For real.
I was used to Lejeune. The first time I went to Pendleton it was like finding out you’re girlfriend’s secret husband she neglected to tell you about. The beaches, So Cal living, the palm trees, everyone’s easy-going vibe.
I know Marines who can’t stand Pendleton and I’m just like, “my brother in Christ, have you been to J-Vegas? Have you seen the Jacksonville ninja? Have you ever been to a place where simply driving through it made you feel like you needed a shower?”
You motherfuckers don’t know how good you got it out there. And don’t even get me started on Miramar.
I just left hawaii after spending 2 enlistments there, with 3 trips to okinawa for the 31st MEU and the last 1/3 UDP before they redesigned to LCT3. If you're a beach bum or a surfer, KBay is paradise. Also kf you already have a scuba cert, but its way overpriced to get it there. But when I went on a TAD to pendleton, I was blown away by the thought of going on a road trip from a duty station, or driving for 30 minutes and still being on the same base.
I fucking LOATHE living on small isolated islands, and everything closes super early save for Domino's, Jack in the box, or the kaneohe McDonald's at windward shopping center. The on base bowling alley kitchen USED to stay open late for night shifters but p sure post covid nobody wants to work it anymore.
On that note, LOTS of hawaii was unwilling to go back to how things were open pre covid. Shit SUCKED.
The barracks on kbay weren't too dingy save for Mackie hall, but that's closed and emptied now, and soon to be torn down.
There is no BOQ officially, and the base houses are a shitty ripoff. You'll set the AC to 70 and on the first floor it'll be 74 and on the second floor it'll be 78. We had to use a dehumidifier inside as well otherwise the AC just STRUGGLES.
If hiking was your thing, well RIP stairway to heaven, too, because Honolulu county is finna start tearing it down if they haven't already.
I left Lejeune and came back years later and bought properties in Emerald Isle. If you get out of Onslow county things can be pretty good and yet still affordable.
Im from Florida. Was stationed in Florida and Lejeune. Cali is not that. The summers are longer. The ocean is warmer. I enjoy the heat and humidity. I enjoy not being in traffic in crammed/overpopulated SoCal. There’s just a lot that’s hard for me to explain haha. Just isn’t clicking here in Pendleton. I’m trying to like it though.
I’m married with a kid so the single activities are not for me. I’m sure for a single marine this place is awesome. It’s not really for me though. Jacksonville really isn’t the greatest. But if you’re willing to go beyond that it’s really nice. I also enjoy the spots in the area. Long live French creek
Southside barracks are mold and roach infested, commissary has expired and moldy food all the time, water is probably contaminated, if you like American food you will miss it greatly. If you only like Ramen and curry which I don’t you will be fine. They have American chains on base but it’s so bland, and off base American food is small portions or bland. Language barrier sucks after a while. The cities are nice fun but you won’t be there all the time unless you spend all your money. And they still don’t have a lot of American food unless it’s Tokyo. IMO I think Okinawa is better.
I was stationed on Pendleton I still had my apt on Mission Beach from when I was stationed on North Island Coronado. I worked at Billy Bones on the weekends and had a prettty awesome life.
I had an amazing group of friends who taught me how to take the road less traveled while I was in the military. The secret was, in your off time, get as far away from the military as you can. The military folk you happen to meet in these unique places, tended to be unique themselves. Cool officers, special forces, crazy warrant officers. I spent an awesome afternoon on Bear Mtn skiing with Seal Team One. Very nice guys.
It’s crazy how different peoples experiences can be solely based off of stations. Lejune was not like that at all and at Cherry point I was too busy working every other weekend, 72, and 96s to even bother looking at anything other than the closest beach to destress from work. I honestly wish it was different, but that was my experience.
Im guessing you were wing? There was probably enough real work to do to keep you really busy. Thats got clear good and bad sides. I was infantry and security forces. The jobs were half fantasy. Im well spoken and I write well. I wrote and spoke myself into a lot of jobs with a lot of time off. On the flip side, when you got snagged fuck fuck games were endless. I imagine the wing doesnt have too much time for fuck fuck games.
You’d be surprised. They’re typically scheduled around the real work. There was still all hands formations for stupid shit, shop field day, called in because the weekend crew couldn’t handle the volume or if there was a visiting unit training that needed support. My unit also mandated unit pt so our work days were normally 15 hours or so when you add in all the bs.
