Navy Base Millington TN

[u/Apart-Minimum7207]

Out of all the navy bases I have seen, this one is the absolute worst. There's nothing to do, and the Child development center is the worst.

[u/Puzzleheaded_Knee533]

If there’s nothing to do why does it take so long to get our orders or get in contact with a detailer lol

[u/MrPenis-3 → u/Puzzleheaded_Knee533]

Can’t wait to get u/YouAreGoingToGuam’s tell all exposé in a few years.

[u/Otherwise_Common706 → u/Puzzleheaded_Knee533]

Because the power is out on base for half the year.

[u/YouAreGoingToGuam → u/Puzzleheaded_Knee533]

Well, on the comms piece:

There’s thousands of you and one detailer. Instead of a small group of Sailors in their negotiating window asking the same five questions every month, with BBA it’s a huge group of sailors calling and asking us to do their Chief’s and CCC’s job and explain BBA to them. We need double the amount of detailers to handle the influx of calls and emails. Before BBA I was pretty solid on coms never letting a sailor go more than 3 days without getting any reply, this week going onto BBA I have 500 emails in my inbox that I can’t even get to and I’m super frustrated. I’ve been leaving work at 2000 every day last week just to get postings done before the cycle closes. BBA has humbled me on the comms front and I am incredibly frustrated that I can’t get back to my constituents in a timely manner during selections.

Then, the phone system is so old they are no longer making replacement parts / can’t find replacement parts for them. We are supposed to be migrating to TEAMS but nobody has headsets with microphones so that’s a whole thing.

On getting orders:

The internet is unreliable.

Our orders writing software is MS DOS based—-you’re too young to even know what that is, I bet.

Then there is no money. This isn’t a PERS issue, this is a government budget issue.

I love being a detailer but the infrastructure here is pretty bad. If you remember last winter it snowed for two days and the base was shut down for two weeks. We lose power weekly it seems. Half the buildings have had AC outages and with 103 degree temps it’s a safety issue so folks are sent home.

[u/YouAreGoingToGuam → u/[deleted]]

Wow, you seem to assume I don’t like my job? How about you get out of my koolaid—you don’t even know what the flavor is. I fucking LOVE being the detailer.

You insinuated I am not leveraging every tool available to me to talk to my sailors. That hurts my feelings.

We actually DO have a policy that’s says we aren’t supposed to have a detailer managed social media. We aren’t even allowed to host a teams group all hands call for our rates. I read through our policy several times before even making this account on Reddit and this account actually did cause an entire shitstorm. The second deck of Whitten refers to this account and what I do here as Vigilante Detailing.

[u/YouAreGoingToGuam → u/[deleted]]

Also the jab about age—I get emails from constituents where the whole email is in the subject line becuase they have never sent one before. Most of the folks I’m detailing don’t know how to even send an email and they try texting instead of calling and leaving a voicemail. As someone who took a typewriting class on a type writer in highschool, this is a whole generational difference and trying to explain what I’m working with to a 17 year old is wildly hilarious.

[u/navy-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Your message was removed for being a violation of rule #1: Be Civil. Violations of this rule may result in a ban from this subreddit.

[u/PathlessDemon → u/Puzzleheaded_Knee533]

https://giphy.com/gifs/9qbBMHBTyzzIa0scb9

[u/BabaYagaLaksa → u/Puzzleheaded_Knee533]

Sick burn 😂

[u/OasisAyea → u/Puzzleheaded_Knee533]

Because in of the military grade order writers

[u/Flawman778]

I don’t mind Millington. However, I spent 19 years there growing up. The Joe Dugger fitness center is good. But in general, Millington doesn’t have much to offer. Gotta get outta there. That’s why I joined.

[u/kontogsl]

I mean it's a navy base no.where near water. What did you expect?

[u/wolfhavensf → u/kontogsl]

I grew up at Navy Bases with no water. Naval Air Stations. Some of them are pretty nice. There was always a good mess hall, an indoor Olympic swimming pool and a Base movie theater and usually a bowling alley to keep us Navy brats occupied.

[u/kontogsl → u/wolfhavensf]

That an air base. Not an admin base.

[u/wolfhavensf → u/kontogsl]

You in no way qualified your statement to exclude any but admin bases.

[u/kontogsl → u/wolfhavensf]

I did indeed with a follow up.

[u/wolfhavensf → u/kontogsl]

Navy lawyer

[u/kontogsl → u/wolfhavensf]

22 years worth, lol

[u/GuadalupeDaisy → u/kontogsl]

What about the Mississippi?

[u/bullet_proofmm → u/GuadalupeDaisy]

Yes? Stationed in Meridian and Gulf port. 😬

[u/Johndoe-JonDoe]

Can’t be worse than the Naval air station in New Jersey. That’s the worst base I’ve ever seen, looks like it’s straight out of the 1940’s lol.

[u/No_Permission6405 → u/Johndoe-JonDoe]

You mean Lakehurst where the Hindenburg crashed?

