Sure feels great camping again

[geO]

After several dr appointments and other things life throws at you I must say it sure feels great being in the Oliver again. We Are in New Orleans and the heat and humidity are intense. I must say the Ollie A/C sure does one awesome job keeping us comfortable. We even got our first shower last night and I was pleasantly surprised how great it was. I'm also happy with the drivers side awning we had put in. The nice thing about that is you can open it enough just to block the sun from shinning in the windows. I'm at a Naval base with full hook ups so I can get a better understands of my tank readings. Overall I must say I'm impressed with our Ollie!

[Mike and Carol]

Glad to hear you're out breaking in your Ollie!  We've had good luck with military RV parks.  Most are very nice and the price is reasonable.  Enjoy NOLA - Mike

[geO]

Thanks Mike! You sure got that right about the price. I'm also impressed with how clean these military rv places are.

[Mike and Carol]

Last year we spent a week in Wash DC and stayed at Fort Belvoir.  Nice camp right on the Potomac. Lots of space between sites, big level concrete pads and a very clean laundry.  It's a great site for touring DC, close to a major metro station.  We've also stayed at Fort Huachuca, AZ, Twentynine Palms, CA and West Point, NY.

[topgun2]

geO - welcome back to the land of camping.  Glad to hear that medical issues and other non-camping issues have been taken care of so that you can get back to some real living.

 

The last time I stayed at a military RV place I was on active duty and the beach was great - uncrowded, clean, quiet.  I assume that the old rule still applies that one must be either active duty or retired from active duty in order to be able to use these facilities?  Just being a nice guy with a nice RV and an honorable discharge will not cut it?

 

Bill

[MikeandGerri]

You guys have fun!! Post some pics!!

[Raspy]

geO – welcome back to the land of camping. Glad to hear that medical issues and other non-camping issues have been taken care of so that you can get back to some real living. The last time I stayed at a military RV place I was on active duty and the beach was great – uncrowded, clean, quiet. I assume that the old rule still applies that one must be either active duty or retired from active duty in order to be able to use these facilities? Just being a nice guy with a nice RV and an honorable discharge will not cut it? Bill

 

I'm curious about this too.  I'm a vet with a VA card.  Will that do it????????

[Try2Relax]

I'm curious also. So far research indicates veterans, but still digging.

 

http://traveltips.usatoday.com/rv-campgrounds-military-bases-usa-106293.html

 

Correction: That's a big negatory, looks like the article stating veterans means retired. Access is for Active, Reserves, 100% disabled, DOD civilian and MOH recipients

[Mike and Carol]

I’m curious also. So far research indicates veterans, but still digging. http://traveltips.usatoday.com/rv-campgrounds-military-bases-usa-106293.html Correction: That’s a big negatory, looks like the article stating veterans means retired. Access is for Active, Reserves, 100% disabled, DOD civilian and MOH recipients

I believe this is right for most military facilities.

[Raspy]

I'm not authorized because I'm just a vet with an honorable discharge.  Not qualified.   Here is a list of authorized users:

 

http://www.militarycampgrounds.us/authorized-users

[topgun2]

John - I almost hit the "Thanks" button but didn't because I didn't want someone to think that I was appreciative of the fact that an honorably discharged veteran can not use these facilities.  However, thanks for doing the research.

 

Bill

[geO]

I thought all Veterans could use these camp sites. I guess I was wrong! I did read the info on the location I'm currently at and I guess you must be retired or 100% disabled. http://www.militarycampgrounds.us/louisiana/new-orleans-nas-campground

[Raspy]

It is interesting that out of the approximately 27 categories of people that can use the sites, none of those include the common "honorable" vet.   That is, unless he is 100% disabled, and then it's OK.  I'm not disabled, but what about those that are 50% disabled?  No, that wasn't a sufficient sacrifice to allow camping at a military RV site.  Sheesh.  What's wrong with this picture?