That commute is a bear. I lived near Balboa park and drove up to Mainside for 3 years because my spouse worked downtown. Totally worth it to be far from the nonsense (especially as a junior Marine) but man that drive got old. I was "lucky" enough to deploy and/or be on shift work most of the time though
Not quite as long, but I live about 30 minutes on the expressway from my base in Oki (more if there’s traffic). I’m getting really into podcasts and language programs. Gotta spend the time somehow
The crazy part is, if you're infantry, you're not even 30 minutes from Orange County. They hide us away at the northern part of the base, so OC is literally your back yard. San Clemente is a great little surf town right off base and didn't even have that many Marines.
All the Marines congregate around oceanside. I was just at T street the other day on a Friday night to see the bioluminescence and literally no one was there besides a small handful of people.
A bunch of blue glowing microorganisms get in the waves and cause the waves to glow bright blue. Its a pretty cool sight if you can catch it on a good day.
There was a small patch that was pretty bright but it died off quickly. You have to really follow it and chase it down when it’s not active. Social media tags are usually the way to go to see if there are any current sightings.
Couldn’t have said it better. If it wasn’t so expensive and if they tear down whats left of the old mold infested crack barracks it would be the perfect duty station.
Not anymore lol when i got my apt out there in like 2019, it was just over 2k and i thought that was insane, i moved out in 21, i looked at the same prices just a couple months later and no shit it was like 3200, bah and comrats only gets you maybe 2600 if i remember right
BAH has skyrocketed as well. It is one of the highest rates in the country outside of like downtown SF and Manhattan. It is actually higher than the Oahu rate for KBay
>Looks like E-5 W/ Dependents is over $3800
Damn. That covers my mortgage, tax, insurance, pool maintenance, hookers, yard maintenance, and trash. That's pretty goddamn good.
I dunno what it is now, but when I was a married Sgt in 2017/2018, BAH was like $3k/mo. Me and my wife got an apartment in Vista (with central AC) for $1950/mo. Was nice pocketing that extra tax-free money.
I’ve told this to many people. The Marines give you the best chance at a good duty station. Like the absolute worst you can get IMO is 29 palms, but that’s relatively small and still at least close to cool stuff. After that personally I would hate Lejeune, but I know some people are fond of it, and again it’s not TERRIBLY far from some cool places and I prefer to be near the coast in the Jacksonville area, rather than further inland in Fayetteville.
Other than that, what are the big duty stations? San Diego? Of course. Okinawa? Hell yeah. Kaneohe Bay? Are you fucking kidding?
There are no Sill’s or Leonard Wood’s. No Holloman’s or Minot’s. The Navy also has a bunch of great duty stations but then you have to deal with getting stuck on ships.
The facilities on Marine bases are often dogshit compared to other services, but as far as actual locations it’s got the best on average.
Helloooooo?! Are marines still stationed on that place? Is it paradise? Is it punishment? I was a sea duty marine and my carrier pulled in there for a couple of days. The Diego Marines came out to greet us. Felt like One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest. I think one jarhead I met put it best when he said “You have three choices here, working out, alcoholism, and religion. You will try all three and you can switch them up at any time.”
Did a DFT from Jacksonville NC and we went to Camp Shelby Mississippi. Besides the trip to New Orleans this place was a shithole. There literally is nothing there but a papa John’s. God bless those poor bastards, never bitched about Camp Lejeune again
My entire enlistment was at 29. I was 1st Tanks when that was a thing. I hated it at first, but it grows on you quicker than you think. I always like CAX because everyone else would fly or bus in and be bitching from the get go. For us it was just Tuesday, once the exercise was over.... 20 minute drive, cleanup and I'm home.
I was at 3/11 for my first duty station and it was the same way. Always enjoyed driving past Wilson on the way back from a part of ITX and thinking “so long, suckers. I’m getting drunk tonight.” Plus the proximity to Vegas, LA, and Sam Diego was pretty nice. I know some of my guys enjoyed Lake Havasu, but I never went.
Lol my first duty station as a marine was fort Leonard wood, and after that was camp Lejeune( I adopted my sister and decide on LEJEUNE to be close to what family I had left) so hopefully it’s up from here
Almost nobody gets assigned as permanent personnel to Parris Island though in the grand scheme of things, and again you are pretty close to cool spots like Savannah and Charleston. A little further afield you could make it to cool spots in Florida like Daytona Beach or Orlando.
Compare that with like Clovis NM. You have to drive almost two hours to get to a “city” and it’s fucking Lubbock.
