Soldier Choosing Next Duty Station

[MtnTrekker360]

Hey everyone, looking for some advice from the wise folks here. I'm in the army and will soon be choosing another duty station for reenlistment. I'm originally from NH but stationed at Fort Drum, NY and am looking to try a duty station out west to see if I like things. I'm looking at JBLM, WA, Fort Carson, CO and JBER in AK.

I'll be getting married soon, so I'm taking the lady's opinion and wants into this move. She really wants to go to Washington, but I'm not totally sold on it. I've been told that I would really like the area and I'm sure that's true, but I'm thinking that I would enjoy AK or CO more. I'm most interested in Alaska, as that would be a more difficult move outside of the military, and I could have a fun few years in what is hailed as one of the best outdoor destinations in the world. Everyone I've spoken with who has been stationed there has loved it. That would be a hard sell to get her on board with though.

Of course, I'm not going to be choosing a duty station solely on the outdoor recreation opportunities, but naturally I spend quite a bit of time outdoors so I want to get the most out of where I live.

Having lived in NH my whole life before the army I'm foreign to western hunting. I grew up deer and small game hunting, snowmobiling, skiing, fishing, and do quite a bit of backpacking. I'm sure any of these areas would be a good fit for me, but if anyone here on the forum has made these moves before as military, or lives near them I'd be appreciative to hear your input. Thanks in advance.

 

[jayhawk]

Pro tip: if you want to go to CO, just go in and say "No one in this world could make me go to Colorado!" Then you're almost guaranteed that station

But seriously, Carson would be my 1st choice on that list.

 

[MtnTrekker360]

Pro tip: if you want to go to CO, just go in and say "No one in this world could make me go to Colorado!" Then you're almost guaranteed that station

But seriously, Carson would be my 1st choice on that list.

Oh yeah, I'm familiar with the voodoo magic that is army assignments.

I appreciate the input.

 

[madtinker]

Washington is gorgeous and has lots of its own types of outdoor opportunities. Not the same as Alaska, but plenty to do if you look. Of the three places you listed I don’t think there’s a bad choice. I am with you though; how many times do you get to try Alaska?

 

[Truaxdw]

Alaska, but your lady needs to be on board. Does she like to hunt and fish?

 

[mb6355]

Alaska, get your sheep, moose, and bear relatively cheap.

 

[Hnthrdr]

AK for sure! Likely you will never get another shot to live there and the experiences that come with it being a resident, you are married so you don’t need a lady, AK by a mile. Moose hunt, black bear, brown bear, caribou, mt goat, sheep… depends on your unit and tempo but AK by a mile. Much easier and affordable to hunt MD and elk later in life.

 

[BRTreedogs]

I was stationed a McChord
The base is nice.
Tacoma and Lake wood are absolute shit holes and that was 20 years ago.

Are you also city/suburb people?

I didn't hunt when I was there so not much input in that.
Not sure what you have for personal weapons about i believe Wa has mag/Ar15 restrictions now.

We lived in lacey once we got bah and it was nice back then.
Just stay away from Lakewood.

Personally I'd choose Alaska.
Go up and do all the hunting and fishing you have when your in the best physical shape.

 

[MtnTrekker360]

Alaska, but your lady needs to be on board. Does she like to hunt and fish?

Alaska, but your lady needs to be on board. Does she like to hunt and fish?

I've been trying to warm her up to the idea. She didn't grow up in the outdoors like me but is always talking about how pretty the mountains she sees on Instagram are. Getting her to hike those mountains has been my recent project lol

 

[MtnTrekker360]

I was stationed a McChord
The base is nice.
Tacoma and Lake wood are absolute shit holes and that was 20 years ago.

Are you also city/suburb people?

I didn't hunt when I was there so not much input in that.
Not sure what you have for personal weapons about i believe Wa has mag/Ar15 restrictions now.

We lived in lacey once we got bah and it was nice back then.
Just stay away from Lakewood.

Personally I'd choose Alaska.
Go up and do all the hunting and fishing you have when your in the best physical shape.

The area surrounding JBLM is a concern of mine coming from a rural upbringing. I grew up in a town with 700 people and the nearest grocery store was half an hour drive away. I couldn't care less about Seattle being close by, I don't like cities. She grew up in the suburbs but wants something a little more private.

