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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.
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