The 5 Worst Duty Stations in the Marine Corps
Categories: Outdoor
Yesterday we talked about the 5 Worst Duty Stations in the Army. It was a lively debate about many of the crappy places that we left off the list. Today we are sure to have the same kind of debate. After talking to the Marine Corps veterans of Grunt Style, we have the list of the 5 worst duty stations in the Marine Corps. One thing we notice is that the Marines seem to have far fewer options than the Army (except for those doing Embassy duty, but that’s something totally different). We are told by the Marines here, including the 1SG, that the Marines don’t have bases all over the world because when they go somewhere, they kick ass, leave, and then let the Army do the garrison duty. Ok Marines. Here you go with your list.
#5 – Okinawa, Japan
There are several camps here so in fairness, we have heard that some of them were not that bad but overall, Okinawa is one of those places that when you are first told you are going there, you are excited because you think it will be exotic. Then you get introduced to the big green weenie. How do you like being Texas hot coupled with Hawaii rain? You’ll love Okinawa then.
#4 – Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, NC
It gets Virginia hot in the Summer and there is nothing to do within a 3-day drive of the station. Your time here will pass very slowly.
#3 – Marine Barracks, Washington D.C.
8th and I. If you aren’t in one of the ceremonial units, then get ready to live the life of every officer and staff NCO around you trying to prove to the Commandant that they are the best officer or NCO in the Marine Corps. Sure you are in D.C. and there can be cool things to do, but D.C. was built on a swamp and Virginia gets crazy hot in the summer. Even if there are cool things to do around you, it’s not worth the pain and suffering of being non-deployable in the Commandant’s back yard.
#2 – Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, NC
Really Marines? This is like one of your two or three bases. It sucks that hard there? We couldn’t find any Marines with anything positive to say about Lejeune. Well, we take that back. They had some positive things to say about some of the things at Lejeune but it’s not really appropriate to write about them here. We aren’t sure what that means.
#1 – Twentynine Palms, CA
It’s not even close. This is by far the worst duty station in the Marine Corps. From what we have heard, it is likely to be the worst duty station in the entire military. We were told that the Army once owned the base and sold it to the Marine Corps for $1 telling the Marines that the area was uninhabitable. We weren’t able to find anything confirming that so it seems like it could be the Lance Corporal network hard at work but visit the stumps once and you’ll have a hard time not believing that story is true.
Gotta agree on 29 Palms. I was stuck on Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay Hawaii my whole tour. It was rough.
In 69-70 Guantanamo Bay Cuba had to be the worst duty station
I would add MCAS Yuma, Az. All the desolation of 29 Palms without at least getting to blow stuff up.
Did you not have a car? That’s the only way I can Yuma sucking. Even fifteen years ago before they built the foothills and it had just a one story mall it was not bad. Today you go there and it is crazy built up with a ton of things to do both, both historical and modern.
I was stationed in Yuma in 1978, I arrived there at 2100 hours, I felt like I went to hell, it only rain maybe 2 or 3 times 1.5 years maybe they had a small shopping center. We used a military bus to go to so call town. It was so hot you could have fried an egg on the sidewalk.
The Navy used to own 29 Palms. Better luck next time.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_Corps_Air_Ground_Combat_Center_Twentynine_Palms
I did 4 years in the Corps, then switched to the Army for the next 17 years. A part of the reason was, I had figured out there are damm few choices of duty stations for an 0811, and they all sucked. I couldn’t change my MOS either, thus deciding to switch to the US Army… 2 1/2 of my 4 in the Corps were at Camp Lejeune, which I considered to be the worst hellhole on the face of the earth. (This turned out to be not true BTW. Ft Waunwright Ak takes that dubious honor). But Canp Lejeune included 2 Mediteranean Cruises, which in turn included Liberty in all those neat little countries in Southern Europe.. Their is nothing comparable to those good times in the Army, where you just continuously go from freezing in the scrubb oak and pine country to back to the nowhere base.. And do it again, etc… So to symmetrize; I recommend both as definitely worth doing, but the Marines was the most fun by far.. And I do not suggest to switch services like I did..
