do something about it.

Moving anyone's family to someplace that remote, for years on end, while deploying the spouse for 1/2 the time is going to cause complaints. Your notion of "it used to suck then, so you shouldn't complain about it sucking now" is noted.

[Guest]

Moving anyone's family to someplace that remote, for years on end, while deploying the spouse for 1/2 the time is going to cause complaints.

Please also note my notion that it doesn't have to be bad and it is typically worse if your attitude is negative.

[BigE]

It really used to be a remote, so no...I didn't.

But I'm nursing a Class A hangover right now...let me be miserable in peace.

Ha! When the fück would that have been? Seriously.

Flew with a guy once who did the Cannon - Korea - Vance trifecta. Shit before Vipers wasn't Cannon the mecca for Varks and Sparkvarks? The 111 wic was there no?

Never heard of any location in the CONUS being considered a remote. MAYBE, in the back of my cranium might remember an old 102 driver talk about a remote CONUS flying gig in the northern mid-west as part of ADC before transitioning to the F-15A. But that's going back a ways.

Get back to nursing your hangover - hair of the dog never hurts.

e

[tac airlifter]

Please also note my notion that it doesn't have to be bad and it is typically worse if your attitude is negative.

100% valid that a bad attitude makes bad things worse. That said, I'm loving life at HRT and enjoy my job which for now doesn't have Clovis in the future; so I'm not comfortable telling guys at CVS for years on end that it's all what you make it & they need to suck it up.

[Guest]

100% valid that a bad attitude makes bad things worse. That said, I'm loving life at HRT and enjoy my job which for now doesn't have Clovis in the future; so I'm not comfortable telling guys at CVS for years on end that it's all what you make it & they need to suck it up.

Why not?

[pbar]

Never heard of any location in the CONUS being considered a remote. MAYBE, in the back of my cranium might remember an old 102 driver talk about a remote CONUS flying gig in the northern mid-west as part of ADC before transitioning to the F-15A. But that's going back a ways.

Eldorado AFS (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eldorado_Air_Force_Station) , a Pave Paws radar site, was a bonified CONUS remote assignment. Went on tour of it when I was a 2Lt and the dudes working there told us that they got remote credit.

[SuperWSO]

Eldorado AFS (http://en.wikipedia....r_Force_Station) , a Pave Paws radar site, was a bonified CONUS remote assignment. Went on tour of it when I was a 2Lt and the dudes working there told us that they got remote credit.

Sweet, that is 35 miles south of where I am now. Do I get Almost Remote credit?

[Gravedigger]

Cavalier AFS, ND. One year unaccompanied, two years accompanied. One of the three space bases that isn't awesome (Clear, Cavalier and Thule).

http://en.wikipedia....r_Force_Station

As far as career fields go, space has some pretty great spots, in no particular order:

Antigua

England (Fylindales and Mildenhall)

Cape Cod

Germany

Hawaii (Maui and Hickam)

Japan

Australia

COS

Denver

Beale

Eglin

Nellis

Hurlburt

Cape Canaveral

ABQ

Vandenberg

LA

Boston

DC/Virginia/Maryland

Holloman (awesome mission makes up for mediocre locale)

Oh yeah, and the relevance to this thread...we are supposed to be getting several SpaceLO billets to Cannon...

Edited June 26, 2012 by Gravedigger

[FlyingBull]

what is that high pitched sound? Are guys who have been cursed with being trapped in Ft Walton Beach complaining about places fighter guys (excluding the Eagle) have always had to deal with?

This is terrible. Someone should do something about it.

Hey, AFSOC is fucking special. Its in the name!

But seriously as someone not stationed there but has visited a few times....Clovis sucks. But I have some really good friends stationed there and they are having a good time anyway. They would rather be somewhere else but they are very happy to have the opportunity to fly the mission they have, and there are some really good people in the communities that are stationed there.

[Guest]

But I have some really good friends stationed there and they are having a good time anyway. They would rather be somewhere else but they are very happy to have the opportunity to fly the mission they have, and there are some really good people in the communities that are stationed there.

There you have it.

