Kirtland AFB info

[Guest lovelacm]

OK, Folks... I'm 2 weeks out from rejoining AETC and going BACK to school. Back to Inital Qual for Linda.

Anybody got some words-o-wisdom for us Kirtland-bound folks? Good folks at my future squadron, but nobody's got any good info to pass along (other than some incredibly good gouge on off-base billeting)!

Request picture, words, and uh... my parrot just dropped dead.... bent... bent... uhm... wake up, Polly! I've got some Ritz for ya'! No, give me the eye-patch! I'm the Pirate!

Sorry, folks... having movers at my house all day has twisted my soul even more than I imagined. Off for a Gin & Tonic followed by some good British Stand-Up from Eddie Izzard.

Cheers!

Linda

P.S. - I'll gladly provide my email / IM info if you'd rather go direct than post on the board... Just lookin' for a heads-up on what to expect. Many thanks.

[ 06. September 2005, 14:21: Message edited by: Linda ]

[DC]

Won't help ya w/ your training.. but get out to 505 Southwestern for lunch every now and then. Its quirky but its the best food ever.

Again, I can't help ya with your qual or any of that junk. I know a bit about Kirtland from the short time I worked there-but others will be able to help you better with that.

BUT-If you have any other Albuquerque-related questions feel free to PM me.. I lived there for 15 years and have a great love/hate relationship with my hometown. More love these days as absence makes the heart grow fonder.

[Guest croftfam]

Lots o people hate Albuquerque, but I love it! Are you into the outdoors? If so, the weather is just getting good.

Marilyn Cavanaugh, in billeting, is the lady to talk to about getting into off base billeting. They'll probably send you to Southwest Suites. They have great, good, and bad housing, but ALL of them are better than on base dorms! The key is having a dog! If you have a dog or were to let them think you have a dog (not that I recommend that) it's almost a sure thing you'll get off base.

Eats- Sabor de Juarez on the corner of Carlisle and Gibson is GREAT mexican food. Obee's off Gibson near San Pedro is a great sandwich shop.

Can't get into more now, but if you have specific questions PM me. I'm on my way out of the 512th. You'll enjoy Kirtland, I did anyway. AETC sucks though.

[DC]

To get the most out of Albuquerque you have to have a bit of a sense of adventure. It isn't so much what Albuquerque itself offers as much as the areas within driving range of it. Myself? I love the people in the albaturkey. Just a more laid back sense of things. Think casual Friday, only every day.

I think people hate Albuquerque because they feel like with the size of the place there should be more there. But they just aren't taking advantage of it.

Sounds like you'll be there for the Balloon Fiesta also. If you've never been you absolutely have to go. If you've been dozens of times it can get a bit boring unless you're on a crew.

Marilyn will definately hook you up. One of my many civy jobs while waiting for OTS to start was as a temp replacement for the 377th SVS during a deployment at the reservation desk at billeting sitting right next to Marilyn 4 days a week for a couple months. She did everything in her power to get people what they wanted. Sometimes it was out of her hands, but more often than not it was easy to "throw" people off base that wanted off. Billeting there is usually near capacity anyway with people on shorter TDYs for various things.

[DC]

Well, I grew up there and I only witnessed a couple of shootings and a couple more stabbings. I was only a direct victim of a random violent crime once. I love Albuquerque but I didn't much care for growing up there. It seems that the younger you are the worse it is because it all stems form gang/drug trafficing problems that tend to affect youth the most. Once you hit a certain age (approx 25?) and if you go only to places that are familiar and known to be a safe environment its actually a nice place!

The public schools really do have a wide range. Some are gang-riddden and filled with unmotivated teachers and have horrible facilities. In the richer areas of town the schools are quite a bit better. Great facilities (though with the growth of the city over the years they're becoming very crowded) and great programs. You still have a drug problem in those schools but its more of a user problem than a distribution problem.

I went to one of the private schools in town and absolutely loved it. I was a bit sheltered being there, but certainly not as much as my parents thought I was. Good thing I stayed out of trouble and got to where I am today. I can't say the same about a lot of the people I went to school with.