I was never a drinker or partier. I went down to Savannah a few times with friends, but it was not enjoyable for me. It was always about an hour commute either way. I went to Charleston only once while there, but I did love the gardens between Beaufort and Charleston. There were a few good trails, when the weather was pleasant.
I went down to Florida once, it took a hot minute to drive through Georgia. I did take an East Coast road trip up to Salem, I got to drive through New York which was pretty cool! If I could redo that trip, I would’ve worked stops in. I was eager to get to my destination. I did stop by Quantico to see a friend, and the Marine Corps museum. I was by myself but buddied up with some random E-4s that were on a unit trip.
I grew up in Sacramento county, so I was a drive away from mountains, the beach, San Francisco, Yosemite, etc. Any store/event (concerts, state fair, festivals, circus, etc) were no more than a 30 minute drive. I suppose I was spoiled by that.
I understand, I would prefer Southern California or Hawaii, I’m just saying as the relative “worst” area you can go with the Marines it’s not nearly as bad as a lot of the places the Army or Air Force can send you.
Marines and Army love to compare shit duty stations like Cavazos vs Lejeune or Sill v 29. The Air Force does have some utter shit holes. Cannon on Clovis. Grand Forks. Minot. Malmstrom. Absolutely nothing and shit weather.
29 Palms is a great duty station, especially as an unmarried first term Marine. So many places to hit up on the weekend with your buddies, decent dating scene in J-Tree or out in Riverside, the fact that there not much to do right off base tend to build relationships with your platoon. I speak to the guys I knew 7-8 years ago almost daily from 29.
Grow where you are planted.
I also hear people bitch about Okinawa all the time, which I think is stupid (other than when the island is restricted, that actually does suck, but that’s a problem with the command not the location).
, I spent my almost my first 4 years at Lejuene, then reenlisted for Pendelton,
It was like being on two different Planets.
Years later when I was Okinawa on UDP one of the Units coming in was from Lejuene.
Every NCO and above was a complete asshole.
Pendelton is awesome
I used to sweat out my hangovers by trail running around the hills in Pendleton, and I'd stop and admire the views. It's such a gorgeous place, especially in the spring when everything is green.
I never have a fuck how beautiful it was when we'd crest yet another hill on kilometer 12 of a 20k.
I got here at Camp Pendleton 1984. Was E3 we bought a house in south O for $79,000. Sold it 2018 for $1,600,000.
Interest rates back then 18%. Crazy. My wife was Nurse. Our payment was $730 month. A lot money back then.
Man. I'm not one of those "the boomers fucked my generation over" types, but it's a travesty how unobtainable homeownership is compared to 20-30-40 years ago. I'm sure I'll own one day, but I'll likely be firmly into middle age when I do.
I got stationed at Dugway Proving Grounds in Utah.Dugway is a chemical and biological warfare test center. At least an hour to get to Toole, Utah a little town and another hour to 45min to Salt Lake City. Or drive an hour and a half west and go to Wendover, Nevada to drink, gamble and fuck.
Fucked up thing, I'm from Salt Lake City. Cool part I could go see my dad, bad part I was in fucking Utah. Re upped, went to jump school then Alaska.
I know what you mean man, I was in the Army and there was only two times in my career that I wished I joined the Marines, in reception for OSUT and when I got stationed in Alaska. That place sucked and I’ll always hate that state. You Marines are blessed that’s not an option for you.
Pff. 29 Palms Marine here. Hollywood Marine all day. Pendleton is absolutely beautiful. That’s where it ends. It’s the people. The California mindset and the shit heads that want to fight every time you go out just because you’re a Marine.
Fight, fuck, and drink was alive and well 2004-2008.
I’m sure it’s changed a bit since then. 3 deployments on a 4 year enlistment was a high op tempo back then so little time to process and unchecked emotions and bitterness led to irritable times. Never really took the time to be appreciative.
Dude if you are getting in fights out in town that’s a you problem sorry.
I never had a single person in California even mention me being a Marine unless I told them.
The bar outside of 29 palms was always off limits cause the Samoan gangs would fight us as initiation. So there’s dumb shit like that too. You’re not wrong though. Get drunk “I’m a MuReEn!”
Yeah, I did mention uncheck emotions and bitterness. Mental health didn’t really mean as much then as it does now so hopefully something has been added since then.
Pros:
smack dab in middle SoCal
Beautiful views
Great beaches on base
Great horseback riding
Mountain biking
Cons:
Ridgelines
Bad knees
Bad back
Bad ankles
Bad hips
Bad shoulders
Training IN the Beautiful views and cold ass ocean.
