Being from Junction City and working a good portion of my life on Ft. Riley I can tell you that the midwest isn't all that bad. Junction City has changed a LOT from what it was 20 years ago and all of you that give your negative isights can SMD. Most of you have never even been there in the past 10 years or probablly not at all... so your opinions mean JS.

With that being said you do have other places to chose from as Manhattan is right next door and catching a KSU game would be pretty kewl. Topeka is not that far if you want to do some shopping and KC is only a couple hours away and plenty to do. They have KC Chiefs tickets you can get from the ITR office and IIRC you can get a bunch of buddies to chip in and charter a small transport with separated driver and have a friggin party in the back all the way there and back. :)

I will say this to you JC naysayers... After living in Henderson, NV (Las Vegas Valley) for the last 3+ years... I love having every available source of entertainment under the sun here. JC and the Ole'boy network of not building up the business in town leaves a lot to be desired as far as places to go and things to do.

But IMO Ft. Riley isn't that bad. It is a historic base and has a LOT buildings that date back into the 1800's.

I can comment on Ft Riley as I grew up in the area and went to KSU. I can also comment on Hawaii and Alaska as I spent 25 years as a Coast Guard Aviator with the majority of it flying around the Pacific and I chose to retire in Alaska.

Ft Riley area is rolling hills, hot and dry in the Summer, I would consider winters mild, but if you're from the south they may seem harsh. Good place if you have a family to raise your kids. It's not a Cosmopolitan area by a long shot and only marginal for outdoors activities such as fishing, boating, and hunting. There won't be any snow machining and I'm not aware of any 4 wheeling areas as almost all land is private and fenced in. If you want the quiet, rural life this is a good location.

Hawaii, Expensive, not a real good place to raise a family, locals won't like you unless you're spending money. Weather is great, if you surf or love the beach then it is your Mecca. If you are an outdoorsman and into guns/shooting/hunting at all.......stay the hell away from Hawaii. Personally, outside of the weather, and the views Hawaii is in my opinion............Hell on earth.

Alaska, I've been from one end of Alaska to the other. Alaska is huge, and if you enjoy the outdoors; everything from hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, skiing, back country snow machining, flying, mountain climbing, atving etc..................then this is the only place in the world. Being in the Army you'll either end up in Anchorage or Fairbanks. Fairbanks is much colder in the winter (-40F) and much hotter in the summer (90F) and has more of a frontier feel to it. Anchorage is a larger town (half of the AK population lives in Anchorage) and winters are more mild, but summers are cooler and wetter. Anchorage is more like a L48 town then anywhere else in AK with all the associated box stores and fast food joints. You can access the best summer location in Alaska, Prince William Sound, from both locations. Alaska is expensive, wild, undeveloped, and not the place for the unadventurous urban types.

I was being a little sarcastic, with the bunker comment, I admit. But you can see for miles over the base and beyond. So I am still wondering why this is such a topic of debate.

Since I still live not too far from there (and work there) I'll give you my .02

First and foremost, like many other bases/forts/camps, etc...you can forget a LOT of what you've heard and for the most part they are what you make of them.

You'll not find a lot of places for snowmobiling, but I generally ride the bike from March until late October (a lot of guys ride even more, but I'm not into riding if it's under about 40 degrees). Hunting and fishing aren't bad at all depending on what you're after....deer are very plentiful and if you're serious about it I've not heard of anyone unable to fill their elk tag. George was right that Tuttle Creek is nearby, but Milford is closer and is quite a bit larger (Tuttle has roughly 100 miles of shoreline as opposed to 170 for Milford).

Arrowhead is right at a two hour drive (It takes me about 2:20, but again, I'm a tad west of JC)

They've built a LOT of new housing in the last few years (and are still building) and have also built a new PX, at least two new schools, a few new day care centers, and a new hospital is currently in progress.

Many people are beating the drum for Hawaii and I'm not going to disagree with them but it is extremely expensive and "Island fever" can be an issue for some. I would still go back again though.
Ft Carson is one I didn't really care for AT ALL, and didn't especially enjoy Ft Lewis but again to each his own.

I could go on and on and on, but if there's anything in particular that you're wanting to know shoot me a PM or ask on here.

Well when the picture was taken from on TOP of a pretty good size hill it only makes sense that you can see pretty far. But East-Central KS is anything but flat land I can assure you.

I actually think that was taken from the first landing where the motorized mortar is, about halfway up.

I though Fort Riley was boring as hell, but I was only there 3 times and that was to cross-train. Alaska would be my selection based on available options.

Dude, for what you want to do, you want to live in Seattle, WA more than you even know. Take it from someone who grew up there. Ft. Lewis is awesome, and the location you'll be in will allow you to do everything you want and more.

Your wife won't like the weather, but it'll never be bitter cold, or blistering hot. Lots of cloudy days, and drizzling rain. That's the downside.

But you have access to all of God's wonder there, and you're close to all of it being stationed at Ft. Lewis. The mountains, the ocean, beautiful lakes, lush greenery. It's pretty awesome.

Now if you haven't been overseas.. I'd suggest Italy:
http://www.facebook.com/USAGvicenza

When I was stationed in Greece I was attached to 558th which was SETAF. We had a bunch of guys come over TDY from Italy and they all had good things to say about it. Just being in the European theater, you can jump a MAC flight and go about anywhere in Europe cheap. My wife and I had a great time in Greece. Of coarse being stationed with the Air Force helped :p

DT

That stuff would be awesome if it weren't for the idiots that live over there.

ROFL Why do you think I moved away? It's still a great place to be stationed for a few years.

Proves the point even more that there are good size hills in that part of KS. I am guessing you went all the way to the top?

I don't remember the whole story about that cannon at the top but I do remember it could lob nuclear warheads a few hundred miles???

I did when I was a teenager. It's an atomic cannon. It had a range of about 30 miles IIRC.

The Old Lady? I instantly thought of your Grandma?

Is this the 1970's or deep in the woods of The south where red necks still refer to their wives as their " old Lady"?

I always thought Ft. Riley was where they sent people as punishment.