Marine Corps you need to break it down more, Camp Schwab Okinawa, they could not put that base farther from anything. Courthouse Bay, at Camp Lejeune, again farthest away from anything. Also known as Shithouse bay. Sadly they are two of the three active duty stations for two of the Marines AAVBN’s. Now credit where credit is due, Camp Schwab did have decent base facilities when I was there, but just ok.
YAT-YAS!!
Okinawa is not a duty station in itself. I know you said this in your blurb about Okinawa, but you can’t break your own list on the onset of the first place you mention.
If you want to focus on one place on Okinawa, it would be Camp Schwab.
Besides, Okinawan weather is quite similar to the weather in central Florida.
I’m a little surprised to see your list. My family spent 7 years on Okinawa. We stayed so long because we wanted/requested it. We would still be there if we could. Amazing family time. You must have only surveyed unaccompanied Marines. And Camp Lejeune, once again we loved it! Been there twice – once as a single Marine and once as a single parent. Maybe instead of asking what is the worst, you should ask which ones are the best. I bet these two, once again, make your list!
I will have to say that I quite enjoyed 29 Palms. Not the base itself, but the fact that it’s centrally located to San Diego, LA, and Vegas. Also, if you’re the outdoor type, Joshua Tree National Monument is nearby, and they have some really nice places to do some rock climbing.
I did my whole tour in 29 Palms. Loved it!
US Embassy Ndjamena Chad.
I`ll nominate American embassy Mogadishu Somalia!
Oh so true!!!!
I was stationed @ both Okinawa and Cherry Point I really liked Okinawa I am from TX so it was not too bad, but Cherry Point sucked I hated it it in the middle of nowhere and nothing to do
The Supply Depot at Barstow, CA should be No. 1.
Essentially a punishment-duty base.
I hear ya on that one. I had to go there once while stationed at 29 Palms. It sucked and I was only there for the day!
Currently in 29, yes, WORST OF ALL!!!! However, night time outdoorsy people will be ASTONISHED by the night sky!!! Perseid Meteor Shower, clear as day, no telescope.
Current temperature, in shade, 117°, 11:14am…… Only gets worse from here on out…….
Don’t believe second hand scuttlebut from seabag lawyers. 29 Palms was 4 of the best years of my life. Semper Fi Devil Dogs! Yut!
The Stumps is everything you may have heard and then some, being stationed there is a part of the Green Weenie experience for sure!
But to be fair I loved being stationed there with my fellow devil dogs, my time there running CAX excercises and working at CSSB. Also its not too bad off base either. There are things to do, but you have to travel a bit to get there. All in all a great time can be had there!
The only one on this list that is correct is The Stumps(29 Palms)
Okinawa if full of stuff to do and See, Almost Guarnateed to deploy to Korea for awhile
Cherry Point Have you been to the E- Club there
Need to add
Bridgeport CA
Ah Bridgeport
Mountain warfare training center been there go the t-shirt wearing it right now actually hahahaha
you named 5 of the worst Duty stations in the Corps…
you forgot THE worst….
My husband was there after he came home from Nam 68-69…the HELL HOLE of the Marine Corps…BOGUE FIELD!!!.
My husband considered it worse then Nam and even put
in a request to go back for another tour! Said he had better accommodations in Nam !
Hi MaryAnn, I was at Bogue field for almost two years. 68 to late 69. I have a claim into the VA that I was contaminated by the water from Camp Lejeune. Does your husband remember drinking out of the Water Buffaloes at Bogue? That water came from Lejeune. The VA keeps telling me that no Cherry Point Marine was contaminated, but I know better. Can you give any information on this?
There is a law firm with a suit against the VA. Do a search for like bad water in camp Lejeune and you should find something. I see the post on Facebook all the time.
