Andrews AFB info

[Guest lightning4eva]

I did a search but didn't come up with much. I'm looking for any advice on casual at Andrews AFB but specifically

-where to live/not to live (is the BAH really $1200)

-is IFT done on Andrews or at a local airport (AF 1 I'm sure can get in the way)

-what jobs you will be performing on the base (if any) any to volunteer for (I used to be base honor guard when I was enlisted)

-what uniform you have to wear the most

-any incentive rides ( I know there are mostly C-__'s)

-how bad can the traffic get

-etc etc

I really appreciate it guys. Congrats to all those others that just got their assignments.

Mick

[Guest coastal96]

I'm not in the AF . . . though I hope to be soon . . . but I've lived 10-15 mile south of Andrews for 17 years and I'm pretty familiar with the base itself. I can't talk much to your questions about jobs on the base, uniforms, and that sort of thing. But I can help you with stuff like good places to live and NOT to live, what traffic is like in the area, and anything in relation to non-military specific issues.

Let me know what kind of info you are looking for in that regard and I'll see what I can do.

[stick]

Hey, lightning

I just spent 8 months at Andrews before I got to Laughlin in the beginning of March. In my opinion, you are going to one of the best casual locations in the Air Force.

I lived in Franconia, VA. I recommend living in VA, because you will be going opposite of traffic in the morning and afternoon, and that will shave hours off of your workday. Arlington and Alexandria were two other neat places to live. Yes, for a single officer, the BAH is 1190.

I recommend Bob Hepp's Aviation Adventures out in Mannassas, VA for IFT. You can fly a DA-20 like the Academy flys and work with some good people. Or you could go anywhere else in DC and fly Cessnas. http://www.aviationadventures.com/

As far as jobs on base go, you will mess around in the OSS for about a month doing random stuff and then they farm you out to random squadrons across the base. Hope for a flying squadron, I hung out in the 1st Helicopter Squadron and had a blast, my buddy got stuck working for the Director of Staff and they worked him like a *****. If you want to meet some dignitaries, get in touch with the Protocol people. Some of the Lts there got pictures with the Bush twins and Hillary Clinton, and met some other kings and such.

What uniform you wear each day depends on what squadron you get stuck in. The guy working for the DS wore blues everyday, but I got to chill in my flight suit.

As far as incentive rides go, you can't find many better places. No one but the 1st Heli can give you a helicopter tour of downtown, and they take up casual status Lts all the time. We flew on Air Force Two for a three day trip on a trainer for the Air Force wait staff as dignitary crash test dummies, that was a sweet deal. We also got a KC 135 ride out of the guard guys on the other side of the ramp, so that was cool. We tried to get in touch with Langley for a 15 ride, but that was a no go.

Traffic just sucks period. You will be travelling along 495 at 11.00pm and all of a sudden there will be an hour of traffic. And then you will continue on as before, with no sign of a wreck. WTF?? Just one of the downsides to the place.

Any more questions, just pm me.

[Guest cmlbaseball]

Hey man I live in College Park right now going to the University of Maryland, have lived here in MD all my life and Know Andrews well, it only a few short minutes down the beltway. Can't tell you much about your duites, but if you have any questions about the area or things to do or anything else let me know I can hook you up. Im in ROTC commissioning this May heading to Dover for Casual. Let me know....

langleyc@wam.umd.edu