I know I posted a similar thread in the troops room, but I wanted this to get a bit more traffic.

Monday I will be putting in my preferences for service location, it has to be lower 48, and not every base has a pharmacist position. So I've narrowed it down and was wanting to hear from people who have been to/been stationed at/ know about the following bases.

Buckley
Peterson
AFA
Lackland
Langley
Nellis
Andrews
Hurlburt (which I wish was Hurlbutt)
Eglin

Thanks in advance guys. I know a bit about the colorado and lackland locations in terms of health facilities, but not much about the others, and nearly nothing about the florida locations.
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Langley. Near Va Beach, losta great BOTL there, close to many historic areas, lotsa military around.
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I'm at Buckley now. The pharmacy is currently located about two miles outside the main gate. They are building a new facility adjacent to the BX/Commissary. The new facility should be open next year. There is also a pharmacy located at the primary care facility. The Tri-West facility (primary care) is a pretty new clinic. It is also located off-base. I don't use either very often.

The Denver area is a great place to live. PM any specific questions you have and I will be glad to answer them.
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Looks like you are from TX so if you want to stay close to home - Lackland's for you. Training base, not much of operational mission. I don't know if that matters to you as a pharmacist.

Hurlburt and Eglin are down at Ft Walton. I still own a house next to Eglin in Niceville FL. Beaches are pretty nice. Lots beach activities, very good golfing and Destin resorts near by for an outlet. Lots and Lots of activity at both bases. Hurlburt is Spec Ops with lots of growth, new aircraft and missions. Eglin is going to be home to the new joint strike fighter (F-35) with Air Force, Marine, and Navy squadrons standing up. Needless to say a lot of excitement and attention focused on that weapons system.

You ought to be busy at USAFA with 4000 students (in addition to the Prep school is on campus at USAFA) coming down with something or getting injured on the playing fields. Pete Field is downtown C-Springs. I like Colorado Springs and you can get up to Denver pretty easily. But if you want a bigger city and what it has to offer you will want Buckley up in Denver. Arguably, Denver gets you closer to the bigger ski resorts. Boulder is a great college town not far from Denver.

Langley is down in VA beach (Hampton Roads). OK town, but very important AF base (Air Combat Command) and things are always busy at a MAJCOM base. I grew up in Northern VA and Andrews will get you to my old stomping grounds and the heart of the Mid-Attlantic. DC is a great town. Beaches 1.5 hours east and Blue Ridge Mountains and Shenandoah Valley 1.5 hours West. Philly 2.5 hours North and NYC 4 hours North - Amtrak to both for the weekend is easy enough too.

Vegas is fun - for a week. I wouldn't want to live there . If Vegas is your thing go to Nellis. My brother was stationed there and was more happy going TDY than staying home. I would agree with him.

Depends on what you are looking for. Water, sun, beaches go to Ft Walton, FL (Eglin or Hurlburt). My choice would probably be Andrews, but I love Colorado and of the Colorado bases I would probably take Pete Field in C-Springs.

FWIW - good luck
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thank you! that's a load of info there, I appreciate it
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I would jump all over L.A. aka lower Alambam i.e Eglin/Hulburt fld. It will be close enough to visit family in Texas when you want but fare enough away do yu don't get a knock on the door ona tuesday night...

I have friends there and they love the area.
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If you like to hunt. Eglin AFB is like your own personal lease. The whole property is a Florida WMA with some big Florida deer. And you got sunny weather and beaches!
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I don't know anything about the bases themselves but this is a great area to live in:

Hurlburt and Eglin are down at Ft Walton. :-)
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Good point - I forgot to mention that. Eglin/Hurlburt has the largest Federal land reservation of any Air Force Base. And there are a few others that are very large as well (Wright-Patterson Ohio, Barksdale Louisiana) but Eglin is huge.

The downside of this is it can make finding housing a hassle. The federal land is so large that there isn't any/much in the way of private land for almost 20 miles north until you hit Crestview Florida. Obviously you can go East (toward Panama City) or West (toward Pensacola) and be closer to the beaches. Towns around Eglin (FW beach, Shalimar, Valparaiso, Niceville are small). I recommend Niceville - it's name suits it perfectly. It has good neighborhoods and schools. That's where I have my house - I'll let you know if my tenants leave anytime soon!:-)

Eglin MWR (Morale Welfare and Recreation) runs a stretch of beach on the ocean that is federal land as well. You can only access it with military ID (just like the base). Rather nice when all the other beaches get overrun you can use "your own personal beach". I guarantee MWR has boats/RVs/etc for rental to take advantage of the area. There is also a site on Niceville Bay that has MWR cabins for rent. They are in high demand especially in the spring/summer/fall. Oddly, the MWR office up at Maxwell AFB (Montgomery, AL) is the office in charge of the cabins.

Good Luck
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I will have my wife read this, thanks! :-)
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