Life at RAF Alconbury

The Tri-Base Area

RAF Alconbury is only one of five bases in the local area; RAF Alconbury, RAF Brampton, RAF Molesworth, RAF Upwood and RAF Wyton. Right now you're thinking something like, "But the title of this section is Tri-Base, not Five-Base." True. Of the five bases, three are American occupied while RAF Brampton and RAF Wyton are used by the British. Hence the Tri-Base Area designation.

RAF Alconbury is the largest of the three used by US forces in the area. It is located just outside the small city of Huntingdon and approximately 70 miles north of London. It contains the largest part of the support functions such as the base exchange, schools, commissary, theater, most of the housing, and the bowling alley. Basically, support is the role of RAF Alconbury. If you are being assigned to the Tri-Base area and want to live on base, Alconbury is where you want to be.

RAF Molesworth is where the operations part of the Tri-Base area is at. It is located about 10 miles west of RAF Alconbury near the small village of Molesworth. Although there are some support functions at RAF Molesworth, they are very limited. Additionally, there is no housing located on RAF Molesworth proper. A set of about 40 houses is located a mile or so down the road, however, this housing is being closed through attrition (as families move out, no new families are being moved in). When the last family leaves, Molesworth housing will be returned to the British.

RAF Upwood is located about 10 miles north of Huntingdon. It is the smallest of the three bases in the area. It's only current functions is the Tri-Base area's clinic. Their was a housing area there until late summer 2005, but that has been turned back over to the British. A study is planned to see if moving the clinic to RAF Alconbury would be economically viable. Don't expect this to happen until after 2010 at the earliest.

Another housing area is located in the village of Chelveston, about 10 miles east of Molesworth. Just like Molesworth housing, this area is being closed through attrition. There is no military related support near this housing area.

Background

American presence at bases in the Tri-Base area all trace their heritage back to World War II. Each of the three bases were used by the US Army Air Force during this war. Following the war, the bases went through several restructurings, closings, reopenings, and changes in ownership. By the 1980s, RAF Alconbury had the only remaining runway. RAF Molesworth was a nuclear missle base while RAF Upwood was solidly entrenched in its support role. During the 1990s, the end of the Cold War resulted in the removal of the missles from RAF Molesworth and the closure of the runway at RAF Alconbury. From 1995 to 1999, the bases basically continued to die on the vine. No money was invested in upgrades and some services like the chow halls were completely terminated. However, the Information Age has saved the Tri-Base area from closure. With the huge emphasis now placed on intelligence gathering, analysis and dissemination, RAF Molesworth has become a hub of such operations in Europe. As a result, Alconbury and Molesworth have enjoyed a resurgence in spending on upgrades not just to the operations side, but to the support side as well.

Coming to the Area

Although most personnel coming to the area used to arrive via the "rotator" flight out of Baltimore-Washington International Airport, cancellation of this rotator effective 1 October 2005 means that all personnel coming to and leaving from bases in the UK now fly through either Heathrow or Gatwick down in London. Because of this, anyone assigned to bases in the UK had better make sure their sponsor or the contract courier is there to pick you up. It's a long walk otherwise.

And for the rare person who may be coming from another base in Europe, you can drive the whole way here. RAF Alconbury is just off the A14 and a plethora of signs will lead you to it once you get near the base.

First Stop: Billetting

Billetting is at RAF Alconbury, so that will be your first stop. The billetting office is located near the front gate. However, unless you are staying in TLF (family quarters with a kitchen), you will be staying in one of the three buildings on the other side of the base (about a five minute walk from the office). Rooms here are quite nice and can be divided into three categories. Full family quarters, minimal family quarters and unaccompanied quarters.

The unaccompained personnel quarters are single room units much like everywhere else. Most rooms share bathrooms with the room behind it; rooms with private bathrooms are also available for those with high enough rank. A large refrigerator/freezer unit and a microwave are included.

All rooms have a 24-inch TV and DVD player. Cable access consists of seven AFN channels. Depending on signal strength and weather, two British channels may also be available. All buildings have a free use laundry room. The unaccompained personnel quarters building has a dayroom with kitchen, TV and four computers with Internet access. For those in buildings without Internet access, the library and the Family Support Center are within a two minute walk and each has Internet-enabled computers.

