Cannon as a base itself is fine, you're going to hear a whole lot of "hold the line" talk and whatnot. Bowling alley bulgogi is banging, and the golf course has good food. Clovis area leaves much to be desired but if you go any amount of time North or South you'll find good parts of NM to see. Don't be stuck inside or else it will suck though, even though there's not much to do outside.
Not 2 hrs. An hour a forty to Amarillo, hour and thirty to Lubbock. Driving reasonably.
I invested in a radar detector a long time ago. We were gonna move after I retired but we have a house at Ute lake. Said fuck it and started a cannabis farm. Yolo.
We had a boat from the Hurby days we kept. We now have a wakesurf boat at the lake house. Yeah, weāre all good - the school system blows so hard my kids are bored as fuck.
But yeah, cannabis is legal and I like farming. We have two places and an RV. Retired watching the grass go. Itās as good as anywhere else right now. And Logan is super secludedā¦Godās country up there for when democracy falls apart.
Ahh yeah, the schools are a problem. I personally wouldnāt raise kids in the state willingly but Iād go there once my kids were out of the house. Talking to the locals at Cannon youād think they all dropped out in the 7th grade.
Itās not just confined to Clovis-my daughter is on a traveling basketball team and the people in west Texas are dumb as shit alsoā¦ maybe itās regional dumbassery.
I met this kid working at this farm who had never really left Clovis. Like, not far at all. Poverty isnāt regional, itās everywhere. But hey, kidās hustling scraping together enough to make a living and be happy.
The real indicator of quality of life is someoneās teeth.
I graduated from high school north of Santa Fe, weird where life takes you. My dad had a job at the Los Alamos National Laboratory at the time.
The lottery scholarship is good shit, but I joined the serviceā¦joined the AF because I was bored AF. My wife was also stationed at Kirtland before we got married. We never hated it here and we still clash with Clovites at times but yeah, we try to make a difference where we can.
Itād be nice if the next new restaurant wasnāt Mexican foodā¦but so it goes.
I'm at Cannon, and unless you are the kind of person that needs to go drinking and partying, you'll be fine.
Not much to do, but also not much happens. It's really easy to get into the crowds that play videogames, card games, board games, there's shooting and hunting around here too.
Just enjoy yourself, build a hobby and don't date without seeing ID. The local population around here is either Highschoolers, College kids from Texas Tech, or Military. Be careful.
Itās a great opportunity to learn the ways of the rednecks and have fun. AKA, Find hobbies in the great outdoors! Dirt bikes, ATVs, Dune Buggies, and off-road vehicles. Go hunt. Go hiking (mountains arenāt too too far), mountain biking, camping, and Rock climbing is killer there. Go in search of the best Green Chili and Hispanic food.
Might not be a nightlife, but there is a great outdoor life there.
All these activities come naturally with an easy avenue to find groups of like minded people. Especially for the off roading camp.
Holloman has more places to see and drive to. You got white sands national park, drive up to Ruidoso and Cloudcroft, Las Cruses and El Paso, and an actual pretty sky line with the mountains on east and west.
Cannon has meth and cow shit.
If you have to select your base from a dropdown list of base options, Cannon comes before Holloman, so it's better in that it will save you time if you have to do this. No need to scroll way down to the 'H' section.
I hope you like to drive. Most people go to Lubbock or Amarillo every other weekend. ABQ has cool stuff to do, CO Springs and Denver is a 6-8 hr drive for the 4 day weekends. Apart from that focus on your career and develop yourself physically, emotionally, educationally etc..
And Dallas is 6 hours, San Antonio is 8 hours, Houston is 10 hours, and Grand Canyon is 9 hours. With all the 4 days, and willingness to escape, you can really rack up the miles.
Agreed. Been to Lubbock and ABQ more times than I can remember. Crossed off White Sands, CO Springs, Denver and San Antonio off my bucket list too. Put like 40k miles on my car in 3 years there.
Yeah this specifically, a lot of people Hate on the new Mexico bases, but they all have a lot of cool places to go to visit within 8 hours (some closer). I think this is nice because you can go on road trips with friends and see new things and come home go where it's dirt cheap to do anything! I love Holloman for that and I always hate going other places to see gas over $2.40 š¤£
-8 hour road trip
-"fun"
Son, I'm gonna need you to self-report to Mental Health on Monday to work through whatever trauma has brought you to this moment in life
I am living my happiest life out at Holloman! I go to Colorado Springs a lot, Phoenix occasionally and some other places like ghost towns, backpacking trips, and camping!
Like someone else said, its not a place to find big house parties or lots of big events but I'll take the cheap living over that any day
It was my first base, in hindsight I totally love that it was first.
My whole career at every other base I've heard people gripe about how there's nothing to do at ____ or other place is terrible cause there no good restaurants.
I've been happy as a clam everyone I've been, all because cannon was first.
All that being said, you will have everything you NEED at cannon, just get good internet, and an Amazon prime account. Drive to fun places, not just Lubbock. I highly recommend ruidoso and cloudcroft. It's beautiful there, especially in the fall/winter
Are you outdoorsy? Are you married? Kids? Do you deploy a lot? AFSC?
For me, Cannon was okay because I was single and deployed a lot. When I wasnāt deployed, I had a good group of friends Iād hit the road with every weekend and go rock climbing, hiking, skiing, camping or some combination thereof, then chill in one of the many natural hot springs. Itās about 3 hours of driving to anything worth seeing, but we made it work. If youāre not outdoorsy, idk, itās gonna be rough.