Nothing to do within a 3 day drive of Cherry Point? Really? What about Atlantic Beach, Emerald Isle Beach, Fort Macon, Pine Knoll Shores, Pine Knoll Shores Aquarium, Cape Lookout Lighthouse, Beaufort (voted America’s coolest small town), Morehead City, and I could go on. I live near this base and I was just saying today how much I love living here. There is so much to do! I was just at Atlantic Beach yesterday and saw plenty of Marines there.
I agree, MCAS Cherry Point is a good location if you have a vehicle. I was there from Nov.68-Nov 69, Jan 73-July 75 and again Oct 76-Nov77. Lots to do and see in North Carolina. Does special services still operate a charter boat? Back then ten Marines could charter it for a full day fishing off the outer banks for ten dollars each. Lots of deployments with the squadrons I was in to Yuma, Fallon, NV., Key West, Patuxent River, Maryland. Then there were the exotic trips to Danang, in 70 and Iwakuni in 75/76 and out of those places to Udorn, Thailand and Pusan, Korea.
I hated Beaufort, but had a ball at Marine Barracks Iceland.
Thank You Karen for setting the record straight !!!!!
I work for MCCS and my wife & I live in downtown Morehead City and in walking distance of Atlantic Beach & are proud to call the Crystal Coast home, would not live anywhere else & was simply appalled at the lies in this article- Cherry Point is a very short short drive from this paradise we call home here on the Crystal Coast !!!
How is MCLB Barstow not on that list? Barstow is like the meth capital of the world and out in the middle of absolute nowhere.
So……I joined in 92, got stationed in CLNC right off the bat. Out of my 20 year career, half of it was spent in the CLNC. If this place is so bad, to be named 2nd worst, why is it that the majority of Marines who get out or retire from CLNC stay here?! From 1992 till now is like night and day. If Marines present and past stop drinking, start driving like normal people, you can enjoy this place. Being from NY, this place grows on you. Beaches only 15 to 30 min away in all directions, city to the south, and Myrtle Beach only 2 hrs away. I’ll take my chances, and those who keep hating……move out!!
I think the Army sold the Marine Corps 29 Palms, and then realized that they actually needed an uninhabitable duty station, and thus led to the creation of NTC
Guantanamo Bay Cuba
I agree with Ken, Gitmo, it was hot humid and ugly. Not much to do!
I was in Guantanamo Bay 1967-68 with 2nd Battalion 8th Marines. Besides hot and ugly, lots of unfriendly bugs. They would spray a fog every evening to try and slow the mosquitos down, it was toxic.
I thought that the stumps was the worst until I was sent to New River and LeJuene! The stumps wasn’t half bad if you have a car. You are an hour away from Palm Springs and 2 hours away from San Diego, LA, and Vegas! I’ll take 120 degree day in the stumps over a 95 degree day at LeJuene any day!!
Marine barracks , Brunswick Navel Air Station,
I’ll second that Jim. Marine barracks NAS Brunswick ’82-’84.
Damn, #5 and #1. I hit the lottery on that one. Actually, the Rock wasn’t bad at all. I was stationed there 2 1/2 years but only actually on the island about a year. Spent most of my time on floats. Made some great friends at the Club Alabama.
Ok Cherry Point is actually pretty nice if you don’t mind simple pleasures. New Bern and Beaufort are great little nearby towns with lots to do. As for 29 Stumps there isn’t a lot there but plenty of families and mine say it was one of the best because of the tight communities and the drive to other stuff isn’t that bad. Just saying…from experience
I was at 29 Stumps in 1976. Our barracks had numerous holes in the walls. Some holes as big as 3 feet in diameter. Getting drunk at the club was the past time of choice. Guys would come back from the club and throw up on the floor and fall asleep without cleaning it up. Most of the marines were 18 – 19 years old and straight out of boot camp. There was no leadership at all. It was like living in the ghetto. Drunk Marines were fighting in the barracks. It was every man for himself. The nearest city was Palm Springs which was a over 65 retirement community for golfers.
