Posted on Jan 19, 2019
What is a good Army base to be stationed at?
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I just recently requested to go active Army and am looking for a good base to go to. I am a 68W and am mainly interested in a good command and a good team to work with. Any suggestions would be welcome. I currently do have choice of duty station. Thank you.
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Duty Stations
Duty Stations
Posted 6 y ago
Responses: 23
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The US Army has a much smaller footprint in Germany now than it did prior to the fall of the Wall in '89. Nonetheless, it is still offers a great experience. Assuming you aim to get off post and terrorize the locals, Stuttgart is centrally located with a full load of amenities. Depending on your car, being centrally located means you can go pretty much anywhere in country on any given weekend using the Autobahn. Or rent a car for the weekend for those high need for high speed weekends. For that big Munich trip at the end of September, first week of October, DON'T DRIVE.. TAKE THE TRAIN to the Oktoberfest. The train station (Hauptbahnhof) is within walking distance of the fest and there are several affordable hotels just down the street. But, on your first trip, don't walk and risk getting lost on those windy streets. Take a cab from the train station to the hotel and walk down to the BIG O.
If you like live music, most every major act routes their tour through Germany at some point.. mostly in June. Don't miss ROCK-am-RING (Nurburg)/ROCK-im-PARK (Munich/Nuremberg). (Close spelling, but two different places.) A three day concert with 100+/- acts on multiple stages with camping areas for 50,000 fellow fans. Other than camping gear, you can buy anything your heart might desire on the fest grounds - including complete grocery stores set-up in full size fest tents. Alternatively, you can go to ROCK-im-Park near Munich/Nurburg, but The Ring is held on the Nurburg Ring Racetrack and is the far better party. Check the schedule, but fans start camping two/three days before the fest starts and stay a day or two after. Wiesbaden (20 minutes outside Frankfurt w/ 24 hr train service to Frankfurt) is only 1.5 hours away from the fest - but during the Fest week count on it taking several hours to get there. Think Woodstock traffic).
The Edelweiss Resort in the Alps is operated by the US military in a town called Garmisch. You can go on your own. However, done properly, you can book enough rooms for your company and get a great rate - esp. if you organize a company training/r-n-r exercise and put it on the company books.
If you're not interested in getting out on the economy, then Kaiserslautern/Ramstein isn't bad, if you can get over all the Americans stationed there. EVERYONE speaks English and most Germans speak it better than Americans. But the US military is what keeps the local economy humming and other than that it is fairly economically depressed compared to your other German options and the region doesn't get much in the way of int'l tours, etc. But that doesn't mean it's a bad assignment, just not as happening as the alternatives.
Whatever you do, remember being stationed in CONUS means you're turning down an all expenses paid trip somewhere in the world. There will be plenty of time to see the USofA after you ETS/retire (if you're fortunate enough to have the time/money/resources).
If you like it and want to extend your tour, the military offers some nice bonuses for extending your overseas tour. Whatever you do, DON'T even consider the extra $80 a month. Why do that when, by extending your tour for 12 months, you can get another 30 days leave and a round trip ticket anywhere in the world (equal to the cost of a RT to your home of record)? See: https://www.military.com/benefits/military-pay/special-pay/overseas-extension-pay.html
If you decide on Germany, one piece of advice: DON'T shit an American spec car. Buy a German car MB/Audi after you get there. (There's a reason you don't see many "old" BMW's on the road). American spec cars never lasted me more than a year on the Autobahn. Not even close.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Zoom!
If you like live music, most every major act routes their tour through Germany at some point.. mostly in June. Don't miss ROCK-am-RING (Nurburg)/ROCK-im-PARK (Munich/Nuremberg). (Close spelling, but two different places.) A three day concert with 100+/- acts on multiple stages with camping areas for 50,000 fellow fans. Other than camping gear, you can buy anything your heart might desire on the fest grounds - including complete grocery stores set-up in full size fest tents. Alternatively, you can go to ROCK-im-Park near Munich/Nurburg, but The Ring is held on the Nurburg Ring Racetrack and is the far better party. Check the schedule, but fans start camping two/three days before the fest starts and stay a day or two after. Wiesbaden (20 minutes outside Frankfurt w/ 24 hr train service to Frankfurt) is only 1.5 hours away from the fest - but during the Fest week count on it taking several hours to get there. Think Woodstock traffic).
The Edelweiss Resort in the Alps is operated by the US military in a town called Garmisch. You can go on your own. However, done properly, you can book enough rooms for your company and get a great rate - esp. if you organize a company training/r-n-r exercise and put it on the company books.
If you're not interested in getting out on the economy, then Kaiserslautern/Ramstein isn't bad, if you can get over all the Americans stationed there. EVERYONE speaks English and most Germans speak it better than Americans. But the US military is what keeps the local economy humming and other than that it is fairly economically depressed compared to your other German options and the region doesn't get much in the way of int'l tours, etc. But that doesn't mean it's a bad assignment, just not as happening as the alternatives.
Whatever you do, remember being stationed in CONUS means you're turning down an all expenses paid trip somewhere in the world. There will be plenty of time to see the USofA after you ETS/retire (if you're fortunate enough to have the time/money/resources).
If you like it and want to extend your tour, the military offers some nice bonuses for extending your overseas tour. Whatever you do, DON'T even consider the extra $80 a month. Why do that when, by extending your tour for 12 months, you can get another 30 days leave and a round trip ticket anywhere in the world (equal to the cost of a RT to your home of record)? See: https://www.military.com/benefits/military-pay/special-pay/overseas-extension-pay.html
If you decide on Germany, one piece of advice: DON'T shit an American spec car. Buy a German car MB/Audi after you get there. (There's a reason you don't see many "old" BMW's on the road). American spec cars never lasted me more than a year on the Autobahn. Not even close.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Zoom!
Overseas Tour Extension Incentive Program - OTEIP
The military may offer certain servicemembers an added incentive for extending their overseas tour.
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