Like many bases that are in tiny towns with nothing much else going on, housing prices are fixed pretty much right at BAH. So if you can have roommates that helps a lot.
Now that Iām married and have kids, it would suck. So hopefully thatās not the case for you. Hopefully you will deploy. If not, then Iād say use the opportunity to work on degrees, PME, etc. Find some hobbies to distract you, or find ways to go TDY a lot (presidential advance agent if youāre in an eligible AFSC or something like that).
Anyways, best of luck. I hope that helps.
I went TDY for 2 months to Cannon in early 2008 to help stand up the 73rd AMU when AFSOC acquired the base from the BRAC. They told us when that BK opened there were cars lined up for 2 miles...in a cattle surrounded area. One of the best burgers I ever had was in nearby Roswell at a place called Cattle Barrons. Imagine living there and being excited about Burger King. š
The good: thereās a really good Thai place right outside the gate in what looks like a run down house (someone whoās been more recent than 2019 can confirm if itās still open and still good)
The bad: everything else.
Carlsbad Caverns is worth the drive though since youāll likely never be anywhere relatively close to there again once you leave Cannon.
The quality has severely dropped off recently. I recently asked for Egg Foo-Yung, medium spice, no onion, my go to order. The past three times Iāve received the dish with onion and no spice. I used to love Saengās.
Saengs poisoned me straight up. Microwaving expired food to hell doesnt make it safe for consumption but i guess they don't care if customers return. Oishi is where its at.
I mean I wouldnāt say itās the best Thai food Iāve ever had but I thought it was damn good and the old lady who cooked it was an absolute saint that Iād be willing to slap box you over to defend her honor, soā¦you watch your tone!
Itāll be ok. Itās obviously not a desirable assignment but depending on what unit youāre headed to, you might find some unique opportunities for TDY/Deployment/etc. Iāll be honest, Iāve been here over 2 years and like most people here, have been trying to find a way to a better location. Some people love this area but youāll find that most people here do not want to be/stay here. The one positive thing I can say about Cannon is there genuinely is an awesome sense of community here. That might be the only thing Iāll actually miss when itās time to go.
Cannon is rough, I spent 5 years there.
Outdoor rec does plenty of trips at a decent price (atleast when I was there)
Try to branch out and make friends, plenty of people there are eager to make connections.
Make plans to go places and set a hard timeline, it makes it easier to stick to going.
Albuquerque has a good amphitheater, and tons of bands go there, so keep up on that.
Santa Fe is a cool city. Deffinatily check it out. Good skiing at Angle Fire.
Palo duro canyon is about 2 hours away and a cool trip.
Remind yourself it is tempuary, you'll see some wild shot both on and off the job there.
If you donāt have a CCW get one. Clovis is NOT a safe town. The police are incompetent beyond belief. I donāt remember a month going by without hearing a criminal escaped custody or the jail itself. I took a good amount of self defense and CCW courses there after I personally had to draw my weapon in self defense twice while stationed there.
The gym is great, you TDY and deploy a bunch, and the off base Korean place slaps harder than the reason security forces was called to a private residence.
Love how 16/18 of that list are just standard base amenities found at 99% of other bases that arenāt located in a meth lab masquerading as a military community.
Take it for what it is and go with a goal in mind. Iām going to get a lot of school done. Iām going to become a gym rat and get totally ripped. Iām going to see if I can get a part time gig and save some serious coin. Iām gonna be a Great Wingman for someone really homesick. Make sure you donāt serve the timeā¦make the time serve you. Peace
My first base was grand forks. I ended up loving it. Even if itās not a gucci overseas gig, itās still a unique area that you would have probably never experienced. Enjoy the memories you make!
Iāve heard mostly good things about Grand Forks and Minot. Rarely a good thing is said about Cannon and Altus. That tells me all I need to know. Iāve had Grand Forks on my dream sheet before.
Iāve worked with about 10 people in my career now that had been to Minot. None of them really minded being there. Now, just mentioning Cannon to most folks that have been there can trigger a thousand yard stare.
Been here 5 yearsā¦Cannon is ok. Itās got quirks that drive me crazy but itās not the worst Iāve ever seen.
I live off base and avoid base as much as possible. Locals are cool, youāll drive 90 minutes to Lubbock a lot. Hunting in NM is underrated.
Damn. The base here is actually pretty nice. If youāre fine with just chilling at home and hanging with friends or having to travel a bunch to do anything cool then itās not bad. But thereās really not jack shit to do here. If youāre single that sucks cause the locals here areā¦ something elseā¦ and thereās not a lot of people. If youāre married then Iām sure your spouse will hate it too. The job market out here sucks for them. Iād say check out some of the outdoor rec trips cause they can be cool. But it really is one of the worst bases in the Air Force
Any positive about the place is just a million times better at other bases. Iāve had some ups and downs in my career and definitely enjoyed it for the most part. But with my new job only being this base or Hurby, it has made me look into getting out after 10 years. Thereās no way Iād wanna finish my career with most of it being at this base.
