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Although we don't full-time, we travel around th country a lot, especially in the winter. As retired military (retired military.....never, ever a civilian ��), we stay at military campgrounds whenever possible. We see sooooo many active duty folks living in their campers on Post. They draw full "quarters allowance" which can be a rather large chunk of taxfree money, especially those with spouse and children. Whatever BAQ they receive, it is valued at an additional ~25% (their individual tax bracket). That can be a couple grand a month (you must factor in BAQ rate + number of dependents + locale adjustment for local cost of living impacts + whether only one or both are in uniform). And that is fine with my wife and me. But then sooo many check into the military campgrounds, staying within whatever constraints are at each campground/Famcamp, and pay a tiny fraction of what others pay at a comparable campground in the area. If you stay at the USAF Famcamp in Tucson, you pay around $30/night: a civilian campground is a few times that price. Some campgrounds are under $15/night. Full electric, water, sewer, often cable and wifi for under $1K per month is a verrry good deal! Using tax free dollars is a free camper, utilities, and no commute time. I like having the safety provided by being inside the perimeter fence, MPs making rounds (and they actually do so, in some places), and the fact most (not all!) military personnel act far better than their civilian counterparts. For PCS, as long as you stay CONUS, you are golden. I don't think you can ship a camper if going OCONUS, but I had a Warrant Officer in Germany who shipped his Class B as his "pov". Travel then means you draw whatever is the going rate for mileage, Per Diem, etc. I don't harbor any grievance about them getring over on the system, but earing up campground spaces as longtermers gripes me! Those campgrounds are for recreation, not fulltime use. We who travel often can't get into those campgrounds because the fulltimers tie up the spaces! After 42.5 years with the Army (30 in uniform plus 12.5 in Dept of the Army civil service) I love every soldier, sailor, airman, and Marine. Well, maybe not the Navy poges. �� But if you are eligible to use the military, Coast Guard, or NASA campgrounds, do so! Best buys around, and profits are supposed to stay in the Morale Support (recreation for soldiers) arena (even though some Commanders siphon off money for the installation...another pet peeve).
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