Kirtland itself is a bit.. for lack of a better word.. dusty. Its pretty spread out and seems very ghetto on first glance. But its an Air Force Base. Outside of some of the older buildings (many of which are being rennovated or are scheduled to be) you'll still have first-class facilities. There is hardly any vegitation on base so it seems dead. The DOE runs Sandia National Labs on base and that takes up a good amount of space and population. It doesn't seem to be any different than most of the other bases I've ever been to, it just looks different on the outside. DO NOT LEAVE THE BASE ON FOOT. The area right outside the gates (basically, all of them) is one of the worst in town. It isn't the absolute worst, but it is probably the most violent.

But wow. The sky. Its so beautiful there.

[scoobs]

Thanks for the info. How far is Santa Fe is that commutable.

[DC]

Santa Fe is ~about~ 50 miles north of Albuquerque. Kirtland is on the southern edge of Albuquerque. Albuquerque covers a big area. I-25 isn't reliable in the winter.

So, no. Too far.

[Rocker]

My dad lives out there and was in a Walmart there a couple of weeks ago, when he heard screaming coming from up near the front, followed by a couple of gunshots and more screaming. He laid low for a few minutes, then as he started to sneak up to the front, he found out that some crazed guy had gone to the deli counter with a knife, hopped the counter, and started stabbing his ex-significant other. It so happened that a 70-something year old man carrying a concealed firearm was at or near the counter right then and shot the man dead.

Moral: South Albuquerque (with west apparently being slightly better than east) is the place not to be. And good guys with guns are a good thing!

That's about all the gouge I have on ABQ.

[DC]

South East and South Valley areas should be avoided. South East is basically the area near the base. South Valley is south of Downtown and is located accross I-25 from the Airport area. More or less. But the police helo that got shot down (yes, you read that right) a month ago got shot down over a good neighborhood (relatively speaking) on the West side up in a place called Paradise Hills. I was attacked 1/2 mile from my house in a good neighborhood when I was 17. So.. just watch your back. Avoid eye contact with the cars around you in the late night hours.. that's what got me into trouble.

[scoobs]

So besides the west area what are the nice places? Don't the Unsers live there?

[Guest lovelacm]

Wow... OK, so I'll stay away from the south side of town (except to go to work).

Anybody got info on some FUN STUFF to do around town or in the local area? There's mountains, so there MUST be some cool places to go hiking or camping or such...

Anybody gone through school there? Got any gouge on flyin' for AFSOC?

All packed up here... house just looks sad. On to more fun and out-processing and hoping I get my orders soon (yes, you read that right... I leave in ONE WEEK and I don't have orders yet).

Cheers!

Linda

[Guest sscheffe]

I just got to Albuquerque for casual about a month ago. I'm actually assigned to the 130 squadron. Personally I'm really enjoying it here, and I just came from Austin, TX where there was plenty to do. Honestly, if you're an outdoor person you'll love it. The northeast part of town is by far the best place to live. I have a great place right at the base of the mountains close enough to walk to the hiking trails. The weather is nice with mild summers and winters. So far I gone the whole month of August w/o even using the A/C in my place. 550 SOS is a great unit and I'm sure you'll enjoy it. As far as flying gouge, I don't know much other than I hope you don't mind being nocturnal. If I can help with anything else, let me know.

[scoobs]

How long does it take to drive from the North side of town to the base?

[ 08. September 2005, 13:39: Message edited by: scoobs ]

[DC]

As a general rule of thumb it takes 20-30 minutes to get anywhere in Albuquerque. At least if you know the best routes which most people in new in town probably don't. The quickest way anywhere is the highways. When practical drive straight to the closest highway, follow the highway to the closest point to your desitnation and get off. That doesn't include traffic, of course. Say you live in the extreme NE Heights. None of the highways are really practically close to you, so you'd drive down Tramway Ave the whole way. It would take closer to 30 from there. From the West Side it can take quite a while as traffic build up quickly.

Umm...

Found this random map that lables the general areas, I guess. The borders of the areas are a bit off, but you get the generall idea.