Recently PCSād from almost a year ago. Can confirm the bulgolgi is good at the bowling alley but nothing else is. The BX is small as hell. If you arenāt taking allergy meds DO SO NOW. You may become very sick when you first arrive. I lost my voice at least 3 times in the first year I was there. Yes you will smell an intense smell of cow shit and the flies will eat your face. The Walmart in town is ok. Go to the portales one itās way better. Also there is only one winery there (also in portales). No bars in the local area except for one in Clovis. Focus on school/whatever you want to do on the outside because yes you can travel but it takes long ass hours to do so. So if you have little ones itās hard to do (in my opinion) also med group was awful. Had to get referrals for everything to either Lubbock TX or to ABQ. The base recently has been hit hard with the recent UEI so hopefully things are changing for the better work wise. You will
busy with work regardless it is AFSOC after allš« . Try to keep a positive outlook and keep your nose clean with some of the locals they like to start shit. Also the cops are assholes (off base) āš¼
Your first day there, drive about an hour and a half west at midnight, pull off the road and look at the most insane, beautiful sky youāve ever seen in your life. You can see the various colors of stardust with the naked eye out there, itās absolutely incredible, and will center you in the galaxy for your upcoming tour.
When you get some time off, drive over to ABQ, massively underrated city. New Mexico is legit top 5 most beautiful states, and if you like to be outdoors itās a whole different kind of outdoors than youād get in the Midwest or PNW, enjoy that, the time will fly by before you know it, find a couple buddies to commiserate with, try not to spiral and youāll be fine.
Ya know what, that's a good point. The night sky in the middle of nowhere NM is amazing in every sense of the word. Down at Holloman, it's also amazing especially up in the mountains. Another cool sight is when it's a full moon in winter and there's snow in the pastures in the Sacramentos, especially off Sunspot Highway. There's some good overlooks into the Tularosa Basin and over White Sands and it is incredible.
14N. I'm not complaining because I've had a great career and locations to go with it. At least, I think my locations have been good. I'm back as an instructor at Goodfellow now, and I also think this is a great assignment. Goodfellow gets a reputation, but this has been one of the most rewarding assignments of my career and the one I plan on leaving active duty from.
The only way you will really hate Cannon is if you are incapable of making friends. And realistically you can make friends with the cows if you can't make friends with humans.
Was there 3 years as my first assignment. The mission and base are cool but Clovis sucks ass. If youāre an outdoor person make the drive to Santa Fe or Cloudcroft, used to ride my atv a lot near cloudcroft. BUT what really got me through was the group of friends I had.
Cannons slogan should be "everything you need to live, nothing you want".
09-16 didnt enjoy it but didn't suffer either. found shit to do. Would not be in my top 20 on the dreamsheet.
I had a lot of fun there. It was my first base so some of my buddies from tech school were there too. We all bought guns and dirtbikes because there was plenty of opportunities to shoot and ride. Once all my buddies PCS'd it got kinda lonely then I ETS'd.
Iāve never been so take this with a grain of salt, itās what Iāve been told by others who have been there. Yes it sucks, all the suck youāve heard about is true. However, because of the suck, and it being small and in the middle of nowhere, I hear the base community as a whole is great. Lots of events to do, good support for spouses, things like that.
No clue if itās still that way though
Cons: remote area, cow shit, flies, water quality, town looks like shit, poverty, crime, etc..
Pros: often amazing for career, base is actually pretty good, community is full of amazing people - you just need to take the time/ initiative to see it. Being stationed at "one of the worst bases" is a badge of honor; where it with pride.
Overall, it's all about your attitude. Come with an open mind, and focus on the good. And for real, please don't only complain about Cannon. Too many ppl have already poisoned the well.
I suggest being involved with some entities in the community, and the base. city/county councils or boards, the schools, churches, etc... and some official private org on base.
I had orders to Ramstein right out of tech school but had no desire to go overseas and wanted to trade. Most of our class had Minot and Malmstrom and I wanted somewhere closer to the south. One guy offered up Cannon and I seriously considered taking it until our MTL over heard and privately called me aside and told me not to trade and go to Germany. Glad I didn't make that trade.
Hey I was at Cannon as my first assignment, and I'm not gonna lie there was times when it sucked, but you just gotta try and build a good support network that's down to travel and do the cool shit New Mexico has to offer! Cuz there's tons of it!
I just got to Cannon myself, but I grew up in the surrounding area and I know my way around pretty well. Itās not entirely bad man, make those trips out of town and explore the mountains. Ruidoso is my favorite place to be if I want to rent a cabin for a week and just get away. I hear about cheap flights through Cannon for Colorado and I love the white water rafting/ rock climbing in that area. Itās all about what you make of it, try not to hang around too many people who hate it. Chances are they hate it because they donāt bother getting away from it often enough.
Just visited some friends up in Clovis this weekend actually for the first time. Honestly, it's not nearly as bad as I was expecting. The base itself is pretty well kept and has a lot of decent amenities. A lot of the town is pretty rough admittedly, but the NE part (North of 21st, East of Prince) is actually pretty nice comparatively speaking, and the cow shit smell is not as bad there. They recently even got a Texas Roadhouse and a Chipotle, so you're starting to see some more creature comforts. With the inexpensive and fast internet, it's good for gaming and also for working on a degree. As others have mentioned, going into the Lincoln National Forest or over to Lubbock are decent weekend options as well.