[Rocker]

Yeah, not up on the baseops as often these days, but just to hit a few points:

Still standing by for description of "cool things" and "positives" from Rocker. In the meantime, I actually found a positive recently: Clovis has the nicest McDonald's I've ever set foot in. Clean (even has a switch you can flip if the bathroom is not "perfect"), modern design with stone and wood paneling, even flat screen TVs. Free wifi was a little too much to hope for--but seriously, who's going to pay for wifi at McDonald's in Clovistan? LOL

If I have to live here, then you can bet I'll focus on the positives - as inconsequential as they may be. A few things I appreciate about the place: no traffic in the morning getting to work; everything is close by and easy to get to; spend way more time partying and hanging out at friends' houses than in my previous assignment (at D-M); I've got a nice house in a good neighborhood (although I still want to destroy everyone involved with inflating the market before the big influx) and very good neighbors (not just military); most people hate being told this, but it's an easy drive to awesome skiing, hiking, camping, etc. and other pretty cool shit; great places for breakfast burritos and several decent restaurants in the area once you get past the idea of "all we have is Chili's and Applebees"; the Days Inn Bar (you're damn right I just threw that on here); there is more than enough (for me) in the way of retail stores and such to sustain an entertaining daily life. Of course, these are subjective and your mileage may vary. My wife does not love it by any means, but again with a good house and nice neighbors/neighborhood, good friends in the squadron, the prospect that it's not forever, and the ability to get out of town as required on a weekend, she's good with it for now. Believe me: I wouldn't stay here a minute longer than my job required me to, and it boggles my mind that some people choose freely to retire and stay here. But go figure, they must have their individual reasons and opinions. 'Merica.

. Oh. So just like Kabul. Roger job to do, family is tertiary. I grew up in small towns and this is not one. It is a third world village with a walmart. Get real bra and call a shit sandwich what it is. FOB Cannon is nothing like the sleepy Midwest towns you are poorly attempting to compare it to. Btw how long have you lived there?

I don't know - I haven't spent any time in Kabul, but I imagine it's not like there at all.

I didn't compare Clovis to any type of town to begin with, I contrasted it with a big city in generalities. I've been here two and a half years.

You get real and stop being such a diva.

Some people like it in the country. Some people like small towns.

They would rather have space to shoot a gun on their own property vs going to a "well cared for park" and they don't mind having a cup of coffee at the TSC or the hardware store while talking to the owner about the project they are working on. They would rather eat at a restaurant where they know exactly where the food comes from and who is cooking it versus a "chain restaurant".

The idea that someone cannot get a good education in a small town is part of the bigger problem many Americans have with who should be accountable for their children's education. If you believe the only purpose of public education should be to supplement home schooling you will be fine wherever you raise your children.

Different strokes.

Besides, did anyone think they were promised London/Paris/NYC/Geneva/Singapore/Hong Kong/Chicago/Boston/Miami/ when they joined the USAF? Seriously? Did people really not look at where the bases are before they signed up?

That said, far fewer people (including and especially family members) are going to like to be in a location that feels like the middle of nowhere. Simple math.

I would not put a light quite that wholesome on Clovis - close in some cases - but you're on the right track of what I see as some of the positives here. Despite the simple math, which I agree with, families don't simply fall apart because they end up in what feels like the middle of nowhere and kids can learn a lot from living somewhere less than ideal.

But seriously as someone not stationed there but has visited a few times....Clovis sucks. But I have some really good friends stationed there and they are having a good time anyway. They would rather be somewhere else but they are very happy to have the opportunity to fly the mission they have, and there are some really good people in the communities that are stationed there.

That's really it. I'm definitely not trying to defend the godforsaken City of Clovis in any way. I'm just saying there is a bright side to being stationed here (as thin and faint as it may seem sometimes), and personally, I don't mind it. That's called an "opinion."

[jnav]

Every assignment is what you make it. It not more complicated than that...

[Splash95]

Rocker, thanks for the reply. You definitely bring up some good points. I didn't know this "Days Inn bar" existed until somebody mentioned it a few days ago, but I guess I'll have to check it out! Positives can be found in just about any place and any situation. I'll admit that I was spoiled by my first two assignments being in places where the positives were evident rather than having to dig to come up with a few.

[Whitman]

Anyone do any Elk Hunting in NM? Seems like it would be worth the drive.

[HU&W]

Anyone do any Elk Hunting in NM? Seems like it would be worth the drive.

Yes. Drive is about 4 hours. Some friends of mine drew elk last year and bagged one. I haven't done it personally yet.

[Danger41]

Difficult to get tags? Easier as military?

[Winchester]

I've been there over four years and finally drew a tag this year. I would definitely say it is not easier for military. Being a resident is where you gain an advantage since NM has changed its non resident policies recently. Also, if you do put in for the draw do not expect NM to refund your money like they are supposed to post draw. The best I have received since moving here was roughly half of what I was supposed to get refunded.

Edited July 12, 2012 by Winchester

[TAMInated]

I have gotten a refund every time. There are some military-only hunts on the ranges as well as hunts for those returning from the war. Everything is on a draw, and this year only 8% of tags went to non-residents.