I was at a dinner last night and the broadcaster James Naughtie was the guest speaker. He started well but droned on and on.
One of the stories he told was of visiting a retired US Army officer and his wife. He learned that the officer had had two tours in Germany in the 1970s, and asked how his wife found Germany. The wife responded that she had not joined her husband - “I love America too much” - and JN was aghast at this and used it to illustrate a point. But I wonder what married quarters for a junior officer were actually like. If they were poor, then she may well have been right right to stay home. I wonder also if the man had not been an officer at that time; what were married quarters for the enlisted like?
Germany 1973: If you were a Spec 4 or under in rank you could live in the barracks, but could not live on base in married housing. So, we lived on the ‘economy.’ Although living in a German village where no one spoke English was challenging and isolating, I would not have done well on a base. My experience was that any wife of an enlisted man who outranked your husband could ‘use’ that for what they wanted: front of the line in the grocery store, speaking first, etc. I also discovered the, somewhat, unspoken rule that in social situations the men retired to another room to play cards and drink and the women were left alone to chat. My ex got reamed a new one when I wandered in to check how the game was going… Hope things have changed since then.
I was a single AF E5 in Spangdahlem in 1970. I lived on base in NCO barracks and paid $15 a month for a private 12X16 room with maid service and a communal latrine/shower and hot water heat. A/C was never needed. Maid service included cleaning the room daily, changing bedsheets once a week and cleaning the latrine and common areas daily. They even washed our underwear/socks but not other clothing. The rooms were supposed to house 2 people at $7.50 each but when my roommate left, I never informed the housing honchos and continued to pay his rent until I was discharged. I was very satisfied with my housing.
Married NCO’s were offered apartment-style housing (4 to 8 units per building) and were nothing to write home about nor shoddy. These were brick buildings comparable to fairly common apartment style building stateside. Never heard any complaints about housing.
Enlisted personnel had barracks with larger rooms but had 4 per room and maid service was not available. They were responsible for maintaining cleanliness of the barracks, laundry, etc.
Married enlisted and single NCO’s had the option of living off base and we referred to it as “living on the economy”. Only married NCO’s and enlisted could receive financial assistance to do this. but I am not aware of the amount offered. Single enlisted did not have the option to live off base (legally but it wasn’t unknown).
Off base of on base?? Our first off base apartment was 2 rooms. We shared the bathroom with the 2 families downstairs and had to chop wood in a shed in the backyard to heat the water heater to take a bath. Second apt was luxurious in comparison: the 3rd floor of a newly built house on the side of a mountain…but it was during the fuel crisis, so we only had hot running water on Saturdays from 8-4. But it wasn’t enough to fill a bathtub. Got used to heating water on the stove to take a bath.
And ‘living on the economy’ meant that your rent varied every month depending on the value of the dollar vs. German marks. Some months were good - many were not.
Dad was an Army PFC, and we lived in Augsburg/Asbach.