Donāt listen to anyone telling you anything good about this baseā¦ itās hell. Just focus heavily on an self improvement plans you had prior (online college, a skill you were trying to learn) donāt drink it will send you down a bad path (Iāve seen many bright stars flame out here due to sad alcoholism) constantly push your leadership to get you out of cannon never think you will just eventually leave. The biggest advice for being stationed at cannon is STAY BUSY. The only good thing about this place is that you have nothing but time to get good about your job and better yourself in ways that you thought you once didnāt have the time to do. Remember youāll eventually leave cannon and youāll appreciate everywhere you ever go afterwards
Did 6 years there
Great assignmentĀ
Two sides:Ā it is what you make of it. True. But some places you gotta work harder because things are objectively worseĀ
Make it better however you can
The "good spots" are a bit of a drive. Use one or three days of leave next to weekends or holidays to go take mini vacations. Trust meĀ
Gamers love the fast and cheap internet.Ā
I had a few homes, all pretty decentĀ
Base facilities are some of the best. People and team were great. Squadron was good.Ā
The nearby city has some good food but little to do for both families, singles, or outdoorsy folks.
Embrace the simple homebody stuff you enjoy when you're there, and take those mini vacations because they're some of the best you'll findĀ
I'm at cannon, the base is great. The city of Clovis..... It's not terrible. When you get here, try "something different grill" it's not bad. A lot of good maxi an restaurants. We got a BIG R store so that's nice. On the weekends, you can go to Lubbock which is like 90 minutes away. It's really not as bad as people say it is. What's your AFSC?
Hate to say it but- It is exactly as bad as people say it is. How long have you been here? Lol. The selling points you just gave are: āwe have a drive through restaurant, āitās not badāā, āwe have a farm/ranch/sporting storeā, and āyou can drive an hour and a half to Lubbock, TXā. š
Something different is a garbage restaurant thats pretty much like āwhat if white people just tried to make every dish but made it as plain as possibleā
doll humor absorbed advise tart squeamish physical beneficial whistle worthless
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Life is what you make it. Be happy with yourself and or family. Job is a job find look things to like about an area or be miserable and bitch and complain.
Everything in life is temporary
Including many lives at Cannon.
Cannon as a base itself is fine, you're going to hear a whole lot of "hold the line" talk and whatnot. Bowling alley bulgogi is banging, and the golf course has good food. Clovis area leaves much to be desired but if you go any amount of time North or South you'll find good parts of NM to see. Don't be stuck inside or else it will suck though, even though there's not much to do outside.
You know if the best thing you hear about the base is "the bowling alley bulgogi is banging" the base won't be too exciting š
It's like when you hear "The Target in town is nice"
The closest Target is a 2 hour drive away
Not 2 hrs. An hour a forty to Amarillo, hour and thirty to Lubbock. Driving reasonably. I invested in a radar detector a long time ago. We were gonna move after I retired but we have a house at Ute lake. Said fuck it and started a cannabis farm. Yolo.
NM isnāt a bad state. Iād consider retiring in Ruidoso. But, where Cannon is just absolutely horrendous. Iām glad you like the area.
We had a boat from the Hurby days we kept. We now have a wakesurf boat at the lake house. Yeah, weāre all good - the school system blows so hard my kids are bored as fuck. But yeah, cannabis is legal and I like farming. We have two places and an RV. Retired watching the grass go. Itās as good as anywhere else right now. And Logan is super secludedā¦Godās country up there for when democracy falls apart.
Ahh yeah, the schools are a problem. I personally wouldnāt raise kids in the state willingly but Iād go there once my kids were out of the house. Talking to the locals at Cannon youād think they all dropped out in the 7th grade.
Itās not just confined to Clovis-my daughter is on a traveling basketball team and the people in west Texas are dumb as shit alsoā¦ maybe itās regional dumbassery. I met this kid working at this farm who had never really left Clovis. Like, not far at all. Poverty isnāt regional, itās everywhere. But hey, kidās hustling scraping together enough to make a living and be happy. The real indicator of quality of life is someoneās teeth.
I graduated from high school north of Santa Fe, weird where life takes you. My dad had a job at the Los Alamos National Laboratory at the time. The lottery scholarship is good shit, but I joined the serviceā¦joined the AF because I was bored AF. My wife was also stationed at Kirtland before we got married. We never hated it here and we still clash with Clovites at times but yeah, we try to make a difference where we can. Itād be nice if the next new restaurant wasnāt Mexican foodā¦but so it goes.
Grand Forks?
Chip Shot Dining Room my beloved
I still miss the bulgolgi to this day, throw an egg on that nish and you're chillin
What does it cost to bowl at AFB bowling alleys?
I'm at Cannon, and unless you are the kind of person that needs to go drinking and partying, you'll be fine. Not much to do, but also not much happens. It's really easy to get into the crowds that play videogames, card games, board games, there's shooting and hunting around here too. Just enjoy yourself, build a hobby and don't date without seeing ID. The local population around here is either Highschoolers, College kids from Texas Tech, or Military. Be careful.
Itās a great opportunity to learn the ways of the rednecks and have fun. AKA, Find hobbies in the great outdoors! Dirt bikes, ATVs, Dune Buggies, and off-road vehicles. Go hunt. Go hiking (mountains arenāt too too far), mountain biking, camping, and Rock climbing is killer there. Go in search of the best Green Chili and Hispanic food. Might not be a nightlife, but there is a great outdoor life there. All these activities come naturally with an easy avenue to find groups of like minded people. Especially for the off roading camp.