I have any ARs but have been itching to build one once I get out of NY, I just learned about WA laws about a month ago and was floored. All these firearms laws are different for me coming from NH, where there's very little legislation.

My thoughts as well, I'm coming up on 30 this year, no kids (yet) and miss being in the mountains almost every weekend like I used to be.

 

[BrooksRanger]

Many soldiers come to Alaska with wives and girlfriends. Many of them leave alone…ask me how I know. If she isn’t passionate about AK then I wouldn’t chance it. You can always come up for a vacation.
All in all, having worked at both I would choose Wainwright over JBER any day of the week. Either place you get assigned, you’re most likely going to be traveling from 2-3 hours one way out of town to try to get away from other hunters. Hopefully your wife will want to join you because you’re going to be gone a lot for training already and she may not like you gone hunting all the time after you get back too.
The darkness and cold are not something you know how your brain will handle until you experience it. Again, ask me how I know. You can always wear more layers, but the darkness has strange effects on some people no matter how “tough” they think they are.
Just food for thought.

 

[MtnTrekker360]

Many soldiers come to Alaska with wives and girlfriends. Many of them leave alone…ask me how I know. If she isn’t passionate about AK then I wouldn’t chance it. You can always come up for a vacation.
All in all, having worked at both I would choose Wainwright over JBER any day of the week. Either place you get assigned, you’re most likely going to be traveling from 2-3 hours one way out of town to try to get away from other hunters. Hopefully your wife will want to join you because you’re going to be gone a lot for training already and she may not like you gone hunting all the time after you get back too.
The darkness and cold are not something you know how your brain will handle until you experience it. Again, ask me how I know. You can always wear more layers, but the darkness has strange effects on some people no matter how “tough” they think they are.
Just food for thought.

Had this stuff on the mind when it comes to location. Gotta keep her happy too.

 

[TaperPin]

My fishing buddy was the officer in charge of on-base housing at a different base in AK - his experience is the climate, daylight and culture in AK amplify existing personal issues. If your wife doesn’t like cold she’ll hate it. If she isn’t good at picking her friends, a group of complainers will convince her of stupid schitt. If she likes to be a half day drive from Ma, Pa, her sister or best friend in the whole world, the distance will drive her nuts. Then there are the gals that don’t do well with daylight changes - they get fat in the winter and, hopefully, get back to normal in the summer or blame it on YOU - the change in metabolism is real. Some get depressed in the dark, some get angry, some stay drunk, or strung out on their new friends’ pills. Night life isn’t like Miami - more than one trophy wife has longed to be back with her people. Not all Alaskans are thrilled with visitors, so hopefully comments and sideways looks roll off her back. Otherwise functional relationships have a dozen new ways to implode on the spouses side. The weird issues aren’t only limited to spouses.

I’m not in the military, but as an outsider looking in, I’d choose Anchorage every time, but after a while in AK I’ve also had my second wife tell me she’s moving back to Colorado and I’m welcome to come along. . . or not.

Colorado Springs isn’t what I think of when fun in Colorado comes to mind, but experiencing Colorado is fun - full of good looking athletic people who love the outdoors. You’ll get a good feel for western hunting there and every weekend can be spent exploring a new town, or outdoor destination.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

The gun laws here in WA have got crazy with our ultra liberal governor and government. I'm not 100% sure about this as I have not checked, but you may be able to bring in an AR if your military or LE. Us regular shlubs can't even order parts anymore. I built 2 AR15's and 1 AR10 before the ban and ordered a ton of spare parts.

On the bright side, the area around JBLM is quite a ways from Seattle and a bit rural. You can also hunt on the base. There's some form of OTC elk, deer, bear and cougar in most of the state. And the fishing, including crabbing opportunities are almost endless. As someone mentioned, Tacoma and Seattle have become crap holes I avoid at all costs. The climate here is fairly mild. But the days are short (not like Alaska) in the winter and it's gloomy most of the time for 6 months. Hit me up if you want more specifics.

 

[Mojave]

Not sure what your MOS is. Some of these will not be available to you.