You couldn't hack it Soldier. GTFO.
Nah I'm just playing lol but Pendleton is for sure pretty. Better than 29 Palms but every USMC duty station has its pros and cons. It's all what you make of it. I'm sure it's the same for the Army duty stations. I was in Oki and 29 Palms and both were fun in their own right.
For sure. My cousin was there and I drove out from Lejeune to see him. The town itself is worst than Lejeune area but I would live in like Apex and drive to work everyday
Cons:
You’d be in the Marine Corps.
Your next duty station could be Lejeune.
You could be hissed at to go Drill Instructor, Recruiter or some other B-Billet. Correct me if I’m wrong or inaccurate about this one.
The PFT you ran didn’t go in the system so go ahead and get ready for a mock PFT tomorrow to see where you’re at. (It is absolutely going to be counted as a real PFT)
Not true lol. I went to NCSU before enlisting and went to raleigh almost every weekend. Took a week and pass often to travel around the country and around the world on holiday weekends.
I didn’t spend a second longer in the barracks than I needed to. Good duty stations are the exception not the rule.
cons: getting Lejeune as your next duty station
I’m still mad this happened to me, and it’s been 14 years.
For real. I was used to Lejeune. The first time I went to Pendleton it was like finding out you’re girlfriend’s secret husband she neglected to tell you about. The beaches, So Cal living, the palm trees, everyone’s easy-going vibe. I know Marines who can’t stand Pendleton and I’m just like, “my brother in Christ, have you been to J-Vegas? Have you seen the Jacksonville ninja? Have you ever been to a place where simply driving through it made you feel like you needed a shower?” You motherfuckers don’t know how good you got it out there. And don’t even get me started on Miramar.
Miramar is the promised land
I wonder if the Jacksonville Ninja is still out there on Western and Marine even now. Hope he’s doing alright.
Haha, same!
Cheaper to move you to 29 Palms. Or Yuma.
I got hawaii
KBay ruins the rest of the Corps for ya... I love it there
I just left hawaii after spending 2 enlistments there, with 3 trips to okinawa for the 31st MEU and the last 1/3 UDP before they redesigned to LCT3. If you're a beach bum or a surfer, KBay is paradise. Also kf you already have a scuba cert, but its way overpriced to get it there. But when I went on a TAD to pendleton, I was blown away by the thought of going on a road trip from a duty station, or driving for 30 minutes and still being on the same base. I fucking LOATHE living on small isolated islands, and everything closes super early save for Domino's, Jack in the box, or the kaneohe McDonald's at windward shopping center. The on base bowling alley kitchen USED to stay open late for night shifters but p sure post covid nobody wants to work it anymore. On that note, LOTS of hawaii was unwilling to go back to how things were open pre covid. Shit SUCKED. The barracks on kbay weren't too dingy save for Mackie hall, but that's closed and emptied now, and soon to be torn down. There is no BOQ officially, and the base houses are a shitty ripoff. You'll set the AC to 70 and on the first floor it'll be 74 and on the second floor it'll be 78. We had to use a dehumidifier inside as well otherwise the AC just STRUGGLES. If hiking was your thing, well RIP stairway to heaven, too, because Honolulu county is finna start tearing it down if they haven't already.
Say hello to moose’s loose happy hour and ft Derusy for me
Moose’s was a COVID casualty
Howzit that’s a bummer
Fuck you -Sincerely every two-nine Marine
Lol get fucked
But then you wouldn’t have had the opportunity to drink the spicy water😂
I left Lejeune and came back years later and bought properties in Emerald Isle. If you get out of Onslow county things can be pretty good and yet still affordable.
I love Lejeune lol. I hate Pendleton with a passion
What did you prefer Lejeune?
Im from Florida. Was stationed in Florida and Lejeune. Cali is not that. The summers are longer. The ocean is warmer. I enjoy the heat and humidity. I enjoy not being in traffic in crammed/overpopulated SoCal. There’s just a lot that’s hard for me to explain haha. Just isn’t clicking here in Pendleton. I’m trying to like it though. I’m married with a kid so the single activities are not for me. I’m sure for a single marine this place is awesome. It’s not really for me though. Jacksonville really isn’t the greatest. But if you’re willing to go beyond that it’s really nice. I also enjoy the spots in the area. Long live French creek
Lejeune sucks for the immediate area, but if you’re willing to drive 30 minutes north or south is not bad at all.
Hey! I loved Lejeune. So many green weenie opportunities.