Marine life, especially infantry life, is all about making your warfighting skills a lifestyle. There is no better place than 29 Palms to do so. Living in the desert to go fight in a desert kept my friends and myself from dying in a foreign desert. Wanna be hard? Go for a 20k run and finish with a Sugar Cookie haze and then get barracks drunk and go fisticuffs with all the Arty and tanks who only lift for a living. Not to mentioned sew your Lance Corporal oats in Riverside or Vegas, which are only a few hours away. Both close enough and far enough away to build a good buzz before arriving. Might be the worse station but it teaches you to live the way a true warfighter should; angry, miserable, nails tough, and 24/7 drunk!
29 Palms was great. Those who whine about it we’re those who did not take time to get to know the place. My dad spent a majority of his career there and I spent some time there as well. I am proud to call 29 Palms my hometown.
Loved it there. I was married and my first daughter was born on 4July1979 at the base hospital. I can see if single in barracks and no car it would suck. For my family we enjoyed it and the extra benefit of shooting pretty much everything in inventory. Shacking the windows back in housing.
We loved to hate it. It’s Stockholm Syndrome man, you didn’t really like it, you’ve just been abused by it so long that you think you like it. Trust us, it happened to us too.
Was stationed at 3 of the places mentioned, and really have to stretch to find a lot “bad” about any of them. I spent a year at the “Stumps”, 13 months at Foster on Okinawa, and my last 6 months prior to EAS at Lejeune…
Agree completely about the night sky someone mentioned above, magnificent…. On Oki I took leave for a week and bicycled around the entire island…lots of friendly folks and pretty scenery… Lejeune was great…I have to qualify that statement and add that I went TAD to special services as a lifeguard on Onslow Beach from the 2nd Engineer Bn. as soon As I reported in from Okinawa.
Woah.. Where’s MCAS Yuma on this list? I was stationed there from 2010-2015. Even the MCI West Commanding General said that it was worse than the Stumps.
I actually liked Cherry Point.
29 Palms may be bad, Joshua Tree NP is awesome. The Mexican food in town is outstanding too. Nice place to visit. Wouldn’t want it to be my station. But, it IS the Marine Corps.
As an FMF corpsman, I have to say I disagree. There’s so much to do in Okinawa, but many Marines are daunted by the task of walking or riding a bike everywhere. Great for people who grew up using public transportation. Plus, I have a sleeping schedule like an old grandpa, so the curfews aren’t so bad.
The Cherry Point Air Station itself is pretty bland, and the surrounding city life isn’t much to speak for, but it’s right on the Atlantic Ocean with beautiful summers, you can live in and commute from the beautiful neighboring city of New Bern, and there are definitely places to go if you don’t mind a half hour drive in any direction. Lots of great microbrew beer, fresh seafood, and miles upon miles of beautiful beaches (with fishing piers). Definitely for the water-life guys out there.
Never been to DC, but I hear traffic sucks.
Camp Lejeune genuinely does suck, but there is no shortage of things to keep you occupied. It’s a very lively base (often strictly managed), and the town wouldn’t be half bad if Marines didn’t make up 99% of the population. The worst part is that it’s near impossible to hide or get away from Marines in that town. But Camp Lejeune has miles of ranges and trails that you can go hunting, fishing, or off-roading in. The 7-tons dig up pits in their tracks so deep that it makes for some really great missing right beside the beach. It has its own nice clean beach, where almost nobody goes unless it is the heat of the summer. The base sucks, but there’s potential for someone with an open mind, or for rednecks. And there are awesome places within 30 miles of any direction.
29 Palms is in the middle of the Mohave. But it is Cali, and Las Vegas and San Diego are both ideal weekend getaways. Lots of dry-hot nature, and beautiful skies. Great for someone who likes to go off-roading or hiking. Not the best place ever to be, but it can get much, much worse.