 

There are 27 categories of acceptable campers, that are all ahead of vets who are less than 100% disabled.   Hmmm.

[topgun2]

Raspy - you got me to thinking (you have no idea of how had a thing that is to do these days).  So, I did a little research and found the following to be very interesting on several levels.

 

Bill

 

Accordingly to The New York Times, "Less than 0.5 percent of the population serves in the armed forces, compared with more than 12 percent during World War II."

 

But:

 

"As of 2014, the VA estimates there were 22 million military veterans in the U.S. population. If you add their figures on veterans to the active personnel numbers mentioned above, 7.3 percent of all living Americans have served in the military at some point in their lives.

 

But since only 2 million veterans and about 200,000 current personnel are women, that overall percentage varies a lot by gender — 1.4 percent of all female Americans have ever served in the armed services, compared to 13.4 percent of all male Americans.

 

Seeing as you mentioned specifically that you served in the Navy, I thought you might be interested in a breakdown by branch of service: 3.1 percent of all living Americans have served in the Army, 1.7 percent in the Navy, 1.4 percent in the Air Force and 0.8 percent in the Marines, while the remaining 0.5 percent served in either non-defense or reserve roles.

 

So that number you heard looks like a big underestimate. Perhaps the percentage was based on a younger age group rather than all living Americans (we know, based on that VA data, that more than half of all veterans are over 60 right now). We also know which conflicts those veterans served in.

 

There are 5.5 million living U.S. veterans who served during what the VA calls “peacetime,” meaning they didn’t serve at any point during a conflict — 11,213 of them served before World War II had even begun. “Wartime” veterans are a slightly harder to group to categorize because many of them served in more than one conflict. For example, 2.8 million veterans served in only the first Gulf War (defined by the VA as lasting from August 1990 to September 2001), another 2.6 million served in only the second Gulf War (defined as the period from September 2001 to present) but there are another 1.6 million veterans that served in one of those conflicts as well as another (either the other Gulf War or something else).

 

The VA also calculates the projected population of veterans over the next three decades. Based on its current information (i.e. assuming no future conflicts), the agency expects the number of living veterans to steadily decline to 14.5 million in 2043. Unsurprisingly, the only category of veterans projected to increase are the post-9/11 ones. Their numbers will rise from 3.9 million in 2014 to 6 million in 2043, according to the VA’s projections, meaning that those personnel will go from representing 1 in 6 military veterans to 1 in 2." source: By KARL W. EIKENBERRY and DAVID M. KENNEDYMAY 26, 2013 The New York Times

[Mike and Carol]

In general, military installations provide facilities to active and retired as a part of their benefits package.  This includes the commissary, PX/BX, golf course, RV park, craft shops, lodging, etc.  Active duty usually includes military, national guard, reserves, DoD civilians (civil service) and sometimes contractors.  Retired is usually just military, DoD civilians are excluded.  DoD civilians are also excluded from using the PX and commissary except overseas.  Individual installation commanders have some flexibility, but their priority is to soldiers, sailors and airmen.  Excluding veterans who served honorably, but did not retire, is not meant as a slight - upon ETS or resignation the pay and benefits stop.

 

The benefits part of  "pay and benefits" has eroded significantly over the years due to funding cuts and changing priorities.  Our local supermarket has a better selection than our commissary and comparable prices to the commissary. We use Amazon, Costco and Walmart over the PX.  Most golf courses are either closed down or open to the public.  Officer Clubs and NCO Clubs have mostly closed down.  Even the military RV parks are no bargain, they have to be self sustaining and so their prices will mirror what other parks in the area are charging.  Most state parks and COE parks are cheaper.  For example, our stay at the Fort Belvoir RV park was $50/night.

 

Hope this helps to clear up some misunderstandings.  Mike

 

 

[Raspy]

Mike,

 

I think you make some valid points.  I didn't realize the infrastructure you mentioned was in such poor shape, or that camping could be that expensive at a military RV park.  Yikes! $50. per night!

