O Club at NASP

[HeyJoe]

It's tradition ... grab it while you can ...

Kind of like being the J.O.R.G. ("George") in a wardroom.

True that....a lot of bases have the same spot and then some squadrons repaint key spots for themselves. Oceana's latest was green and yellow prime spots for VFA-105.

 

[ChunksJR]

And ... no DWI problem there. No place to go.

Sooo....shouldn't that be like Fallon's today? Anyone (jet/tactical) have any comments about that place?

~D

 

[HooverPilot]

Fallon can still get pretty crazy. Easy stumble to the Q too. Just don't litter, drink the water, speed or Jaywalk.

 

[Goober]

Fallon can still get pretty crazy. Easy stumble to the Q too. Just don't litter, drink the water, speed or Jaywalk.

And considering there's an ATM across the street and the BOQ is directly behind it, it's no wonder the club is open late, the food is good, and the beer is cheap. When the air wing's there, it's 99.9% standing room only (just as a good O'club should be).

For those who think it's all dead, the whole O'Club thing is only dead if you let it be so. Oceana is a prime example. The fighter guys there refused to let it go away, even post-Tailhook, post VA (although moving all of VF there helped). Point Mugu evidently used to have a decent club, but winter storms tore it off into the ocean in the late 90's (think Malibu storms from the news, then think 15 mins north of Malibu). There's now a (small) club at the BOQ. Used to be it wasn't open much at all - usually by special request only. After the squadrons (VAW, VX-30, VX-9 Det, etc.) banded together to patronize it more on the "special request" days, it amazingly started being open more regularly (and more than just the hour or two that was typical of the "request" days). Breezy Point at Norfolk is another example. It's on the air station side, but it had lost a lot of the social aspect ("available for catering, special events..." - bullsh!t). Again, the squadrons started asking for it more, and amazingly it started being open more (and later). No idea how it is now, but Friday afternoons were pretty good a few years ago.

The bottom line is this - it's YOUR MWR. MWR doesn't have to mean only internet cafes and other crap like that (it's a relative term - no offense to any who might infer, but in case you do - I don't care) to make life better for the enlisted troopers living on base in the barracks. MWR is there to support us too. Hell, 2/3 of MWR is Morale and Recreation. If you want more from your club, you need to pony up and patronize it and demand that you receive the same support from the system (and get your spouses and sig others out there too). Otherwise, I hope you enjoy just going home after flying all day. It's not like we're getting paid to have fun...

 

[usmc96]

Some of the best times i've had are when all officers have no place to go except the base club. i.e O-club Bahrain, El Centro and even all hands club at Camp Wilson.
Talk all the shop you want, everyone is wearing the same thing, and you hear the best stories. not to mention cheap suds.
Best thing is, as long as you keep the CO drinking all night long you have no excuse in the morning.

 

[A4sForever]

....For those who think it's all dead, the whole O'Club thing is only dead if you let it be so.....

Well said ... that's the attitude all of you need to have to "take back" your Navy. At least the social and traditional aspects of it.

It never ceases to amaze me how it is that when the seniors get senior --- they forget how it was when they were junior. Maybe too much emphasis on "career" and retirement in the declining Navy years and not enough spent on instilling "traditions" on those who are coming up behind you ... ???

Side note: How many of you know the NUW O'Club (a sorry shadow of what it used to be --- hello?? Hello ??? EA-6 and P-3 drivers ?? ) was originally proposed to be sited on the bluff where the super-spook/listening facility now stands ??? The final blow in the location of the club was $7500 dollars worth of water/sewer pipe. The Navy couldn't afford it, so it was said. Chump change today.

Thus, the NUW O'Club is where it stands today, instead of @ 1/4 mile to the NW on the bluff -- which would have been a GREAT location.

 

[bunk22]

For the poster of this thread, you don't have a hair on your balls if you don't park in the CO's spot

I went to the Miramar O'Club in 89 or so as a midshipman. It was July, pre-tailhook and was my kind of party. Certainly different today. That's why us newer types must live vicariously through the guys like A4, heyjoe and catmando.

 

[gregsivers]

I'd love to go to the O-Club, but Mayport doesn't have one. Fvcking shoes.

 

[Brett327]

I'd love to go to the O-Club, but Mayport doesn't have one. Fvcking shoes.

Isn't there still that dive of a strip club right outside the main gate?

Brett

 

[MasterBates]

Crossroads? No thanks. Also on the "off limits list" for us.

 

[Brett327]

Crossroads? No thanks. Also on the "off limits list" for us.

Seriously? We used to go there for "lunch" all the time. Ahh how times change.

Brett

 

[gregsivers]

Crossroads? No thanks. Also on the "off limits list" for us.

Wait, its on the off limits list? They never told us anything about that in 40. I've been planning on checking it out, see how shady it is. That one and Beaches just down Mayport Rd a little ways. The neon sign at Crossroads is a great landmark, I saw it from way south flying up the beachline the other night.

 

[FMRAM]

They don't serve that swill at NASWI, but then again, the Pac NW is brewing country. Your average 7-11 beer aisle can compete with the best "specialty" stores in the country.

Brett

That is the truth...

 

[BlkPny]

Years ago, getting together at the O Club was simply taken for granted. You'd have 0-1 flt students listening to CAPTs tell sea stories and other lies, and watch 0-4's and 0-3's argue about the relative beauty of the hookers at Cubi vs Naples. It was really an important bonding experience for the diverse members of Naval Aviation, as well as the other officers in support roles. It was amazing what you could learn there through the bottom of a glass. Stuff that was never taught anywhere else. A young Ensign could sit at a table with an 0-6 and learn things about the old Navy that would be invaluable later.
Then, one night a week, the Club would be open to any young ladies from town, and it was awesome. North Island and MCRD co-ordinated their ladis nights so they were not in conflict. I think that was the last time USN and USMC ever worked together.........

 

[phrogdriver]

I think a big part of the lesson is that the O-clubs are best where there isn't much else to do. I had a great time at the 29 Stumps club, for example.
Among the blind, the 1-eyed man is king. Among the sober, a warm case of Schlitz actually tastes good. As much as some of the tradition has left, part of the problem is that there is a lot more around most military bases now than there used to be. People go party in town.

Oh yeah, and my general rules of thumb--1. The good old days weren't as good as everyone says. 2. Those sh!thead FNGs who are ruining everything aren't anyworse than you were back then. 3. The amount of f-ed up things in the world never changes, just the locations.

I keep those rules in mind, and find I keep a happier perspective.