And by much worse, I mean Yuma. Yuma is an absolutely desolate complete waste of space.
29Palms! Miles and Miles of racking the sand! Do wind sprints back and forth, “Hey &^%&ing Maggot, why isnt my sand racked?” Back to racking the sand!
Black Flag days just means your getting up at 3AM to PT! Nothing like running up the dunes at 3AM.
shove the army up your ass…know nada about the corps assbag
Was stationed in Okinawa , Cherry Point, and did 2 three month deployments to 29 stumps, 80 to 84. Looking back, it was all good, but the worst had to be the stumps, 3 months at a time in the desert with no nothing, and I mean nothing to do! Was alot of fights and alot of Sea Rats !
I just need to know why Yuma’s not on this list. FFS.
I served in the 1980’s. What Marines have now is online university or other ways to get ahead in their career. A friend of mine’s dad , a WW II vet, hated Camp Lejeune. While there he made the USMC pistol and rifle team. HE said he worked as hard as possible on his career to make the time go by.
His next duty station was as a Gunny at Camp David during the Kennedy administration. It was “CAKE.”
So the author of this does not like hot.
You got this exactly right. Lejeune and palms are absolutely terrible.
No way that the 29 Stumps is a bad place. Where else in the Corps can you have kayak and sailboat races at Lake Bandini. With all the lovely lasses laying out in string bikinis. And don’t forget range 500 and the shelf stabilized milk. It was there I found a can of c-rat crackers and peanut butter from 1962 and it was intact (crackers were crumbled) but the PB was still good. I had to fight a 6′ Mohave rattler for it, and let’s not forget the petroglyphs and the desert tortoise. Go ESD.
What about MCAS YUMA, AZ???
A hundred miles from water and three feet north of hell.
The federal government was gonna build a prison there but decided it was an unfit living environment for prisoners… so they built a Marine Base!
Definitely forgot about Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow,CA.
29 Palms by far is the worse desert on this planet, I did two CAXS there, I been to kuwait, Iraq and Oman , but 29 palms worked on me worse than them all. I believe it’s the Devils summer spa, I believe before Serial Killers, Rapist and over all Horrible people have to spend a year there before going to hell!
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If you think THE STUMPS is bad today, you should have been there in 1968. Tents, Quanset Huts and sand..hot filthy sand that blows into everything and the nearest Liberty was hours away
I lived in Okinawa twice. The first time in ’69 where I hated it because of the war environment. I volunteered to got to Vietnam to get away. The second time was in 1980 with my family. It ended up being my best station in the Corps. You can’t let climate make your decision as to what you like. I now live in Twentynine Palms and love love love the desert and the people of this community. The weather during the summer is warmish (if 115 is warmish) but you stay inside when it gets that bad. Even the marines on base stay inside when it is that hot. Speak not of what you haven’t done.
Stationed in the stumps with 1/7. Climate sucks, but Vegas weekends, Palm Springs Golfing, and Big Bear skiing made time spent on base worth it. Plus you could always take a dip in lake Bandini or fish for brown trout.
Stationed at 29, nasty. Field Ops there, well, that’s what we do. If we’re willing to be more specific and include Camps then Las Pulgas with it’s 270% impact areas and crap everything. Johnson next to Lejeune takes 2nd. (Hmm Upper Mao count? Haaa!)
YUMA ARIZONA should be in this top list.
Seriously? Each of those places can be a lot of fun. You have to make it fun or go someplace near by. Expecting to be given a good time is crap. It does not matter the location, you get out what you put in. I have fond memories of each, lived in them all as a child and Marine.
Twentynine Palms separates the men from the boys. I did 7 years in that place. Two words: dirt bike.
Have any of you ever heard about Adak, Alaska? Couldn’t leave this frozen, desolate, 23 tree National Forest island for a year. For you that don’t know, it’s the 3 to the last island in the Aleutians ! It was so bad they closed it and sold it!
