paulcg77

I'm not GUM based but I lived there for a few years on active duty and later a few times temporarily on ADOS, as recently as about two years ago. Can confirm the naval hospital is excellent and extremely quiet for a military hospital that size; it's just about full service in terms of what it offers and in all the times I went there or took my family there, there was very little wait for the ER or for specialty referrals. Really one of the best hospitals to live near if you're a retiree and/or you've got a family.

Not terribly familiar with Andersen but NB Guam has an excellent commissary and NEX that is larger than a typical navy exchange and significantly cheaper than shopping in town, even compared to the normal savings CONUS. Decent hooch selection. Gas is also cheaper on base, and the housing is excellent. Not sure either if retirees are eligible for long term housing but I can confirm that retirees are eligible for short term (<30 day) housing in the NGIS duplexes and the hotel there. Highly recommend the duplexes; most are on Anchorage Court (off Breakwater Ave; google it) and it's 2-3 bedroom duplexes with 1 car garages, AC, decent furnishings, nice little back yards. They make very good temp housing at a reasonable price if you're retired military and moving to the rock but don't have housing yet so definitely consider that; you can stay there until you get longer term off base housing. For NGIS, this really is pretty good, and better than the AF Inn over at Andersen. Base food on both bases sucks, to be honest. Stick with making your own meals and especially avoid the Wendy's and the food court at NBG.

Any other questions from retirees/reservists thinking about GUM who haven't been there, feel free to PM me with questions too.

paulcg77

Forgot to mention, if you've never been to Guam and you're either retired or a reservist with base access, check out the many many WW2 sites on the NB. Some of the landings and battles in '44 occurred on what is now NB Guam and there are some extensive cave fortifications and a lot of ruins on the base that aren't really publicized and aren't available to the general public to explore. Check out the ruins and the construction projects made by Japanese POW's, the 25mm AA guns all over the base (including some in decent condition in front of some of the barracks off Chapel Rd) and the Japanese caves behind the dental clinic. The snorkeling for young kids is also great for those who don't dive and the naval base has some incredibly clean, quiet, tourist-free beaches and reefs.

Flynboat

When moving out to Guam does the company fly you first class?

How long does it take to get your belongings delivered?

Hotel and car rental while you wait for yours?

With 3000 extra do you find still affordable to live?

Just the two of us if we do this. Would like to rent house
Any suggestions while planning this change

hummingbear

When moving out to Guam does the company fly you first class?

PS coach waitlisted for first

How long does it take to get your belongings delivered?

Roughly 4-6 weeks as determined by real time shipping factors

Hotel and car rental while you wait for yours?

Yes

With 3000 extra do you find still affordable to live?

Biggest non-normal expense for most people would be paying for private schools. (Around $500-$2K monthly per kid depending on the school.) If you have no kids, you’ll probably find the pay plus Island bump more than sufficient.

Just the two of us if we do this. Would like to rent house

Condos are probably more common for singles/couples, especially if you want to be close to the beach. Tumon Bay & Agana Bay both have lots of options for that. For houses, I’d look at the greater Tamuning & Agana areas. Avoid Dededo/Yigo. Yona & Chalan Pago are a little farther out but have some nice areas. There are some really pretty areas even further out like Talofofo & Merizo but they will feel very remote. Basically anything south of the Naval Base is only for 300+ level islanders.

Any suggestions while planning this change
Great base for divers, water lovers, and adventurous travelers. People that come wanting a unique experience are rarely disappointed. People that want to bring the American suburbs with them frequently are. Feel free to DM or post here with specific questions. I think it’s good to share ideas here since some may need to have their minds made up by day one of BI.

JoePatroni

if you are young…..do it now. You will not be disappointed, I did it twenty five years ago and had an absolute blast.

TransWorld

Like having a tropical weekend vacation every week.

Flynboat

Reserve is reserve. But what do the lines look like since I see the two long trips to nrt and mnl being 3.5+ and then island hopper. But then that short pgsn. Sure there was more pre covid but it’s all I see now on flightaware.

hummingbear

Because Guam serves the Asia/Pacific market, it is still being hit HARD by COVID. What you’re seeing is pretty much what they’ve got right now, plus some very limited inter-island flying. There are a lot of reserves currently, to the point it seems like keeping the base staffed as it is has more to do with being able to spool back up quickly than it does with meeting current flying needs.

That said, even pre-COVID, the flying had died off from its heyday in the past. Basically, you had your day turns to Japan- NRT, KIX, FUK, NGO (all one day local trips- no layovers); plus overnight turns to MNL & the islands. Then of course the island hopper- run as a 3 or 4 day trip. Unsurprisingly, seniority largely followed waking hours, with day trips going senior & all nighters going junior. That SPN trip goes very senior because for 5 hours you leave early in the morning & get home in time for a late breakfast.

I’d expect the eventual economic rebound to look something like that, although there’s always the hope that they’ll add some new destinations or bring back some old favorites.

The benefit is you’re home a lot (either at night or during the day), the downside is there’s not that many destinations, so it tends to get boring, and new guys WILL be flying at night.

The biggest benefit of the base in my opinion is more about the lifestyle & less about the flying.

Yuko

What is the timeline these days from end of aircraft training in Denver to start of OE in GUM?

hummingbear

I wouldn’t expect much of a delay for GUM training- basically right from one into the other. You do get an optional 10 days for a familiarization trip, plus 5 moving days. If you’re looking for a bigger break between sim & OE, you can try to work with scheduling to take those days when you want them.