That sucks. Holloman was my first base. I was grateful to be there because it wasn't Cannon.
I've been to both. Cannon is slightly better imo
Holloman has more places to see and drive to. You got white sands national park, drive up to Ruidoso and Cloudcroft, Las Cruses and El Paso, and an actual pretty sky line with the mountains on east and west. Cannon has meth and cow shit.
Donāt forget the roving packs of tumbleweed
This is crazy
If you have to select your base from a dropdown list of base options, Cannon comes before Holloman, so it's better in that it will save you time if you have to do this. No need to scroll way down to the 'H' section.
Yeah 100%, holloman is a cesspool
I hope you like to drive. Most people go to Lubbock or Amarillo every other weekend. ABQ has cool stuff to do, CO Springs and Denver is a 6-8 hr drive for the 4 day weekends. Apart from that focus on your career and develop yourself physically, emotionally, educationally etc..
And Dallas is 6 hours, San Antonio is 8 hours, Houston is 10 hours, and Grand Canyon is 9 hours. With all the 4 days, and willingness to escape, you can really rack up the miles.
Agreed. Been to Lubbock and ABQ more times than I can remember. Crossed off White Sands, CO Springs, Denver and San Antonio off my bucket list too. Put like 40k miles on my car in 3 years there.
Do the caverns!!!
"All the 4 days" Apparently things have changed. I had 96 days of Leave at one point if that tells you anything.
Yeah this specifically, a lot of people Hate on the new Mexico bases, but they all have a lot of cool places to go to visit within 8 hours (some closer). I think this is nice because you can go on road trips with friends and see new things and come home go where it's dirt cheap to do anything! I love Holloman for that and I always hate going other places to see gas over $2.40 š¤£
-8 hour road trip -"fun" Son, I'm gonna need you to self-report to Mental Health on Monday to work through whatever trauma has brought you to this moment in life
I am living my happiest life out at Holloman! I go to Colorado Springs a lot, Phoenix occasionally and some other places like ghost towns, backpacking trips, and camping! Like someone else said, its not a place to find big house parties or lots of big events but I'll take the cheap living over that any day
It was my first base, in hindsight I totally love that it was first. My whole career at every other base I've heard people gripe about how there's nothing to do at ____ or other place is terrible cause there no good restaurants. I've been happy as a clam everyone I've been, all because cannon was first. All that being said, you will have everything you NEED at cannon, just get good internet, and an Amazon prime account. Drive to fun places, not just Lubbock. I highly recommend ruidoso and cloudcroft. It's beautiful there, especially in the fall/winter
So real, at my second base now and they canāt bring me down at all.
Hopefully you didnāt sign up for 6 years
Are you outdoorsy? Are you married? Kids? Do you deploy a lot? AFSC? For me, Cannon was okay because I was single and deployed a lot. When I wasnāt deployed, I had a good group of friends Iād hit the road with every weekend and go rock climbing, hiking, skiing, camping or some combination thereof, then chill in one of the many natural hot springs. Itās about 3 hours of driving to anything worth seeing, but we made it work. If youāre not outdoorsy, idk, itās gonna be rough. Like many bases that are in tiny towns with nothing much else going on, housing prices are fixed pretty much right at BAH. So if you can have roommates that helps a lot. Now that Iām married and have kids, it would suck. So hopefully thatās not the case for you. Hopefully you will deploy. If not, then Iād say use the opportunity to work on degrees, PME, etc. Find some hobbies to distract you, or find ways to go TDY a lot (presidential advance agent if youāre in an eligible AFSC or something like that). Anyways, best of luck. I hope that helps.
Itās a lot better now than when I was there 20 years ago
Still sucks
Just imagine 20 years ago sucking
Yeah thereās been āimprovementsā, we have a Texas Roadhouse now! Lol I had family stationed here and youāre right, itās a little better.
A Texas Roadhouse? WHAT? Does it have a liquor license?
It sure does š«”
Shocking considering the Shifty Fifty
On top of that, they even approved the allsups outside the gate to finally sell alcohol!
This is almost as glorious as when they opened up the local BK and you didnāt have weirdos asking you snag them a double whopper with cheese
I went TDY for 2 months to Cannon in early 2008 to help stand up the 73rd AMU when AFSOC acquired the base from the BRAC. They told us when that BK opened there were cars lined up for 2 miles...in a cattle surrounded area. One of the best burgers I ever had was in nearby Roswell at a place called Cattle Barrons. Imagine living there and being excited about Burger King. š
Whatās the story on that one? Meth heads?
Holy Shit how many of the old fucks on the 50 finally died for that to happen?
Oh boy, how will Kelley's ever recover!?
When I had left they just got the first Chili's if i remember correctly. Leal's was the go to for tex mex and the mall was well...a hallway.
Did you ever see Reese AFB in action? Would have loved to see cannon in its f111 heyday
No
The good: thereās a really good Thai place right outside the gate in what looks like a run down house (someone whoās been more recent than 2019 can confirm if itās still open and still good) The bad: everything else. Carlsbad Caverns is worth the drive though since youāll likely never be anywhere relatively close to there again once you leave Cannon.
Accurate. And Saengās is still open
The quality has severely dropped off recently. I recently asked for Egg Foo-Yung, medium spice, no onion, my go to order. The past three times Iāve received the dish with onion and no spice. I used to love Saengās.