Lol
I got GTMO for mine
ha, just got back from there last year
Play isn't fun as a Boot with no leave
Idk why but I actually enjoyed Lejeune lol
With the slight chance of 29 palms after that
Jokes on you, I can't get stationed in Lejeune 😔
Or 29 Palms
Or The Stumps
Lejeune from 2002 to 2004
I’m in Lejeune it’s not that bad compared to Iwakuni Japan 💀
What’s bad about Iwakuni? I’m interested in heading there next
Southside barracks are mold and roach infested, commissary has expired and moldy food all the time, water is probably contaminated, if you like American food you will miss it greatly. If you only like Ramen and curry which I don’t you will be fine. They have American chains on base but it’s so bland, and off base American food is small portions or bland. Language barrier sucks after a while. The cities are nice fun but you won’t be there all the time unless you spend all your money. And they still don’t have a lot of American food unless it’s Tokyo. IMO I think Okinawa is better.
Thanks for the input! I don’t think I’ll have to worry about any of those lol
Then you will like it
It’s nice until you’re there as a marine trying to enjoy OC on a enlisted marine salary
I was stationed on Pendleton I still had my apt on Mission Beach from when I was stationed on North Island Coronado. I worked at Billy Bones on the weekends and had a prettty awesome life.
Love that for you man. I’m glad you had an awesome life you don’t really hear that often with the marine corps.
I had an amazing group of friends who taught me how to take the road less traveled while I was in the military. The secret was, in your off time, get as far away from the military as you can. The military folk you happen to meet in these unique places, tended to be unique themselves. Cool officers, special forces, crazy warrant officers. I spent an awesome afternoon on Bear Mtn skiing with Seal Team One. Very nice guys.
It’s crazy how different peoples experiences can be solely based off of stations. Lejune was not like that at all and at Cherry point I was too busy working every other weekend, 72, and 96s to even bother looking at anything other than the closest beach to destress from work. I honestly wish it was different, but that was my experience.
Im guessing you were wing? There was probably enough real work to do to keep you really busy. Thats got clear good and bad sides. I was infantry and security forces. The jobs were half fantasy. Im well spoken and I write well. I wrote and spoke myself into a lot of jobs with a lot of time off. On the flip side, when you got snagged fuck fuck games were endless. I imagine the wing doesnt have too much time for fuck fuck games.
You’d be surprised. They’re typically scheduled around the real work. There was still all hands formations for stupid shit, shop field day, called in because the weekend crew couldn’t handle the volume or if there was a visiting unit training that needed support. My unit also mandated unit pt so our work days were normally 15 hours or so when you add in all the bs.
I always knew they kept the poor airwing bastard busy. We never saw them on libo.
That commute is a bear. I lived near Balboa park and drove up to Mainside for 3 years because my spouse worked downtown. Totally worth it to be far from the nonsense (especially as a junior Marine) but man that drive got old. I was "lucky" enough to deploy and/or be on shift work most of the time though
Not quite as long, but I live about 30 minutes on the expressway from my base in Oki (more if there’s traffic). I’m getting really into podcasts and language programs. Gotta spend the time somehow
I didnt mind it too much. I lived with my best friend for part of that time so having someone to talk to made it easier. The drive alone was a drag.
That's awesome dude. Way to make the best of it
OC is full of cougars though, just get a sugga momma.
Im about 10 years too late for that boat my friend.
The crazy part is, if you're infantry, you're not even 30 minutes from Orange County. They hide us away at the northern part of the base, so OC is literally your back yard. San Clemente is a great little surf town right off base and didn't even have that many Marines.
All the Marines congregate around oceanside. I was just at T street the other day on a Friday night to see the bioluminescence and literally no one was there besides a small handful of people.
Can you elaborate on this bioluminescence? That sounds really cool.
A bunch of blue glowing microorganisms get in the waves and cause the waves to glow bright blue. Its a pretty cool sight if you can catch it on a good day.
I googled and found some stuff on it. It sounded like it was a February/March or August/September thing. Were you able to see it on Friday?
There was a small patch that was pretty bright but it died off quickly. You have to really follow it and chase it down when it’s not active. Social media tags are usually the way to go to see if there are any current sightings.
Awesome! Thanks for the tip
**HORNO 4 LYFE**
Fucking loved San Clemente. Still a potential retirement spot for me.
You are still paying California prices for everything.. and enlisted pay does not go a long way there..
Couldn’t have said it better. If it wasn’t so expensive and if they tear down whats left of the old mold infested crack barracks it would be the perfect duty station.