Really nice:

Sandia Heights

Corrales (feels like a rural area there..kinda far though)

Nice:

Far NE Heights

Foothills

Four Hills

North Valley

Westside

Less Nice:

Near Heights

University Area (has patches of really nice though)

Bad:

SE Heights

South Valley

Everything else either isn't really a neighborhood to itself or is basically too far away.

[ 08. September 2005, 15:41: Message edited by: DC ]

[Eeyore]

Well I've been stationed there twice and most of the post are accurate. South is bad and with flying plenty of nights stay on major roads i.e San Pedro Tramway etc. Most of the major arterys run north south or east west. Sking okay at Sandia peak if they get snow, better in Santa Fe Taos. Good wine in local area to sample. Plenty of hiking/bike trails. Visit "old town" and the market square in Santa FE. Nice jewelry just be cautious if muying off the street. Ballon Feista nice to visit, pay the $'s to ride bus to launch site. Driving their quite a thrill just remember red means go for several seconds after you get a green light. If it snows in the city they still drive 60+ with no matter the road conditions. Your insurance will go up, cause most folks are uninsured. Also, driving and drinking go hand in hand. I remember COPS the show got enough video on two weekends for several shows. Most Saturdays/Sundays fairground has large flea market. a Most is drive or ride up to the Jemez mountains and see the natural soda dam/ ot springs. Just watch out for the rainbow folks. Climate is dry so lip balm and lotion a must. If you need more info you can pm me.

EE

[Guest herkwife]

Hi all!

We just found out that we are being restationed to Kirtland AFB and I know nothing about it. Does anyone have some information that they could email me? I need to know what area to live in and what are the better school districts. Thanks for any info!

Meg

[Guest Cindy]

Hi all!

We just found out that we are being restationed to Kirtland AFB and I know nothing about it. Does anyone have some information that they could email me? I need to know what area to live in and what are the better school districts. Thanks for any info!

Meg

I've been at Kirtland for three years and am about to move in a couple of months. My husband and I really love Albuquerque and if your family likes to do outdoor things there is plenty of that here! If you value your time I highly discourage living in the Northwest part of the city. The traffic is really bad in the morning and it takes about 45 min to go to the base. We live in the Northeast heights and love it there the only drawback is that the houses cost more in that area. A lot of military people have bought homes in the southwest part of the city which is close to the base but a couple of people we know that have bought homes in that are are actually having to sell their house for less then what they bought their place for. The base housing here is brand new and people seems to like it a lot too. We didn't decide to live on base because of the area the base is in it is not the greatest part of the city and the BAH allowance is really good. We don't have any kids but it seems like the schools in the Northwest have become overcrowded and it seems like everyone I have met that has either gone to schools in the northeast or has kids currently in them have never really had anything bad to say about them. Let me know if you have any other questions!

Cindy

[Guest donuts12]

The apartments along Eubank and Tramway, close to intersecting with Academy are decent and still about 100-200 dollars under BAH. ABQ is on a grid so it's pretty easy to drive around and look around without getting lost. The further north of the base you get the better the area is. A lot of perm-party guys live around Paseo Del Norte. Due to traffic what could be a 10 minute drive with all greens can take up to a half hour at the worst. I lived at La Mirage and never had a problem or real worry about theft, getting shot, prostitutes etc.

There's plenty of things to do in your off time, from downtown bars to hiking or sking Sandia Mtns. and Santa Fe's about an hour away too. I was also just casual in the 550th so I can't really say too much about the training except that the planes break a lot so that slows training down a bit.

Some good bars in the area are: Billy's Long Bar, Nuts and Bolts, the Horse and Angel, Stoneface and Kelly's...can't seem to remember names of the other ones but they're pretty much all in clusters about the city. Good luck.

[Guest misfitz]

Ok, I just searched for like an hour on some information from a spouse's perspective on this TDY training, but couldn't really find it. I found the gouge for Kirtland about where to stay and eat and things like that, but I'd like to know more about what kind of schedule is involved. I know it'll take about 4-5 months. I hear it's mostly night flying, is this true? Is it basically the same as Little Rock training, or hugely different? Thanks, any info would be appreciated!