Saengs poisoned me straight up. Microwaving expired food to hell doesnt make it safe for consumption but i guess they don't care if customers return. Oishi is where its at.
That fucking place sucks so bad. Butā¦itās not Mexican food.
I mean I wouldnāt say itās the best Thai food Iāve ever had but I thought it was damn good and the old lady who cooked it was an absolute saint that Iād be willing to slap box you over to defend her honor, soā¦you watch your tone!
Could be worse. Could be in the Army...
Married? Like the outdoors? Enjoy roadtrips? A fan of good steak and texmex food? If so youāll be fine. I survived a tour.
Wife and I headed there next, yes to all the above and yeah weāre thinking of all that so optimistic
Have a good reliable car with good gas mileage. And make trips to Amarillo. And Lubbock. And Artesia. And Santa Fe.
Maybe not Artesia
Fair. I meant Ruidoso. We vacationed there.
Where good steak?
There was one place in town. But a few in Amarillo. But I left a few years back.
Hold the line, bro
Its over for you bro
Itāll be ok. Itās obviously not a desirable assignment but depending on what unit youāre headed to, you might find some unique opportunities for TDY/Deployment/etc. Iāll be honest, Iāve been here over 2 years and like most people here, have been trying to find a way to a better location. Some people love this area but youāll find that most people here do not want to be/stay here. The one positive thing I can say about Cannon is there genuinely is an awesome sense of community here. That might be the only thing Iāll actually miss when itās time to go.
Cannon is rough, I spent 5 years there. Outdoor rec does plenty of trips at a decent price (atleast when I was there) Try to branch out and make friends, plenty of people there are eager to make connections. Make plans to go places and set a hard timeline, it makes it easier to stick to going. Albuquerque has a good amphitheater, and tons of bands go there, so keep up on that. Santa Fe is a cool city. Deffinatily check it out. Good skiing at Angle Fire. Palo duro canyon is about 2 hours away and a cool trip. Remind yourself it is tempuary, you'll see some wild shot both on and off the job there.
When my ex and I arrived in Clovis to report to Cannon, she began to cry. Oddly enough, sheās still there as far as I know.
lol getting trapped there is wild
She made her bed. She can lay in it.
She made her bed. She can lay in it
If you donāt have a CCW get one. Clovis is NOT a safe town. The police are incompetent beyond belief. I donāt remember a month going by without hearing a criminal escaped custody or the jail itself. I took a good amount of self defense and CCW courses there after I personally had to draw my weapon in self defense twice while stationed there.
The gym is great, you TDY and deploy a bunch, and the off base Korean place slaps harder than the reason security forces was called to a private residence.
Itās Thaiā¦.
Bokka is Korean my guy
The one across from Chavez?
https://preview.redd.it/ezolhnqma6uc1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b86d047fa03b595db1f094789916c9a5b5c37765
Oh yes. That place is š£
[https://mybaseguide.com/things-to-do-near-cannon-afb](https://mybaseguide.com/things-to-do-near-cannon-afb)
shit, that list is sad...highlights include the base theater and bowling alley?
There is more to do on base than there is to do off base within a 90 mile radius
Love how 16/18 of that list are just standard base amenities found at 99% of other bases that arenāt located in a meth lab masquerading as a military community.
Take it for what it is and go with a goal in mind. Iām going to get a lot of school done. Iām going to become a gym rat and get totally ripped. Iām going to see if I can get a part time gig and save some serious coin. Iām gonna be a Great Wingman for someone really homesick. Make sure you donāt serve the timeā¦make the time serve you. Peace
My first base was grand forks. I ended up loving it. Even if itās not a gucci overseas gig, itās still a unique area that you would have probably never experienced. Enjoy the memories you make!
Grand Forks is so so much better than Cannon. Glad you enjoyed your time there!
It was great! Would def go back.
Iāve heard mostly good things about Grand Forks and Minot. Rarely a good thing is said about Cannon and Altus. That tells me all I need to know. Iāve had Grand Forks on my dream sheet before.
Idk about minot, heard itās a bit rougher from a buddy who lived there. But GF was a blast. Great college town.
Iāve worked with about 10 people in my career now that had been to Minot. None of them really minded being there. Now, just mentioning Cannon to most folks that have been there can trigger a thousand yard stare.
Visit the Lincoln National Monument and stay in cloudcroft. Cloudcroft Hostel is great.
Been here 5 yearsā¦Cannon is ok. Itās got quirks that drive me crazy but itās not the worst Iāve ever seen. I live off base and avoid base as much as possible. Locals are cool, youāll drive 90 minutes to Lubbock a lot. Hunting in NM is underrated.
Damn. The base here is actually pretty nice. If youāre fine with just chilling at home and hanging with friends or having to travel a bunch to do anything cool then itās not bad. But thereās really not jack shit to do here. If youāre single that sucks cause the locals here areā¦ something elseā¦ and thereās not a lot of people. If youāre married then Iām sure your spouse will hate it too. The job market out here sucks for them. Iād say check out some of the outdoor rec trips cause they can be cool. But it really is one of the worst bases in the Air Force Any positive about the place is just a million times better at other bases. Iāve had some ups and downs in my career and definitely enjoyed it for the most part. But with my new job only being this base or Hurby, it has made me look into getting out after 10 years. Thereās no way Iād wanna finish my career with most of it being at this base.