 

One thing about "pay and benefits stop";  To those that served during war time, the VA benefits continue.  I guess it could rightly be called a "benefit" to those that were not injured, but it's an obligation to those that were.

[Mike and Carol]

Mike, I think you make some valid points. I didn’t realize the infrastructure you mentioned was in such poor shape, or that camping could be that expensive at a military RV park. Yikes! $50. per night! One thing about “pay and benefits stop”; To those that served during war time, the VA benefits continue. I guess it could rightly be called a “benefit” to those that were not injured, but it’s an obligation to those that were.

John, I agree with one clarification: the pay and benefits I listed are provided by DoD for active duty and retired. Once someone separates from the military these benefits stop and new benefits are then provided by the VA, not DoD.  Some VA facilities are on military installations but most are not.  Unfortunately, the VA doesn't run any campgrounds but the Army Corps of Engineers does for the benefit of all!  $50/night in metro DC is not bad, comparable to commercial RV parks there.  In more rural areas they are cheaper but generally comparable to whatever the local KOA is charging.  We stayed there for convenience, close to a DC metro stop and because it is one of the nicer military RV parks.  Mike

[Try2Relax]

 

$50/night in metro DC is not bad, comparable to commercial RV parks there. In more rural areas they are cheaper but generally comparable to whatever the local KOA is charging. We stayed there for convenience, close to a DC metro stop and because it is one of the nicer military RV parks. Mike

 

For those in the area, Greenbelt NP can be $8 per night, 12 miles from the White House and a metro (bus) stop at the entrance.

[Mainiac]

Too bad, a DD214 should be a key to use those facilities...

[Cash]

I am retired military and I don't stay at some of those great military locations. My reason? 1) They don't take a liking to you having your guns (and I'm no terrorist by no means (unless you are a commie). I'm not going to let them take away my ability to defend. 2) They search your RV as if you were a terrorist. Maybe this will change with a new administration that respects me.

[John E Davies]

2) They search your RV as if you were a terrorist. Maybe this will change with a new administration that respects me.

Seriously, is this common? I don't see how they could possibly have the time to do full end-to-end searches of all RVs entering the base. I thought your military ID would get you past all that sort of Homeland Security Theater.

 

I have never been in the military - my sincere thanks go to those who are or were - so this is all alien to me.

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

[Mike and Carol]

Too bad, a DD214 should be a key to use those facilities…

A DD214 is your key to VA benefits, different than DoD benefits for active and retired.

 

Cash wrote:

2) They search your RV as if you were a terrorist. Maybe this will change with a new administration that respects me.

Seriously, is this common? I don’t see how they could possibly have the time to do full end-to-end searches of all RVs entering the base. I thought your military ID would get you past all that sort of Homeland Security Theater. I have never been in the military – my sincere thanks go to those who are or were – so this is all alien to me. John Davies Spokane WA

This is not common at all.  I've been on many different military installations of all branches of service with my trailer and have never been stopped or searched.  Mike

[topgun2]

To be honest - I had never given any thought to "retirement benefits" being received from the VA versus the DoD.  Certainly I'm glad that Mike has pointed to this distinction and it has helped me to clear my thinking in this regard.

 

I view that it is little different than many cases of similar benefits that are received from many non-military companies.  While I was actively employed I received many benefits to include golf club and athletic club memberships.  Upon retirement, these benefits continued only if I chose to contribute to the overall cost (I would pay reduced annual fees with my former employer paying the balance), or, they simply ended.  I do not hold it against my former employer for not continuing to supply this (or any other) benefit because it was not part of our "contract" while employed.

 

In a similar context - I used military campgrounds while I was on active duty, but, I also understood that I would not be able to use these same facilities when I was honorably discharged (not retired) and no longer on active duty.  Certainly it would be nice to be able to use these camping facilities, but, I understand and accept the "terms of the contract" to which I agreed when I chose to take that step forward.

 

Bill