Eating

When you go looking for something to eat, you will realize just how small the bases in the area are. Broken down by base, your choices are:
RAF Alconbury: There is no chow hall. AAFES does provide the standard Anthony's Pizza, plus a Subway and a Baskin-Robbins. The Burger King closed in 2004 and no replacement is slated for anytime in the near future. MWR provides the bowling alley and the base consolidated club.
RAF Molesworth: MWR runs the New York Deli and Pizza which provides a good selection of sandwiches, salads and pizza. However, the prices can be a bit steep for daily eating (average $6.50 per day). The shoppette has microwave food. Otherwise, bring your lunch.
RAF Upwood: Bring your lunch. There ain't nothin'.

Additionally, you can go off-base to any number of places. Just down the road from RAF Molesworth is a TGI Fridays, McDonalds and Burger King along with a myriad of the proverbial English pubs. Most pubs throughout the area serve lunch and dinner, too. However, with the high exchange rate, this can be quite expensive if done on a regular basis. However, if you like paying $8.50 for a cheeseburger combo, knock yourself out.

Transportation

Getting to and from work can be a hassle at first. More than likely you will be working at RAF Molesworth but living at RAF Alconbury. A shuttle runs between the two bases but it is infrequent. Your best bet is to catch a ride with someone or get a car. If you live off-base, you're really going to need a car.

If you shipped a car, you're going to encounter the most convoluted process you have ever seen in your military career. Yes, even worse than trying to find out how many points you have built up towards promotion testing. In a nutshell, the process goes like this:

  1. Immediately upon arrival, go to the Molesworth Pass and ID office and fill out a customs form for the car.
  2. Mail the customs form via Royal Mail to Brandon where the arrival port for vehicles is located.
  3. Wait to be notified by mail that your car is here.
  4. While waiting, take the local driving class at Alconbury.
  5. Once you have completed the course, go to the Molesworth Pass and ID office and get issued a 3rd Army license. Yes, this should probably be available at the end of the course up at Alconbury but it isn't.
  6. When you get a little card in the mail saying your car has arrived, call the number on it and they will tell you when your car will be available for pick-up.
  7. Drive 45 miles to Brandon and pick up your car.
  8. Since you only have 1/4 tank of gas or less (due to shipping rules), you'll need to stop at RAF Lakenheath (just down the road from Brandon) and get some gas. Naturally, since the car isn't registered on any base yet you will need a visitor's pass first.
  9. Drive back to Alconbury and get another visitor's pass because the one you got for Lakenheath isn't valid here.
  10. The next day, drive down to Molesworth and exchange your short-term pass for a 30 day pass. Again, this should probably be something they do at Alconbury but it isn't (see a pattern yet?).
  11. Go to the Alconbury Auto Hobby Shop and schedule a time to get your lights changed over. This will re-aim your lights to the opposite side (so you don't blind everyone at night), change the color of a couple of parking lights and add a fog light to the back. This will cost you $160. Pay in cash. This isn't reimbursable.
  12. At the same time, schedule a Ministry of Transport (aka MOT) inspection for after the light work is done. This inspection will cost $55. It is also not reimbursable.
  13. Go down to Molesworth and visit your orderly room. There you will get a "blue card" that will allow you to purchase gas on base. You might think that your military ID would be good enough, but it's much more fun to fill up your wallet with lots of plastic ID cards that you have to keep track of.
  14. Once the lights are changed and the MOT is complete, take proof of insurance, MOT, your 3AF drivers license, and your stateside registration to the Molesworth Pass and ID office. There you will fill out the necessary forms for getting your car registered in the UK. Your documentation will be mailed off with the forms. You will receive a letter in exchange stating such; this letter will take their place until they are returned so don't lose it.
  15. After about 10 days, you will get your documentation back along with your first year's tax disc (first year's "road tax" is paid by Uncle Sam. The second and succeeding years is paid by you at about $300 per year; this expenditure is reimbursable). Put the tax disc on the inside of your windshield. Naturally, you have to buy a tax disc holder; the shoppettes sells them for $1.20.
  16. Take the rest of the paperwork over to the Alconbury gas station. Pay them $22 for your license plates.
  17. The next day, pick up your license plates. Note: the plates don't have holes in them; you either have to do it yourself or ask the service techs at the base gas station to do it. Surprisingly, drilling the holes is one thing AAFES doesn't charge for.
  18. After about 14 days, you will receive your UK registration form (aka V5C).
  19. Take the UK registration form and all other documentation down to the Molesworth Pass and ID office. There, they will give you the pink card that will act as your base vehicle registration.
  20. You have finally finished registering your car. If your're lucky, it took less than 30 days.