I’ve to Okinawa twice and we loved it! Except for the typhoons. You get used to the heat. ’68-’72
I was stationed at camp Lejeune and the reason it’s so terrible is because Jacksonville is the worst town on the planet, and it takes almost an hour to get anywhere that’s not surrounded by assholes telling you how properly dress in your civies, and every cop wal mart door greater and gas station attendant is a former marine trying get you in trouble for something.
I was stationed on Okinawa for a year and 29 stumps for three..They seemed ok to me, because if you wanted dorm style rooms instead of Barracks and pretty places to see, go to the Airforce haha..When you join the Marine Corps you join to train to fight, not be all comfy.. Adapt and overcome…
I got them all beat. MCLB Albany GA. Logistics command for the Corps. It’s hot, a swamp , middle of nowhere. Top heavy as hell, more than Quantico. The biggest unit is the band. It was a scrappy AFB in the 50s and is a crap MC base. Truely a miserable place. I know guys that came there from 29 stumps and begged to go back. It’s a miserable shit hole.
I have to agree with the exception of going back to the Stumps, I went from the island to the stumps for radar school and then went to Albany GA. aka Salem GA ( the general is always looking for somebody to burn) as we use to say .The only good thing for me was I was from the south close to home I would leave there just about every weekend and go home…..MCLB ALBANY was the land of neverending inspections, extra duties , if you lived off base get ready every morning there was a road block at the base entrance I swear I got pulled over every time lol… there was always some boot LT making your life miserable.You lived in a fishbowl.
Unless things have changed since the late 1950’s, my vote for the worst base is Albany, GA. I did two years there in the MPs, and as a Marine, it was pure hell to work in a civilian atmosphere all day, then play Marine in the evenings and weekends with the usual junk on the bunk, Friday parades, and other bona fide USMC events. I remember seeing a lot of senior NCOs leave the Corps after 18 and a half or 19 years of being a true Marine only to be treated like a half a Marine and half a civilian. By the same token, as a civilian outside the fence, I loved living in Albany in the ’50’s and ’60’s – had a great job and an ichiban wife-san who was a native Albanian.
MCAS Cherry Point isn’t bad at all. Spent 5 years there from 01 to 06. People that hate it are city spoiled. I lived in New Bern, but Atlantic Beaches, VA beach, Myrtle Beach, Raleigh, Duke, UNC, ECU campus, all within a few hours drive. Awesome hunting, fishing, and other outdoors activities. Its a small town feel and the locals are friendly. The high school has a great football program if you want your kids to get scholarship recognition.
Hell of a lot better than Beaufort, SC!! And Yuma sucks too!
Thanks a bunch for sharing this with all folks you actually realize what you’re speaking about! Bookmarked. Please also talk over with my web site =). We could have a link trade agreement between us!
I ve heard these are the worst places to get stationed in the Army. If you ve been to any of these places, why do people hate them so much, and are they really that bad?
Our family spent 4 years there. Best 4 years of our lives. Went to San Diego, now we’re in Yuma, AZ. Base living in 29Palms was much better than here. But more to do in Yuma. Still there are silver linings to these desert bases. It’s what you make of your time there. We chose to embrace it and we have great memories and wouldn’t be disappointed if we got stationed there again. In fact, when we first moved there, we were told people beg to go back and we could not figure out why. Lol The same with Yuma. The locals here are friendly and super welcoming.
I least enjoyed my time at Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan 1982-1983. Partly due to my perception that Okinawans are a cold homogeneous people. (Only based on my perception). Being that I am a guy with a serious case of Yellow Fever back then I found the Okinawan Women at least in Kin Village to be cold and had fat, tree trunk type legs. I went there with the full intention of coming back with a Asian Wife with children in tow.
Found not one Okinawan Woman that was interested. Fortunately, I wrote to some Philippine Women. After visiting her after taking MAC Flights from Kadena AFB, eventually got a Philippine Women to come to U.S on a Fiancee Visa. Thought my life was going to be perfect that I had relief of my Yellow Fever. (Yes, I know Filippinas are more brown than yellow). However, after 4 years my Philippine Wife left me. I was so distraught that it ended my military career.