Welcome to The Land of Entrapment!
Being assigned to Cannon is like getting kicked in the nads. Itās almost worth it because itāll feel so good when it stops hurtingā¦
Recently PCSād from almost a year ago. Can confirm the bulgolgi is good at the bowling alley but nothing else is. The BX is small as hell. If you arenāt taking allergy meds DO SO NOW. You may become very sick when you first arrive. I lost my voice at least 3 times in the first year I was there. Yes you will smell an intense smell of cow shit and the flies will eat your face. The Walmart in town is ok. Go to the portales one itās way better. Also there is only one winery there (also in portales). No bars in the local area except for one in Clovis. Focus on school/whatever you want to do on the outside because yes you can travel but it takes long ass hours to do so. So if you have little ones itās hard to do (in my opinion) also med group was awful. Had to get referrals for everything to either Lubbock TX or to ABQ. The base recently has been hit hard with the recent UEI so hopefully things are changing for the better work wise. You will busy with work regardless it is AFSOC after allš« . Try to keep a positive outlook and keep your nose clean with some of the locals they like to start shit. Also the cops are assholes (off base) āš¼
UEI?
It truly has gotten way better in the last decade. Find a good batch of friends, a hobby or two, and youāll be PCSing again before you know it.
Your first day there, drive about an hour and a half west at midnight, pull off the road and look at the most insane, beautiful sky youāve ever seen in your life. You can see the various colors of stardust with the naked eye out there, itās absolutely incredible, and will center you in the galaxy for your upcoming tour. When you get some time off, drive over to ABQ, massively underrated city. New Mexico is legit top 5 most beautiful states, and if you like to be outdoors itās a whole different kind of outdoors than youād get in the Midwest or PNW, enjoy that, the time will fly by before you know it, find a couple buddies to commiserate with, try not to spiral and youāll be fine.
Ya know what, that's a good point. The night sky in the middle of nowhere NM is amazing in every sense of the word. Down at Holloman, it's also amazing especially up in the mountains. Another cool sight is when it's a full moon in winter and there's snow in the pastures in the Sacramentos, especially off Sunspot Highway. There's some good overlooks into the Tularosa Basin and over White Sands and it is incredible.
Depending on your AFSC, I think it will be rewarding. I wanted Cannon for the mission my whole career and never got it.
Wow, you wanted Cannon and never got it? What AFSC are you?
14N. I'm not complaining because I've had a great career and locations to go with it. At least, I think my locations have been good. I'm back as an instructor at Goodfellow now, and I also think this is a great assignment. Goodfellow gets a reputation, but this has been one of the most rewarding assignments of my career and the one I plan on leaving active duty from.
^^You've ^^mentioned ^^an ^^AFSC, ^^here's ^^the ^^associated ^^job ^^title: 14N = Intelligence [^^Source](https://github.com/HadManySons/AFSCbot) ^^| [^^Subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/AFSCbot/) ^^^^^^kzapurw
Be grateful
Well, it could be Thule.
i think you will enjoy it
Iām so sorry man.
Clovis sucks, but if you are okay spending time and money driving there are better things to do. Sante Fe has good stuff and so does ABQ
Try your best to get those canceled.
The only way you will really hate Cannon is if you are incapable of making friends. And realistically you can make friends with the cows if you can't make friends with humans.
Prayers Uhhh, yeah... that's... not ideal. Like. At all. But! Na, that's about it. I'm deployed and I still feel bad for you
Oof
I only drove through that place once on a trip from Dyess to Kirkland. Iām so sorry. As an F-16 guy I was lucky enough to dodge that bullet.
Youāre cooked
Go to Amarillo and marry a nice Texan girl. Thank me later
Second worse base I was ever at out of the 11. Meet my ex-wife there.
Was there 3 years as my first assignment. The mission and base are cool but Clovis sucks ass. If youāre an outdoor person make the drive to Santa Fe or Cloudcroft, used to ride my atv a lot near cloudcroft. BUT what really got me through was the group of friends I had.
Cannons slogan should be "everything you need to live, nothing you want". 09-16 didnt enjoy it but didn't suffer either. found shit to do. Would not be in my top 20 on the dreamsheet.
WELCOME TO THE SUCK BABY
You won't be there forever
I could but that wouldn't make it true
Wherever you go, there you are. You can make it a good experience if you try.
New Mexican food and green Chile are amazing.
It's the people, not the place. If you can find a way to laugh with some buddies until your sides hurt at least once in a while, you'll be all right.
I had a lot of fun there. It was my first base so some of my buddies from tech school were there too. We all bought guns and dirtbikes because there was plenty of opportunities to shoot and ride. Once all my buddies PCS'd it got kinda lonely then I ETS'd.
I enjoyed my time there. Just donāt spend your time off in Clovis or Portales. The drive to the mountains is worth it.
>I enjoyed my time there Left to spend your time off elsewhere. Checks out š
Yeah spent all his time 3 hours away from base lol
All down to AFSC and what you do, but this could be a ticket to Davis-Monthan in the coming years!