[Guest JerseyGirl]

misfitz,

My husband went through Kirtland for MC-130s, so I can't speak for the HC. But, I don't think its that different??? Anywho, as for the MC training, it was alot like slick training at Little Rock and since my husband did a slick tour before switching to Talons, the schedule was a welcome relief. I remember there was night flying, but I know that is because most of what he does is night flying - I don't really know the HCs mission, so I'm sure there are others who can speak more accurately on this subject! There was also academics in the beginning (have no idea how long it was) and those were on the regular 8-5 schedule....though if I remember correctly, it was never really that long of a day!!!

But, overall, we had a blast at Kirtland for the 6ish months we were there. If you guys are just coming from Corpus and Little Rock, you haven't had the chance to get burnt out from TDYs/deployments, but just try to enjoy this time before you guys get to a "real" base. If you have anymore questions, let me know, I'll try to help out best I can!

[Guest sanjose79]

If you want to stay in an off base hotel but base lodging won't give you a non-availability slip (they usually don't ) then refuse quarters and the "suburban" by I40/I10 intersection will give you a room at the on base rate (32.50 /day). The rooms were small, but it was a king size bed, little kitchen (with full fridge and stove) and free wireless internet and weekly cleaning. Worth checking out if you want the flexibility of a hotel room off base at the on base rate.

Kirtland training was great, lot's of time off, almost all night flying, but many days off to go around. Food was great and lot's of outdoor activities. I was there last year from August until December for the rescue course. Email or PM with any questions.

[Guest JerseyGirl]

Hmmm, its been longer than I care to admit, so my memory is a little foggy. Plus, I tend to not pay attention to most of the technical things involving TDYs, etc....well, really I tend to not pay attention to most of the things involving my husband's job! But, anywho.

I can't comment on accompanied TDYs vs. not - no idea there. But, I do know that we didn't pay for our lodging out of pocket. I'm fairly certain that when we got to Albuquerque, my husband checked in with lodging, they had no rooms, and gave him a non-availability slip - of course, that was a few years ago, so sanjose might have better info than me.

We did have friends who were just at Kirtland for a TDY and they stayed on base, but she said it use to part of base housing - it was a two bedroom townhome, of sorts, I think. So, if you don't have pets, that might work out. We had our dog with us, so staying on base wasn't an option, really.

[PapaNav]

Expect about a month and a half to two months in academics, then another 2 or so down on the flightline. As for the flight schedule, I believe it's three day and 8 night flights. The flights get spread out and plan to have several get cancelled and made up another day/night. Albuquerque is very fun; enjoy before going back to high TDY schedules.

[sirjrod00]

Anyone out there currently at Kirtland? I'm looking for some current info on how the rooms are on base for officers. Are the rooms similar to LR (bedroom and living room connected by a bathroom) or is it just one room? Also, do the billets have internet in the rooms or just in the lobby?

As far as living off-base, if I'm unable to get a non-a slip, does anyone stay anywhere else besides southwest suites? What are their prices like? I'm trying to get something that will cost as much as a room on base if I refuse government quarters and not have it be in a crappy part of town...I need to save some money since my wife will not be working while I'm there.

Is the Talon schoolhouse graduating people close to on-time?

[stract]

I'm here right now.

Rooms: most buildings have a nice setup where you have a living room and a bedroom for your room. Your own bathroom (no sharing). One building (the new one, 22018) no living room, just a bigger single room, and your own bathroom. Each building has a wireless router, though the signal doesn't propagate throughout the building, so you have to go to the lobby/basement of that building for internet if you don't get the signal in your room. HOWEVER, each room will have wired high-speed starting sometime in May.

Of note, the new building has an elevator, the older buildings do not, so if you don't want to be lugging a bunch of heavy shit up and down the stairs, ask for first floor or the new building.

What have you got against SW Suites? First time I was here I was off base with them and it worked out really well (I had a non-a). Rooms are $39 (TLF is a little more), so that's $1170/mo. Should be plenty to find a furnished apt in a decent part of town.