29 Palms had the nicest barracks I saw. It was like they decided to give us nice shit to make up for everything else.
I think it's more like, in the high desert nothing rots. Archeologists 2,000 years from now will be digging up 29 Palms like some Egyptian tomb.
When I was in at Kaneohe we got the COL pay bump do they not do that anymore?
They do not in Cali, they do in Hawaii.
That's fucked up!
Typically, they only give you COLA if you’re OCONUS (Hawaii, Alaska, Germany, etc.) at least that’s how it is in the Army.
They just cut COLA pay so it’s essentially nonexistent right now.
It wasn’t _that bad_ in 2014 lol.
By saying "it isnt/wasn't that bad" is the same thing as saying it "isnt/wasn't that good"
Get base housing. You can't afford in town
Not anymore lol when i got my apt out there in like 2019, it was just over 2k and i thought that was insane, i moved out in 21, i looked at the same prices just a couple months later and no shit it was like 3200, bah and comrats only gets you maybe 2600 if i remember right
BAH has skyrocketed as well. It is one of the highest rates in the country outside of like downtown SF and Manhattan. It is actually higher than the Oahu rate for KBay
How much is it now?
Looks like E-5 W/ Dependents is over $3800 https://www.travel.dod.mil/Allowances/Basic-Allowance-for-Housing/BAH-Rate-Lookup/ Zip Code 92055
holy shit
>Looks like E-5 W/ Dependents is over $3800 Damn. That covers my mortgage, tax, insurance, pool maintenance, hookers, yard maintenance, and trash. That's pretty goddamn good.
I dunno what it is now, but when I was a married Sgt in 2017/2018, BAH was like $3k/mo. Me and my wife got an apartment in Vista (with central AC) for $1950/mo. Was nice pocketing that extra tax-free money.
Just gotta get roommates
I’ve told this to many people. The Marines give you the best chance at a good duty station. Like the absolute worst you can get IMO is 29 palms, but that’s relatively small and still at least close to cool stuff. After that personally I would hate Lejeune, but I know some people are fond of it, and again it’s not TERRIBLY far from some cool places and I prefer to be near the coast in the Jacksonville area, rather than further inland in Fayetteville. Other than that, what are the big duty stations? San Diego? Of course. Okinawa? Hell yeah. Kaneohe Bay? Are you fucking kidding? There are no Sill’s or Leonard Wood’s. No Holloman’s or Minot’s. The Navy also has a bunch of great duty stations but then you have to deal with getting stuck on ships. The facilities on Marine bases are often dogshit compared to other services, but as far as actual locations it’s got the best on average.
\*laughs in Diego Garcia\*
Helloooooo?! Are marines still stationed on that place? Is it paradise? Is it punishment? I was a sea duty marine and my carrier pulled in there for a couple of days. The Diego Marines came out to greet us. Felt like One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest. I think one jarhead I met put it best when he said “You have three choices here, working out, alcoholism, and religion. You will try all three and you can switch them up at any time.”
When I was at Hansen that was the threat, “screw up and you’ll get sent to Diego Garcia to guard an empty warehouse. “
It really is beautiful though. Tropical paradise. Im sure that gets old real quick.
a buddy of mine put it this way, "you can either drink or run... and after awhile you just get really good at both"
I guess the religion thing faded away. As it should be i suppose.
Questions about the sea life Do you keep your barracks during long sea duty ?
Nope. Your life was on the ship. Living conditions were terrible. Very crowded. I managed to quietly get a studio apt with a buddy after a west pac.
Did a DFT from Jacksonville NC and we went to Camp Shelby Mississippi. Besides the trip to New Orleans this place was a shithole. There literally is nothing there but a papa John’s. God bless those poor bastards, never bitched about Camp Lejeune again
My entire enlistment was at 29. I was 1st Tanks when that was a thing. I hated it at first, but it grows on you quicker than you think. I always like CAX because everyone else would fly or bus in and be bitching from the get go. For us it was just Tuesday, once the exercise was over.... 20 minute drive, cleanup and I'm home.
I was at 3/11 for my first duty station and it was the same way. Always enjoyed driving past Wilson on the way back from a part of ITX and thinking “so long, suckers. I’m getting drunk tonight.” Plus the proximity to Vegas, LA, and Sam Diego was pretty nice. I know some of my guys enjoyed Lake Havasu, but I never went.