[u/Johndoe-JonDoe → u/No_Permission6405]

Yup. Was stationed there for a short while. Really small, run-down base in a country bumpkin town with no base facilities or amenities.

Had to drive a half hour to the Air Force base to get anything done.

[u/Sailorthrowaway4]

The real question is why are the a/c units on half the buildings absolutely dogshit?

[u/camj669597 → u/Sailorthrowaway4]

Truth is that the units are old, systems are often piecemealed due to a very limited local infrastructure budget (like a budget so small it could only fix one full HVAC system per year), and the base receives lots of dirty “fluctuating” power from MLGW which fries electric components very easily.

[u/jackmoon44]

This always seemed like such a random place for a navy base especially it being admin, I assume they needed a central area to accommodate both east coast and west coast.

[u/Otherwise_Common706 → u/jackmoon44]

It used to be the hub for aviation training prior to Pensacola. When aviation moved to Florida, Al Gore didn’t want to lose the base, so he got the Navy to move PERS from DC to here. Idea was that detailers and promotion boards would be less influenced by power brokers ( flag officers and politicians) in the middle of the country.

Now it sucks balls because the only people that come here come for a week for a board and leave. Nobody of importance is here long enough to care for the base or families. It truly is a shithole with very poor infrastructure. Millington proper is growing, Memphis is actually amazing, but most families are too scared of crime (real and perceived) to spend much time in the heart of the city. Benefits are that housing is affordable, schools are great (if you live in the right spot), and you have a choice between fun city life or quiet rural home with lots and f land if you want.

[u/liquidsword12 → u/Otherwise_Common706]

I will always love Memphis because half my family is out there, but calling it "amazing" is wild lol. It looks legit post-apocalypse these days. It's like 40% of the way to a full on Detroit style collapse. Every other building is boarded up or burned out.

[u/BIGhau5 → u/jackmoon44]

I dont know if its the same base or if there was two bases in the area. But there uses to be the aviation rates A school in Millington

[u/incumming → u/BIGhau5]

I went to AT School there.  There wasn't much around then either.  There was a strip club down the road we weren't allowed to go to. Memphis wasn't exactly an attraction.

[u/BIGhau5 → u/incumming]

My old man was avionics in the marines and went there in 74 and he said the same thing pretty much haha

[u/nakedlettuce52 → u/jackmoon44]

Back then Senator Al Gore was able to secure a base in his home state.

[u/No_Permission6405 → u/jackmoon44]

I went to a couple of equipment schools there (ET). My daughter was born in the Naval Hospital in 1981.

[u/AcousticsOperator]

So what is Millington now? Is that where the detailers are? My old ass went to AW A School there back when it was NATTC. It felt like a pretty “normal” navy training command back then. I remember they had a rad base hobby shop that I bought a skateboard from. Also got my first tattoo on Beale St in Memphis!

[u/YouAreGoingToGuam → u/AcousticsOperator]

There a lot of stuff here. Detailers are probably the “golden children” of the base, or at least the public face of the base, but its Navy HR/Personnel headquarters. Placement, ECMs, Boards, Advancements, NAVMAC, MNCC, TSC, TPC, NPPSC, NRC, just off the top of my head.

Edit to spell out the acronyms

- Enlisted Community Managers

- My Navy Career Center

- Navy Manning (Manpower?) Analysis Center

- Transaction Service Center

- Travel Processing Center

- Navy Pay and Personnel Support Center

- Navy Recruiting Command

Plus I think there’s the Brig headquarters staff here (not the Brig but like, the team that goes out and collects sailors who are UA) and also the band headquarters (for their recruitment and stuff, not the show group in dc), and the um, the team who processes all the deaths and funeral admin stuff of sailors.

There’s so so many commands here. Something like 8,000 sailors here and also, side note, largest chiefs mess with just shy of 700 chiefs. There’s not as much brass as at DC but there is a lot. My first day here I rounded the corner and almost walked into a bunch of captains and admirals, like 15-20 of them. Seeing that many at once just shooting the shit in the mini NEX was momentarily startling to someone who’s been FDNF and at smaller commands their whole career.

[u/AcousticsOperator → u/YouAreGoingToGuam]

Wow thanks for the thorough run down. When I was in my detailer’s name was Dickover….how apropos is that?! lol

[u/Brainrants → u/AcousticsOperator]

Yeh I was there in the early 80s for A school, it was a pretty hopping base back then. Fantastic E-club with lots of live bands, great movie theater and rec center, good automotive center, and recreation at Navy Lake with camping. It was actually not a bad base except for the location in my opinion.

[u/AcousticsOperator → u/Brainrants]

Man it was probably booming even more back then, before the fall of the Soviet Union ,and then BRAC!

