RandMcnally, I gotta disagree with England. I’m at an air base here. Everyone seems to be counting the days until PCS. Buying on the local economy is difficult with the exchange rate and the weather can be depressing. Our commissary and post office are kick-ass, though.
I’d recommend Bitburg/Spangdahlem or Ramstein in Germany, Yokota AB (Tokyo), and Eielson AFB (Fairbanks, AK). Bitburg/Spangdahlem are 2 small bases in a beautiful area with rolling hills and farmland but isn’t far from “civilization.” Trier is an hour away by car, Paris is 2 hours by train, and Frankfurt Airport is about 2 hours by car. I’m trying to get there. The commissary (Bitburg) and BX (Spandahlem) are good. Ramstein is, what, a half-hour or 45 minute drive?
Ramstein is a relatively small base next to the huge Landstuhl army hospital. The villages between the bases are cute, you’re still close to the big cities, and you have choices of commissaries and BX/PX’s at both bases. Wait, I think Paris is 2 hours by train from here. Dammit, where’s my memory when I need it?
Yokota AB also has a great commissary/BX. They’re in the same building, the BX atop the commissary. It’s a big base so it has all the goodies, plus there’s a large navy presence on the other side of Tokyo. If you get sick, you might get transported to Yokosuka. Tokyo is a cosmopolitan city. The locals are more open to foreigners than other parts of Japan (looking at you, Misawa). Besides, you can easily get anywhere in Asia quickly and relatively cheaply. Seoul is a couple hours by plane and Beijing is 4 or 5 hours. The time zone differential can work for you when contacting the US. When you’re finished dinner, some American time zones are getting up for breakfast. In Europe you’ll be 5 or 6 hours ahead. It can be inconvenient to talk to friends because when you’re ready to go to bed, they’ll just be getting off work.
Eielson is the one everyone either loves or hates. It’s a relatively small base but there’s a large army base nearby (Fort Wainwright). The commissary and BX are somewhat disappointing but the ones at Wainwright are not. Besides, there’s good shopping in town now, what with the WalMart and newish Fred Meyers’ and Borders and Old Navy and Chili’s and Home Depot and Lowes. Fairbanks is not out in the middle of nowhere anymore. Most of the population is military or former military so you’ll have plenty of people who share common experiences with you. You won’t have to change “PCS” to “move” when chatting, stuff like that.
The summers are warm with long days, the winters bitter cold and dark. The winters aren’t as bad as, say, Minot, because of 2 things. There’s no wind and no humidity in the winter. The winds don’t come through your clothes to chill you. Likewise, there’s no moisture in the air to carry the cold through your clothes. The long nights didn’t bother me because I’ve always worked in buildings with no windows. In the winters almost everwhere I worked I went to work when it was dark and left work when it was dark. It didnt’ matter whether there were 2 hours of sunlight or 6 hours of sunlight in the daytime. I wouldn’t see it.
I, personally, loved Osan, but I TDY’d there for only a couple weeks. Their BX is good and the vendor mall it’s in is excellent. The food court has Krispy Kreme and Captain D’s, a welcome addition to the Anthony’s Pizza and Taco Bell at every other food court OCONUS. Just outside the gate is excellent shopping if you want custom clothes (including dress uniforms), nick-nacks and knock-off purses. Oh, right, lots of restaurants and bars to get in trouble in. Ha ha. This was the only place I saw US security forces patrolling the bars off base. There’s an army presence in the area, too, so you can head to Youngsan Garrison for their PX. Youngsan’s billeting has some great real American food, too.
Seoul is an international capital, like Tokyo, so has a lot of opportunities. It’s also a gateway airport to get anywhere in Asia fast and cheap. Without leaving the country you should find something to do, as the geography is somewhat varied. Lastly, galbi!