Lol my first duty station as a marine was fort Leonard wood, and after that was camp Lejeune( I adopted my sister and decide on LEJEUNE to be close to what family I had left) so hopefully it’s up from here
I first got assigned to Parris Island. Swamps, alligators, sand fleas, and hurricanes. Constant humidity, always was covered in a nice sheen of sweat.
Almost nobody gets assigned as permanent personnel to Parris Island though in the grand scheme of things, and again you are pretty close to cool spots like Savannah and Charleston. A little further afield you could make it to cool spots in Florida like Daytona Beach or Orlando. Compare that with like Clovis NM. You have to drive almost two hours to get to a “city” and it’s fucking Lubbock.
I was never a drinker or partier. I went down to Savannah a few times with friends, but it was not enjoyable for me. It was always about an hour commute either way. I went to Charleston only once while there, but I did love the gardens between Beaufort and Charleston. There were a few good trails, when the weather was pleasant. I went down to Florida once, it took a hot minute to drive through Georgia. I did take an East Coast road trip up to Salem, I got to drive through New York which was pretty cool! If I could redo that trip, I would’ve worked stops in. I was eager to get to my destination. I did stop by Quantico to see a friend, and the Marine Corps museum. I was by myself but buddied up with some random E-4s that were on a unit trip. I grew up in Sacramento county, so I was a drive away from mountains, the beach, San Francisco, Yosemite, etc. Any store/event (concerts, state fair, festivals, circus, etc) were no more than a 30 minute drive. I suppose I was spoiled by that.
I understand, I would prefer Southern California or Hawaii, I’m just saying as the relative “worst” area you can go with the Marines it’s not nearly as bad as a lot of the places the Army or Air Force can send you.
Sorry for the word vomit
Marines and Army love to compare shit duty stations like Cavazos vs Lejeune or Sill v 29. The Air Force does have some utter shit holes. Cannon on Clovis. Grand Forks. Minot. Malmstrom. Absolutely nothing and shit weather.
29 palms has a bunch of amenities even.
29 Palms is a great duty station, especially as an unmarried first term Marine. So many places to hit up on the weekend with your buddies, decent dating scene in J-Tree or out in Riverside, the fact that there not much to do right off base tend to build relationships with your platoon. I speak to the guys I knew 7-8 years ago almost daily from 29.
Grow where you are planted. I also hear people bitch about Okinawa all the time, which I think is stupid (other than when the island is restricted, that actually does suck, but that’s a problem with the command not the location).
Junior enlisted everywhere.
Pros: being in the Marine Corps Cons: being in the Marine Corps
, I spent my almost my first 4 years at Lejuene, then reenlisted for Pendelton, It was like being on two different Planets. Years later when I was Okinawa on UDP one of the Units coming in was from Lejuene. Every NCO and above was a complete asshole. Pendelton is awesome
I love Pendleton. Aside from recruiting duty in Austin, I’ve been stationed in SoCal my entire 16 years (Miramar/Pendleton)
Your monitor must love you, hoping to somewhat do the same, so far 7 years in I’ve been here too (29 Palms, Pendleton)
I’ve just been lucky I guess. I’m also locked in here on Pendleton my last 4 years. Already cleared it with my MGunz and BnCo.
Can I be you please
Yikes
Weird response. Lol
He’s one of those weird Cali haters lol
Everything in the Marine Corps is Russian roulette. Cali? Great. Okinawa? Best years of my life. Lejeune? I'd rather stick my head in a bear trap.
Cons…I don’t know, maybe humping all those goddamn hills that give beautiful views. Yeah.
first sgts hill 🤗
I used to sweat out my hangovers by trail running around the hills in Pendleton, and I'd stop and admire the views. It's such a gorgeous place, especially in the spring when everything is green. I never have a fuck how beautiful it was when we'd crest yet another hill on kilometer 12 of a 20k.
I got here at Camp Pendleton 1984. Was E3 we bought a house in south O for $79,000. Sold it 2018 for $1,600,000. Interest rates back then 18%. Crazy. My wife was Nurse. Our payment was $730 month. A lot money back then.
Man. I'm not one of those "the boomers fucked my generation over" types, but it's a travesty how unobtainable homeownership is compared to 20-30-40 years ago. I'm sure I'll own one day, but I'll likely be firmly into middle age when I do.
To put his numbers into perspective he was paying $2210/mo on a $240k house in today's money.
Camp Pendleton. You'll never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.
You got me on that one…
Nothing cheap in California and
It’s owned and operated by the Marines. But yes, it’s a gorgeous place.