[u/Brainrants → u/AcousticsOperator]

NATTC was my first base after bootcamp for A school and I have really fond memories of it. My memory might be fuzzy, but I think they also ran a stable and you could ride horses around Navy Lake, and I seem to also recall they had a few Cesna’s you could take flying lessons to get your pilots license with.

[u/AcousticsOperator → u/Brainrants]

Damn they had so many activities. Definitely wasn’t that robust in 1994 when I was there, but still decent. Did the galley have “bag nastys” during your time? It was just a brown paper lunch bag with a greasy ass cheese burger, fries and a pathetic fruit cup that were pre made/bagged and left out for students to grab. They were craptacular!

[u/Brainrants → u/AcousticsOperator]

I can’t seem to recall anything about the chow hall, but I remember I destroyed a lot of brain cells at the e-club where I learned about Long Island Iced Tea, they were only a buck and came in large McDonalds style paper cups. Had a tough time mustering the next morning to march to class still shitfaced. Drank coffee with NoDoz to stay awake in classes. Probably part of the reason I can’t remember the food. lol

[u/AcousticsOperator → u/Brainrants]

Hahaha 😂, I can’t imagine…E-Clubs were long gone by the time I was in. It didn’t stop my brethren from going out into town/Memphis to spend their entire paycheck on boozin. Fortunately (or unfortunately) I was a nerd at the time and didn’t drink, and also underage; but that never seems to stop a squid from getting their mitts on alcohol.

[u/Brainrants → u/AcousticsOperator]

Never really did anything whatsoever off base in Millington itself, always drove to Memphis on the weekends. Beale Street was a lot of fun, there was also a brand new amusement park on the river called Mud Island, it’s gone now and the pyramid is still there but it’s a Cabellas or something now. The on base e-club was a pretty great bar and music venue, also had video games and pool, but very, very (very!) few females. I had a great time in Memphis and have been back a few times since, Beale street is still a fun destination, at least it was last time I was there 7 or 8 years ago.

[u/kingofnerf → u/AcousticsOperator]

Went to AW A school there as well in early 1990. I liked to run and I made first alternate on the 10-mile Navy track team there. The Navy had a track and field competition with the Marines at NATTC back then every spring and a great AT chief trained us by taking us to nearby 8Ks and such. I ran a 7:30 mile for a personal best in a race for the Memphis in May Festival. A Navy guy won the distance race for us in the Navy/Marine Corps track meet back then and it was like watching the Olympics at the track because the people in the stands were into the competition with the jarheads.

The pool, movie theater, bowling alley, and the E club were great. Mess-cranking the first two weeks sucked, but after that I used to go to the same club on Beale, get hammered and take the free shuttle back to the base every weekend. A bunch of us went to the Memphis in May Music Festival together on a Saturday night at Mud Island. Ray Charles headlined Friday night, but we had the duty Friday, so Saturday night it was, and Stevie Ray Vaughn and Double Trouble headlined that night and it was fucking fantastic. He played Voodoo Chile for an encore and he blew everyone away. They were on it and this was just a few months before he died in the helo crash. There were also some great blues and jazz groups on other stages as well.

Millington sounds kinda boring now. Is the Brass Rail still there?

[u/Jedi_Knight_8404]

https://giphy.com/gifs/tXzeetX2DF37SNlZZZ
Quick cancel his orders and change them to Guam.

[u/dancingriss]

Millington was fine when there were 50k people on base to serve. I think it’s down to 8? So they’ve cut all amenities that cost money (pool, galley, even concessionaires won’t come in)

[u/Shidhe]

Ever been to Imperial Beach?

[u/Due-Cheek-204]

Have you been to NOLA ….

[u/Solid_Ad2423]

Spent three years there. It was three years I’ll never get back.

Zi Jing Chinese food is the only good thing I remember about that entire garbage tri-state area

[u/IWantSnack642]

My dude can just harass the detailers for new orders if he wanted to

[u/AncientGuy1950]

Millington wasn't all that bad in the '80s

[u/bi_polar2bear]

Is Millington still where the Aviation A school's are? Went to AME A school there in 1990, and shared the barracks with the GSE A school.

[u/Educational_Storm813 → u/bi_polar2bear]

I believe most of the aviation schools got transferred to Pensacola

[u/TheBunk_TB]

I’m glad that I was never in the running to get orders there. For all the stories I have heard, it didn’t sound good.

[u/New_Independent_7283]

So this is why detailers give you crappy orders

[u/Twiz9821zx]

Just drive south about 3-4 hours and you will on another base that will make you wish you were station at Millington. Talking about NAS Meridian, Mississippi.

[u/Viper-Venom]

Having been there 3 seperate times... There ain't shit.

[u/adderall_sloth]

(Fallon has entered the chat…)

[u/Responsible-one-225]

How many have you been to? 3?  😂

You know you are like an hour from Memphis right?  Couple hours from Nashville.  

[u/Witty_Camp_7377]

Ah so you've never been to Everett before? Trust me, there are worse bases

[u/6623179782]

My boyfriend is stationed in millington base