Are Joint Bases Really Beneficial?

2014-02-17T01:48:31-05:00

Many
of us are experiencing the Joint Basing experience and I had to ask is this
endeavor really beneficial to anyone? Case in point: JBER, AK – When going to
the hospital that is ran by the Air Force, priority for appointments are Airmen
first, their families then the Army. When seen by physicians and you are given
a profile or some other medical referral, it has to be ran through your
servicing TMC/PA. f this is supposed to be truly Joint Based then shouldn’t there
be a merge of care providers and “Joint Forms” used to alleviate the extra-ness
that is involved? What are your thoughts for those that are on JBs.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 17 at 2014 7:23 AM

2014-02-17T07:23:46-05:00

SSG Purham,

Joint Basing looked good on paper and was suppose to help save money by eliminating redundancies but in the end it has cost more and created a lot of problems/ issues, like the one you described. There have been some discussions about going back to separate bases but again it will cost a lot of money.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 17 at 2014 7:38 AM

2014-02-17T07:38:12-05:00

As long as they really are Joint bases. I was at Carswell Joint Reserve Base but because the senior officer there was a Navy Captain, the front gate read "Carwell Joint Reserve Naval Air Station". I'm sorry but if it says "Joint" in the title then it should NOT have a mention of any specific branch of the service. It's either "Joint" or its "Naval" but not both.
The other problem with Carswell was that we would send our soldiers next door to the Medical Clinic when the Navy was giving immunizations and they were turned away and told "These are for Navy personnel only." Last I checked the enemy wasn't genetically engineering a virus that only targeted Navy personnel. And I seriously doubt that this Navy flu vaccine would kill Army soldiers.