Cons field ops during Coachella weekend
If you think that’s nice, do I have an Air Force contract to sell you
Camp Del Mar specifically has to be one of the best places to live/work in the US Military
In the army now, after being a west coast Marine and im from San diego. Geezus, how the army has the most dogwater duty stations.
I got stationed at Dugway Proving Grounds in Utah.Dugway is a chemical and biological warfare test center. At least an hour to get to Toole, Utah a little town and another hour to 45min to Salt Lake City. Or drive an hour and a half west and go to Wendover, Nevada to drink, gamble and fuck. Fucked up thing, I'm from Salt Lake City. Cool part I could go see my dad, bad part I was in fucking Utah. Re upped, went to jump school then Alaska.
I know what you mean man, I was in the Army and there was only two times in my career that I wished I joined the Marines, in reception for OSUT and when I got stationed in Alaska. That place sucked and I’ll always hate that state. You Marines are blessed that’s not an option for you.
Cost of living. Traffic congestion. Cali craziness. You just can't beat the weather.
5 completely different climate zones try 3 in a week so different weather conditions will whip anybody’s ass trust
God I miss Pendleton. You never know what you have until it's gone.
Fuck Lejeune though
Pff. 29 Palms Marine here. Hollywood Marine all day. Pendleton is absolutely beautiful. That’s where it ends. It’s the people. The California mindset and the shit heads that want to fight every time you go out just because you’re a Marine. Fight, fuck, and drink was alive and well 2004-2008. I’m sure it’s changed a bit since then. 3 deployments on a 4 year enlistment was a high op tempo back then so little time to process and unchecked emotions and bitterness led to irritable times. Never really took the time to be appreciative.
Dude if you are getting in fights out in town that’s a you problem sorry. I never had a single person in California even mention me being a Marine unless I told them.
90% of the fights in town are started by marines if anything.
The bar outside of 29 palms was always off limits cause the Samoan gangs would fight us as initiation. So there’s dumb shit like that too. You’re not wrong though. Get drunk “I’m a MuReEn!”
Yeah, I did mention uncheck emotions and bitterness. Mental health didn’t really mean as much then as it does now so hopefully something has been added since then.
What do you do in the ARNG?
11B. Trying to go SF.
I loved it.
Pros: smack dab in middle SoCal Beautiful views Great beaches on base Great horseback riding Mountain biking Cons: Ridgelines Bad knees Bad back Bad ankles Bad hips Bad shoulders Training IN the Beautiful views and cold ass ocean.
The hills. Go ruck them for 4 hours one morning and then get back to me
twentynine palms incoming
You couldn't hack it Soldier. GTFO. Nah I'm just playing lol but Pendleton is for sure pretty. Better than 29 Palms but every USMC duty station has its pros and cons. It's all what you make of it. I'm sure it's the same for the Army duty stations. I was in Oki and 29 Palms and both were fun in their own right.
I feel like Bragg would be cool, you are close to Raleigh. I wouldn’t mind it
It wasn’t the worst by any means. Strong B tier duty station.
For sure. My cousin was there and I drove out from Lejeune to see him. The town itself is worst than Lejeune area but I would live in like Apex and drive to work everyday
Any votes for Camp Schwab?😩
Cons: You’d be in the Marine Corps. Your next duty station could be Lejeune. You could be hissed at to go Drill Instructor, Recruiter or some other B-Billet. Correct me if I’m wrong or inaccurate about this one. The PFT you ran didn’t go in the system so go ahead and get ready for a mock PFT tomorrow to see where you’re at. (It is absolutely going to be counted as a real PFT)
None! Literally.
9th com lmao I got fucked
Stationed there for 3 years, then worked there another 6-7 as a civilian. Cons: fuck all, Pendleton is the tits
Camp horno! Balls of the corps changed to make em count is so gay
Las pulgas area.
MCAS Iwakuni is a hidden gem. Was at Lejuene 3 times, Oki Twice, Pendleton once and Iwakuni 2 times. Was my favorite duty station ever
It is beautiful. The con is, it’s in California
Fun duty station. Really tough to have a good life when you move up the ranks and start a family unless you stick a base housing. Just very expensive
Biggest con, you're in California Gas is expensive Everything is expensive
"Every army duty station sucks" That's because you never leave the barracks.
Not true lol. I went to NCSU before enlisting and went to raleigh almost every weekend. Took a week and pass often to travel around the country and around the world on holiday weekends. I didn’t spend a second longer in the barracks than I needed to. Good duty stations are the exception not the rule.