Purchasing a car locally is fairly inexpensive. You can find many good cars for less than $1500 and some below $1000. A big selling point is how much time is remaining on the MOT and road tax. As long as the car has passed its last inspection and the road tax is paid, you can just buy the car, do the registration/title (V5C) transfer and you're off and motoring. Of course you're responsible for the fees the next time they come due. And you have to get another pink and blue card for it.

One word of caution: the majority of cars here are manuals. If you don't know how to drive a stick-shift, you may have a hard time finding yourself a good used car.

Driving here is an experience. Naturally, getting used to driving on the opposite side of the road is the first thing you must get used to. If you buy a British car, add in driving on the opposite side of the car. And driving a British car with a manual transmission adds the fun of learning to shift with your opposite hand. Along the way you have to master roundabouts, road signs, country roads that are barely big enough for two small cars and various pedestrian and animal hazards. But once you get the hang of it, it is quite fun. Speed limits here are generally faster than in the US. Plus the roads tend to twist and turn more giving a more sporting atmosphere to the daily drive. Careful though. Speed limits are enforced and the use of traffic cameras is wide spread. Even so, the British tend to drive fast and loose; accidents, whether involving collisions or being forced off the road, are common. Safety and situational awareness are key to staying out of trouble. Additionally, British laws are very strict (decades in jail) when it comes to killing someone due to wreckless driving.

Base Services

Although the Tri-Base area does have a full range of base services, these are limited. For example, although Alconbury has a gas station and an auto hobby center, they can't do full front-end alignments. The BX has most of the usual day-to-day items, but tends to lack in selection. The commissary is pretty good, you just have to watch the expiration dates on things like meats and dairy products. Alconbury does have a theater and gym. And it's schools are rated very highly by local parents. Molesworth only has a shoppette and small gym; no BX, commissary, school or theater.

Local Services

Like the US, the UK has a full range of services available.

Internet Service - Internet service is widely available with several providers. Dial-up as well as broadband access is available. However, unlike the US, many UK broadband companies limit the amount of data you can download and charge extra for exceeding that limit. A broadband connection of 1Mbs with a 1GB download limit runs between 17 and 19 pounds (roughly $35 to $40). Broadband packages with an unlimited download option are available from all providers, but this is almost always an extra cost option. With the high exchange rate, the cost in the UK is almost double that of a comparable US service. Most broadband within the UK is phone based ADSL. This is due to the fact that most people have satillite TV systems or basic broadcast TV rather than cable TV.

Likewise, cheap dial-up service normally limits the calling times that you can connect during the day without incurring any extra charges. A dial-up connection limiting calls to between 6pm and 10am with anytime weekend calls can be had for as little as seven pounds (about $15). And as with broadband, unlimited access packages are available and normally runn about 13 pounds (about $28).

Phone Service - Phone service here is just like in the US. British Telecom is the biggest service provider; kind of like the old AT&T. There are many other providers (like TalkTalk and Virgin) so you can shop around for the best pricing plans. Most of these other providers usually require a line installed by BT to be in place before they will start service. Unlike the US, all non-emergency phone calls will cost you unless they are going to a toll free 0800 or 0808 number. All calls are charged by the second. Many pricing packages are available allowing you to get rates are low as 2.6 pence (pennies) per minute. Most providers also provide high-speed internet service allowing you to save a few bucks on combination packages.

Movies - Almost all of the movies available at theaters in the US are available in the UK theaters. Of course, the high exchange rate makes going a costly outing. However, renting movies is not really an economic option. Blockbuster and Hollywood video stores don't occupy every street corner as they do in the US. The base shoppettes do carry some movies for rent but the selection is horrid. And even if you were to have a Blockbuster just down the street, it would be of no use. British DVDs are in the PAL format which is incompatible with the NTSC-based format used in US DVD players and TVs. So unless you buy a multisystem compatible TV and DVD player then want to spend almost twice the money on DVDs, you are stuck with the paltry selection of titles available at the BX and shoppettes. Of course, there is always Amazon and NetFlix.

Shopping - Lot's of that here. From little mom-and-pop type shops to the Wal-Mart owned mega-chain ASDA, there is plenty of places to spend your cash. If you are careful and do your research, sometimes you can find things cheaper (even with the exchange rate) on the local economy than comparable items cost at the BX. Huntingdon's downtown area is a vibrant shopping district that is like an open-air mall. Any kind of shop that you would find in a mall in the US is down there. Further out, on the edge of town, you will find the bigger office supply, pet and grocery stores. And if you can't find what you are looking for here, then Peterborough and Cambridge are just 15 miles up the road and London is only a 1.5 hour train ride away.