Top IN NO ORDER US Hunting Army installations:

1. White Sands Missile Range (very limited number of active duty) oryx, deer, bighorns, peccaries.
2. Fort Bliss Texas (hunting on the New Mexico side of the range and the Texas side of the range), NM pays nonresident New Mexico rates. But you can live in Las Cruces and commute 30 miles. Oryx, deer, Barbary sheep
3. JBER, Anchorage AK can hunt on base and in the area. moose and grizzly
4. Wainright, Fairbanks AK can hunt on base and in the area.
5. Fort Greely, Delta Junction, AK can not hunt on base can hunt under very privileged subsistence rules the area.
6. Fort Carson, can hunt elk and bears on base. Close to Wyoming for non-resident antelope.
7. Fort Huachuca, AZ can hunt on base for deer and peccaries.
8. Fort Drum has hunt, not sure what the quality is like.
9. For McCoy in Wisconsin, not sure how many active duty are there awesome hunting.
10. For Campbell KY hunt on base
11 Fort Knox, KY hunt on base.
12. Fort Hood. TX hunt on base for deer, hogs and exotics.
13. Leavenworth, can hunt on base.
14. Fort Sill, OK. Elk and deer on base.
15. Fort Riley has elk and deer on base

Less desirable locations:
Fort Irwin, good shooting range and a horse farm but no hunting
McCalister, OK. great hunting but low odds of getting a tag.
Some other poor options out there.

Overseas Germany.
Any choice is good in Germany, take the German hunting class on base for $250, buy a hunting license for 180$ per 3 years and pay for your insurance for $150 for 3 years. Then find a revier to hunt and pay. Or just get invited as a junior enlisted. Hunting community in Germany is huge for military. Hit me with a PM. I am with defense in Germany.

1. Hohenfels (the best) stag and wild boar on base
2. Grafenwohr stag and wild boar on base
3. Villseck close to Hohfenfels and Graf
4. Baumholder has hunting, but isn't always released to the troops
5. Kaiserslautern, has the most mature hunting program but no land
6. Stuttgart closest to the Alps and Austria
7. Ansbach good in Bavaria.
8. Garmisch is the best quality of life, but hunting is expensive and far away. I don't know how you would take the hunting course here.

You can not hunt in Italy as part of the status of forces agreement, and you cannot get a hunting license or own a firearm.

Luxemburg and Belgium would be the same.

No hunting in Korea.

Japan has hunting, but the Army bases are not near it. The USMC, Navy and Air Force bases are though.

Send me a PM if you have questions. 20 years on active and 11 as a DOD.

 

[Mojave]

Do not go to JBLM unless you want to speak a foreign language outside the base and have your house and car stole.

 

[Mojave]

Many soldiers come to Alaska with wives and girlfriends. Many of them leave alone…ask me how I know. If she isn’t passionate about AK then I wouldn’t chance it. You can always come up for a vacation.
All in all, having worked at both I would choose Wainwright over JBER any day of the week. Either place you get assigned, you’re most likely going to be traveling from 2-3 hours one way out of town to try to get away from other hunters. Hopefully your wife will want to join you because you’re going to be gone a lot for training already and she may not like you gone hunting all the time after you get back too.
The darkness and cold are not something you know how your brain will handle until you experience it. Again, ask me how I know. You can always wear more layers, but the darkness has strange effects on some people no matter how “tough” they think they are.
Just food for thought.

BS she can tough it out, or you'll just get a new one 3-5 years down the track. Don't worry about it.

 

[Mojave]

So honestly on this.

Military spouses are required to be able to put up with a career involving them being moved all over the country. If that doesn't work for her, don't sacrifice your career for someone that won't cut it.

I got married to this one at the 18 year mark of my career. First one only lasted a year.

She knows moving truck comes every 2-5 years and who knows where we are going. There is uncertainty in this style of life.

There is incredible reward.

 

[backcountry_hunter]

I'm just picturing the evening discussion with his fiance'

mtntrekker360: "Alaska is where it's at"
fiance: "why? I have no desire to move there for the 1000th time"
mtntrekker360: "I solicited the advice from a bunch of people I've never met on rokslide and they toadmeso"

 

[justinspicher]

I spent 14.5 years of my 20 at JBLM. I wouldn’t want to be stationed anywhere else. Alaska is awesome until it’s -40 and you have to go outside to something you don’t want to do. Carson is a nice post, but the Springs has more homeless people than it should.

Each place has pros and cons, I’d look at housing and daily living costs at each location and what you’re realistically going to try and hunt. I would suspect that you won’t have as much to hunt and recreate as you might think between training and details.