So Frack you Okinawa! Ha Ha.
I grew up in Jacksonville and there is plenty of things to do around the area Wilmington, Myrtle Beach, RDU. It’s what you make of the area and don’t be the barracks rat. I was stationed at GTMO not to do but fish or scuba dive still had fun then went to Crete Greece for 2 years hag more fun there than anywhere else I have been to. Six hour flight to Europe them trains all over the place.
I don’t know if it’s the worst but Adak Island was really humble…was there in the 70’s for a year..at that time considered a big cold war base as it’s pretty close to Russia…now abandoned…really weird place…buildings FULL of Roaches..once found a big cockroach head with antennas floating in my coolaid at the chow hall.. rats outside..wind NEVER stops blowing..always cloudy,raining or snowing..earthquakes..an active volcano across the bay..that actually blew up once…like a bad Disney movie..always waited to see a dinosaur eating someone..once the sun came out for a day and they declared a holiday for everyone not on duty to go outside..not whinin’ loved being a marine for 6 years…just thought this place was a trip..no desire to revisit..after you’ve been there 10 miutes..you’ve seen everything.
I’d have to agree with the author. 29 palms is by far the worst place to be stationed. Most say embrace it well there’s only so much to embrace… it gets old pretty fast. Having a child that needs to go to a specialist and driving 2 hours away on a frequent basis as well sucks too especially since the distance was not far enough to be reimbursed we were 5 miles short so it got expensive. Been here 5 years and finally getting orders soon we survived this place going down to oceanside or big bear where it was much cooler. Excited to be somewhere that offers services much closer.
Okinawa is awesome – you always get some douche who b*tches about no Walmart or American food. No sh*t, you’re in a foreign country! Enjoy it!
Jacksonville/Cherry Point suck – they’re all the way on the east side of NC. There’s nothing to do within a 45 minute drive.
29 Palms is the a**hole of the Marine Corps, without a doubt, and it deserves to be #1.
I always say, if you want to actually SEE the world, don’t join the Marine Corps. Your options are CA, NOVA, NC, HI, SC, Yuma, Japan. Lame.
Hummm… may be it was my 0311 MOS that made me love some of the places on this list. May be the places on this list just suck for devil dogs that liked to whine and not get out & about. May be the list is dumb because it was written by an army dog and not a Marine. I would have stayed on Okinawa if they let me… awesome place for art, history, martial arts, jungle trekking, cliff diving, scuba diving, and jetting off to other exotic Asian locations. 29 Palms was awesome because the training opportunities for 0311’s were some of the best in the Corps. I also liked the fact that Joshua Tree National Monument, (now Park), was just down the road from the front gate and Las Vegas, Palm Springs, Los Angeles, and San Diego could all be reached and enjoyed in a single day. I loved the outdoor opportunities afforded those stationed at the “Stumps.” Yeah, I had a car in both places during parts of my duty, which probably helped increase my enjoyment of them, but I used public transportation as well as bicycles and my feet at those locations and in other places as well. A lot of Embassy Duty Stations, as well as long operations in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan, and parts of Africa have to take the cake for worst places to be “stationed” in the Marine Corps, unless you are actually in the field and on the hunt as real 0311’s long to be. Semper Fi Devil Dogs!
We did an op on Bogue Field. The op wasn’t bad (right on the water), but aside from camp guard and a chow hall the place looked abandoned.
Oki was a good time for me, especially since I had a car and Gold card at least half my time there. I was stationed on Hansen and left just before they really cracked down on liberty (I think eventually they completely outlawed drinking off base). From there I got to go to South Korea, Thailand, and Iwo Jima (not much base wise but truly a historic place to visit). Foster and Kadena AFB were probably the best bases on Okinawa.