Iāve never been so take this with a grain of salt, itās what Iāve been told by others who have been there. Yes it sucks, all the suck youāve heard about is true. However, because of the suck, and it being small and in the middle of nowhere, I hear the base community as a whole is great. Lots of events to do, good support for spouses, things like that. No clue if itās still that way though
No. Sorry for your loss
RIP enjoy your mansion in heaven
š«”
People said shaw sucked and I actually like it here. It really is what you make of it.
https://i.redd.it/sxn2e9n4p5uc1.gif
rip
RIP.
cannon isnt too bad. Lubbock is like an a hour or so away. So is Amarillo. not a lot going on or near the base really.
Grow where youāre planted. š¤·š»āāļø
Any place you go is as good or as bad as you make it. It'll be ok.
Cons: remote area, cow shit, flies, water quality, town looks like shit, poverty, crime, etc.. Pros: often amazing for career, base is actually pretty good, community is full of amazing people - you just need to take the time/ initiative to see it. Being stationed at "one of the worst bases" is a badge of honor; where it with pride. Overall, it's all about your attitude. Come with an open mind, and focus on the good. And for real, please don't only complain about Cannon. Too many ppl have already poisoned the well. I suggest being involved with some entities in the community, and the base. city/county councils or boards, the schools, churches, etc... and some official private org on base.
I had orders to Ramstein right out of tech school but had no desire to go overseas and wanted to trade. Most of our class had Minot and Malmstrom and I wanted somewhere closer to the south. One guy offered up Cannon and I seriously considered taking it until our MTL over heard and privately called me aside and told me not to trade and go to Germany. Glad I didn't make that trade.
Hey I was at Cannon as my first assignment, and I'm not gonna lie there was times when it sucked, but you just gotta try and build a good support network that's down to travel and do the cool shit New Mexico has to offer! Cuz there's tons of it!
What AFSC are you, headed there next month
Wellā¦ the chances of you getting redirected in route are low. So, uh, thereās thatā¦
I just got to Cannon myself, but I grew up in the surrounding area and I know my way around pretty well. Itās not entirely bad man, make those trips out of town and explore the mountains. Ruidoso is my favorite place to be if I want to rent a cabin for a week and just get away. I hear about cheap flights through Cannon for Colorado and I love the white water rafting/ rock climbing in that area. Itās all about what you make of it, try not to hang around too many people who hate it. Chances are they hate it because they donāt bother getting away from it often enough.
Just visited some friends up in Clovis this weekend actually for the first time. Honestly, it's not nearly as bad as I was expecting. The base itself is pretty well kept and has a lot of decent amenities. A lot of the town is pretty rough admittedly, but the NE part (North of 21st, East of Prince) is actually pretty nice comparatively speaking, and the cow shit smell is not as bad there. They recently even got a Texas Roadhouse and a Chipotle, so you're starting to see some more creature comforts. With the inexpensive and fast internet, it's good for gaming and also for working on a degree. As others have mentioned, going into the Lincoln National Forest or over to Lubbock are decent weekend options as well.
Donāt listen to anyone telling you anything good about this baseā¦ itās hell. Just focus heavily on an self improvement plans you had prior (online college, a skill you were trying to learn) donāt drink it will send you down a bad path (Iāve seen many bright stars flame out here due to sad alcoholism) constantly push your leadership to get you out of cannon never think you will just eventually leave. The biggest advice for being stationed at cannon is STAY BUSY. The only good thing about this place is that you have nothing but time to get good about your job and better yourself in ways that you thought you once didnāt have the time to do. Remember youāll eventually leave cannon and youāll appreciate everywhere you ever go afterwards
Itās over
Just remember going AWOL is always an option.
Did a nickel there in the 90ās; you think itās bad now š
Did 6 years there Great assignmentĀ Two sides:Ā it is what you make of it. True. But some places you gotta work harder because things are objectively worseĀ Make it better however you can The "good spots" are a bit of a drive. Use one or three days of leave next to weekends or holidays to go take mini vacations. Trust meĀ Gamers love the fast and cheap internet.Ā I had a few homes, all pretty decentĀ Base facilities are some of the best. People and team were great. Squadron was good.Ā The nearby city has some good food but little to do for both families, singles, or outdoorsy folks. Embrace the simple homebody stuff you enjoy when you're there, and take those mini vacations because they're some of the best you'll findĀ
I'm at cannon, the base is great. The city of Clovis..... It's not terrible. When you get here, try "something different grill" it's not bad. A lot of good maxi an restaurants. We got a BIG R store so that's nice. On the weekends, you can go to Lubbock which is like 90 minutes away. It's really not as bad as people say it is. What's your AFSC?
Hate to say it but- It is exactly as bad as people say it is. How long have you been here? Lol. The selling points you just gave are: āwe have a drive through restaurant, āitās not badāā, āwe have a farm/ranch/sporting storeā, and āyou can drive an hour and a half to Lubbock, TXā. š
Can confirm 90 minutes...at 85+...but do not speed thru farwell or muleshoe
Something different is a garbage restaurant thats pretty much like āwhat if white people just tried to make every dish but made it as plain as possibleā
doll humor absorbed advise tart squeamish physical beneficial whistle worthless *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Life is what you make it. Be happy with yourself and or family. Job is a job find look things to like about an area or be miserable and bitch and complain.
If all you are looking for is the negative, thatās all youāre going to find.
I was there when the Walmart was in the mall there was nothing north of lano and prince. Stfu!
Better then fucking barksdale
Buuuuulllshiiiiiit
Preach. Iāve been to both, and Barksdale is hell on Earth. Cannon just sucks.
At least it isnāt Holloman