Medical Care - As stated above, RAF Upwood houses the clinic that serves the Tri-Base area. This clinic is very limited in function. It provides basic family practice and dental services to include pharmacy, OB/GYN and maternity. However, the clinic relies on support from RAF Mildenhall/Lakenheath for optometry and other functions. There is no emergency room at the clinic. Additionally, if you have a child while you are in the UK you will have to choose where to have him/her; either at the local British hospital (Hitchingbrooke) or at RAF Lakenheath/Mildenhall.

Basically, all non-emergency care is handled first at the clinic on Upwood; they will refer you to a local treatment facility if necessary or to RAF Lakenheath. All emergency care is handled first via the base EMTs, then through the local hospital.

Housing

Housing on Alconbury is very nice. A majority of the housing units were rebuilt from the ground up starting in 2002. Everything inside and out is new. The rest have been gone through and given an extensive makeover; new carpet, doors, windows and fixtures just to name a few things that were replaced. About the only negative things in these houses is the lack of kitchen cabinet space in the rebuilt units and the lack of a finished attic to store things like Christmas decorations in (each unit has a storage shed but these are kind of small and not completely weather tight). Finally, you will not be able to bring your washer and dryer from the US; each housing unit has a set installed.

Unlike housing in the US, British housing does not normally have air conditioning and uses radiators to heat the house instead of a central furnace/blower system. Most housing on base follows suit although some do have central heating. Since the number of days in a year that the temperature rises above 81 degrees can be counted on two hands, the lack of A/C is not a problem. All housing units have ceiling fans and the windows open wide to allow for catching the breezes (which are always blowing). Unlike British houses, the housing on base have screens for the windows. This is a must since the base is surrounded by farm land and the accompanying bugs that come with it during parts of the growing season.

The water here is high in minerals; a calcium/lime film will build up fairly quick in your showers and sinks. Invest in Lime-Away or CLR early and drink bottled water when possible. AAFES offers a Culligan water cooler service that is very economical for families.

There are no garages in base houses. Only a small driveway. Additionally, there is only one small storage shed available for each unit. Keep the amount of mowers, rakes, and car accessories to a minimum when shipping your household goods. Additionally, no car maintenance at all is allowed in housing; you must use the base auto hobby shop.

All of the housing on base has both 110 volt and 220 volt power available. However, the 110 volt US style power is only operating at 50 hertz. This means anything with a clock that is not 50 hertz capable (usually denoted by a statement that says something like "Input: 100V 50/60Hz") is not going to keep proper time. Most electric alarm clocks from the US suffer this problem. Computer's don't. Speaking of computer's, they will work fine when plugged into the British 220V power sockets with a plug adapter. Just don't forget to switch the power supply voltage switch over to 215V setting before plugging it in.

Housing off base can be had for a reasonable price and are usually fairly nice. However, some things to consider are:

If you reside off-base, a washer and dryer will be loaned to you by the housing office. This is because the standard UK washers and driers have a very small loading capacity; a family of four could spend all week doing laundry and never catch up. Maintenance service for these loaner appliances is also provided via the housing office.

Television

Television stations in the UK use the PAL broadcast standard. Therefore, normal US televisions are not able to pick up British televisions stations. You will need either a British television or one that is capable of tuning in multiple broadcast standards. The BX carries a good range of these multi-system units although almost all of them are LCD and plasma.

If you do get a TV that is capable of getting British stations, be careful of who is watching. The British have a more liberal standard as to what is allowed on TV. After about 9pm, strong profanity and T&A are fairly common. Children should be monitored during the later hours when they are watching TV.

The British charge about $275 per year in TV tax. Regardless of how many TVs you have in your house, you must pay the tax. Failure to do so can result in fines ranging up to $2000. Yes, they do drive around in special trucks and check. TV tax money goes to fund the BBC. This tax is reimbursable.

All housing on base has the full range of AFN stations (seven plus a TV Guide-style channel) via free cable. A standard US televison can receive these cable stations with no problems. You also have the option of getting the AFN Skybox satillite television decoder which will give you access to about 10 more AFN sponsored channels including dedicated movies and sports channels from the US. Even if you are in base housing and receiving only AFN on your TV, you still must pay the TV tax.



And so ends my little tour of living in the RAF Alconbury/Molesworth/Upwood Tri-Base area. If you have any questions or think I left something out, please let me know.

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