Cherry Point was ok. It was a drive to get anywhere entertaining but if you were a barracks rat the e club was usually a good time.
I’ve never been to 29 Palms, but nearly every Marine I’ve talked to says it’s horrible.
In Okinawa from 1954-1956 & hated it. Tents, hot, monsoon, dirty natives that didn’t want us there. We had no dependent so, army & airforce & navy did. Only enjoyment was snorkeling of the north end of the island & fighting at the clubs with the other services. Next duty station was MCAS Mojave. Like a paradise air conditioning and heat
Parris island is the worst at least in early 76 it was
I hated being stationed at Parris Island too; Support Battalion ‘82-‘84.
Lol Keflavik iceland is the worse place to be stationed for a Marine, it was so boring…. Everyday was grey
I had a great time at Marine Barracks Iceland ‘81-‘82.
Scratchin my head. I loved Stumps. Spent 6 months or so there.
A lot of field fire missions. Grab-ass Thursdays. It had a golf course . I was “red” tagged so I could never get a 96 hour liberty.
The heat was the # 1 attraction for me.
I haven’t been warm since ’71.
I did enjoy my time in Twentynine Palms, as well as hated it. A weird beast that base was.
This list is full of more holes than Swiss cheese. You left a lot of considerations out. For one thing, you need to consider ALL bases on Okinawa, not just the whole friggin island. 29 Palms can suck, but if you have wheels you have access to one of the most desirable places — Southern California. I was stationed at Camp Pendleton for the majority of my time in service (8 years) and by far it is probably the best Marine Corps installation (not counting certain embassies).
Well, that’s just like, your opinion man.
was on okinawa 2 tours loved it 56 57 and 59 60 then went back in 94 on vacation lots of nice people
Lejeune wasn’t bad if you were on Geiger or Johnson (you could walk to court street) but if you were on mainside you had to have a car to get anywhere.
I Strongly and Highly Disagree that 29 Palms is the worst duty station in the Marine Corps…..Remember: “We DIDN’T PROMISE YOU A ROSE GARDEN”. Ooh Rah!
I’m a Retired MGYSGT of 30 yrs (1971-2001) and reported to the Stumps in 1984 where I was then assigned as the MMC at TCMU. Following that assignment as a SSGT and being selected to GYSGT, I was then transferred over to 3rd LAV Bn/LAR’s on the base as their MMC prior to the unit moving to OKI. Shortly after being the MMC for over a year and a half with 3rd (LAR’s) I volunteered for Recruiting Duty in (1988) to never return back to the Stumps to be stationed. My family and I have some Great memories there, we bought our first home there for $65,000.00 lol..lol.
However, my personal opinion of this duty station for me and my family during the time that we were stationed there, is that, it was “The Best Kept Secret” in the Marine Corps. Our youngest of three children was born there at the Base Hospital, who now has 15 years in the USMC and just crossed over/promoted on 21 Dec 2018 from GYSGT to 2nd LT. via the MCEP program…..from CSUSM
Semper FI….
USMC “Retired” (30 Yrs)
S.G. Payne
P.S. My Family and I Loved the 3 and half years that we spent at 29 Palms….Who remember stopping in at “Al SWINGERS”?…lmbo.
29 Palms twice, Camp Lejeune (French Creek), then Okinawa twice. From there MCAS Eltoro and several ops to Yuma (WSMR) and after Recruiting Duty, back to Okinawa. Finished up at Camp Pendleton and I have to say that of all the bases, Okinawa was the BEST. A truly fascinating place not to mention the golf was great, the beer cold and the yakisoba to die for!
One good thing about Camp Swampy, ( Camp LeJeune) it had two excellent golf courses. Also, it was a great place to leave from. The 2nd Marines did the med cruises. I shipped out twice. Also, the 8th Marines had Gitmo. I served a tour-of-duty there. When ever I came back to Lejeune my first job was to figure out how get out of there. Thomas E. Harvey Sgt. 1970-1973