I DID LIKE THE SACRAMENTO AREA, BUT PERSONALLY NOT A FAN OF HERCS. NOT BASHING THEM...JUST NOT MY PREFERRED AIRFRAME.
PERKS OF SAC:
1. LOCATION IS CENTRALLY GREAT FOR TRAVELING. 2. SUNNY WEATHER.
AS FOR L.A. I CANT SPEAK TOO MANY GREAT THINGS OF IT. IT USE TO BE A GREAT SECRET, BUT WHEN I WAS THERE I THINK THE HANGAR DECK JUST GOT A LONG REALLY GREAT.
IF YOU'RE NOT A CITY PERSON AND YOU LIKE "ACTUAL SEASONS" THEN L.A. IS DEFINITELY NOT FOR YOU. LOTS OF SMOG AS WELL....IT IS BAADDDD. I ENJOYED IT MAINLY BECAUSE I HAD FAMILY NEARBY. I WILL SAY THERE IS A LOT OF P.A. IN L.A AND MOST CASES RANGE FROM UNCORRALATED MAYDAYS FLARE SIGHTINGS AND MEDEVAC'S. KIND OF SLOW BUT EVERY NOW AND THEN YOU'LL GET SOMETHING GOOD.
it's been a few years, but the memories are still great: three tours at airsta kodiak and a tour at san diego between tours 2 and 3. last tour was airsta detroit. my favorites:
1. airsta kodiak (great sar, great state for scenic flying, awesome fishing and hunting, and an occasional R.O.N. in anchorage with a visit to the great alaskan bush company... 2. airsta san diego (great sar while i was there, sunny and 70+ year round, nice beaches, great downtown nightlife at the gaslamp quarter) 3. airsta traverse city (fresh water sar for a change of pace, ice rescues in the winter time, and the airsta is located in the only nice part of michigan...
I would have to say AirDet San Juan ,PR. The unit used to be at the USN base in town of San Juan in the early 1960s. We flew the Hu-16. If there is an island between St Thomas and Aruba (with a runway), I have been there. Great times and unforgetable scenery.
I loved Sacto for the same reasons you mentioned, loved Kodiak for the same reasons as Mario, loved Barbers Pt (not sure what Dog Show's reasons were but would love to hear them...)sun, surf, beaches, etc. Corpus wasn't bad once you get use to sweating alot. Astoria was awesome for alot of the same reasons as Kodiak except you could drive longer than 30 miles in the same direction.
Has anyone ever been stationd at Airsta Houston? My husband and I are thinking of making it out top pick after A school. He's going AMT. We're in L.A. right now and he was stationed at Sector San Diego right out of basic. I think I'm ready for some seasons. I haven't had a real winter in long time.
Originally posted by Lyn_Z: Has anyone ever been stationd at Airsta Houston? My husband and I are thinking of making it out top pick after A school. He's going AMT. We're in L.A. right now and he was stationed at Sector San Diego right out of basic. I think I'm ready for some seasons. I haven't had a real winter in long time.
All the Gulf Coast units get warm and humid. If you want 4 seasons and a real winter you might have to go further north. I like seeing the leaves change color and snow so I opt for the Great Lakes units.
Barbers Pt., gotta love the club with the Helo control booth and sand volleyball pit.
Annette Isl, AK. with beautiful scenery and quiet lifestyle. Disregard all of those pilot wife swapping rumours...they were mostly hyped out of proportion.
Maybe the wife-swapping rumors were just rumors but what wasn't a rumor was hoping you could get your wife off Annette and to a hospital to have the baby. Otherwise, she's deliver in a Quonset hut with a corpsman as her Doc.
Yup, them were the good ole days. Of course, I also remember Argentia. The Navy had very limited space for us Coasties so we spent half our tour living in a farm house. The town was Placentia; there were no roads, the house had no insulation, no running hot water or indoor bathing facillities. The Newfies here did not pen their farm animals so cows, sheep, goats, etc, (and sometimes bulls) ran around with impunity. To get back and forth to the base, we had to go by fishing boat. Needless to say, I loved it - my mother did not. When we finally moved onto the base, it was awful. We lived in a roach-infested converted barracks with 1 bedroom. Daddy turned a closet into a room for me but until that happened, I slept under the dining room table. (It was to be the 1st of 3 dining rooms I was to call my bedroom.)
While there, Daddy flew the Coast Guard versions of the B-17 and R5D on the IIP. He told me that it was some of the most interesting and scariest flying he had ever done. He said frankly he didn't expect to survive that tour.
USCGC Mallow 1985-1987 very busy liked Hawaii did not like the boat life ASM school class 15-87 1987 hard but fun loved P-cola Air station Miami 1987-1994 very busy OK for a young family not alot of flying in the old days of the R/S program very hot in summertime EMT school Petaluma CA 1994-1998 loved the area and the school divorce sucked alot Air station San Diego 1998-2002 good SAR before 911 loved the area Air Station North Bend 2002-2006 no sar but liked the area made good money on the house (before the housing crash) Air station Kodiak 2006-2009 great sar loved flying the 60s and the fishing was great even got a caraboo in St Paul and 2 foxes did not like living on a rock though Back to Air station North Bend June 2009
Say, did you guys know there is a top secret CIA training facility right there near the ECity base, in Weeksville? I was stationed there once, was surprised to find out it existed ... apparently they train their paramilitary types there.
Yeah it's called Harvey's Point, everyone knows about it that has lived in the Swamp for any length of time. You cannot fly over it and occasionally you can hear a big bang coming from that direction.
I am thinking this is the "sully" ASM (or AST now). The night in Key West was interesting was is not? You really should not have taken the bums money!!!!!!HA!!
FLARE SIGHTINGS 
AND MEDEVAC'S. KIND OF SLOW BUT EVERY NOW AND THEN YOU'LL GET SOMETHING GOOD.
