Base Survival Guide Series: MCB Camp Blaz (Guam)

 

 

This Base Survival Guide on MCB Camp Blaz (Guam) is brought to you by Thomas Lepick and Anthony. Thomas is an active duty Marine. He's married to Lacey and together they have five kiddos! Anthony is from San Diego and is a Navy spouse. He met his wife while she was stationed in san Diego 8-9 years ago. They moved to Guam in June of 2019, and really enjoy their life on Guam. They have a lot of family on island because his mom is Chamorro. He even lived there before when he was 18 for a couple years.

 

What's the weather like at this base?

Tropical, hot and humid, when it rains it's short rain showers.

It’s very predictable weather. You can count on 80/80. That’s 80 degrees pretty much everyday and an average of about 80% humidity daily. It rains a little from January-June. Rains a lot July-December. These 2 seasons are just referred to as, wet/rainy season & dry season.

 

What's your favorite time of year there?

What's your favorite thing about living at this duty station? 

Good scuba diving, snorkeling, and hikes. Lots of outdoor activities.

The ocean is beautiful. Everyone that likes the ocean even a little should get dive certified. The ease and affordability of travel to anywhere in Asia (especially South East).

 

What's your least favorite thing about living at this duty station?

Very crowded, there's a big Air Force and Navy base there as well with only 1 main downtown area. REALLY bad drivers. (They run lights 20 seconds after it turns red. Lots of accidents because there isn't enough police.)

Shopping! 1000% it’s the shopping. The PX and Commissary are VERY poorly stocked. It's as if the people ordering for this island have never lived for any real amount of time on island. They carry a bunch of crap that nobody needs instead of focusing on the necessities for island life. The commissary is an overall disaster. You have to go 2-3x a week to have any chance of getting all the things you need. Shopping visits are a lot like playing roulette. Common things are like red/black bet, you’ve got a 50% chance it'll be in stock. Anything remotely out of the ordinary or specialty is a straight number bet and your odds are 35-1.

 

Is there anything you wish you knew about this duty station before your PCS there?

They have a bunch of American restaurants such as Outback, Longhorn, Panda Express, and McDonalds. It is very remote, just hard to travel and expensive. Drivers are bad and it's expensive to buy a car here because they don't have a lot of inventory.

Stock up on all of your favorite food “specialty” items. Like certain flavored or seasoned snacks. Favorite cooking spice mixes. Think very little variety here and bring about a years supply. Everything that you’re going to have outside will rust! Everything! Things that appear to be 100% plastic sometimes have metals screws and those will rust. I would have also bought large items before coming. Tables, pop up tents, chairs, generators and BBQ grill. Here those things cost twice as much.

 

What amenities are on base? And what are they like? For example: Is the commissary large or small? Well stocked? Pool on base? Parks? How many? Etc.

Camp Blaz is very sparse. It hasn't been a base for very long, no amenities yet. Andersen Air Force Base has all the amenities including a large commissary, food court, exchange with Jamba Juice etc, similar to MCAS Miramar.

I don’t live on base but very familiar with it. Commissary sucks as I’ve already mentioned. Pools and the gym are the newest amenities on base. Maybe 7-10 years old? So it’s pretty nice and large. Parks are small but a lot of them scattered around the housing neighborhoods. Don’t count on them though. They’re not well maintained and often closed. Everyone gets those big trampolines with nets around it for their kids. Bring one if you have kids.

 

What tips or hacks would you give a  military spouse who just PCSed to that base?

If you are going to be on the Marine Corps base or Air Force Base live on the North side of the island. Navy live on the Southside.

Biggest tip I can give anyone coming is to plan as if your going on a very long camping trip. Somewhere that has a general supply store you can get the basic necessities at, but that’s it. If you didn't pack accordingly then I wish you happy hunting at the stores. Keep in mind if you don’t find what you’re looking for at the first two stores, it’s probably out on the whole island so don’t waste your time running around to all the different stores trying to find it. Just give it a month until maybe another shipment of it arrives.

 

Do you live on or off base? What is/was your experience like?

Off base, and like anywhere else it’s all about your neighbors.

 

What are your favorite hang out spots on base? Why?

Tamuning/Tumon Bay is the central tourist area. There are lots of shops, hotels and restaurants.

Don’t really hang out on base. They banned fishing on base and since hanging at the beach is the best part about living on an island, why would anyone chill on a beach you can’t fish at? The base is really limited on activities for single sailors to do.

 

Did you do a DITY move or military move?

 

Are there any base specific traditions that take place? What is the culture like?

Andersen Air Force Base is a bomber base. There's a strategic outlook towards Asia. It's a pivotal area for anything happening in the Pacific. Some very important World War II battles happened on the islands near by (ex. Saipan).

A tradition of blaming locals for the base not having items in stock takes places every few months on social media. It’s not the suppliers or people in charge of ordering, it’s the locals that are veterinarians and retirees shopping on base. How dare them! *sarcasm* It’s a BBQ and large family influence culture.

  

Are there any base FB pages, bloggers, or accounts/websites people should follow for the base or area?

Guam mil spouse page is best. Whole island runs in Facebook. If you don’t have a Facebook, you need one on this island.

 

What is your favorite coffee shop there? Why? What is your favorite order?

 

What are your favorite spots for date night?

Chamorro village on Wednesdays is a lot of fun to walk around. Date night for a nice dinner I’d pick a hotel and try their bar HH and restaurant. Just make you way down the row of hotels to try them all.

 

What are your favorite restaurants? What is your go to order?

I never went to a beach front restaurant that was bad. Lots of options in Tumon Bay.

Can’t go wrong with the hotels. Primo Pizza Kaya is good. Capitol Kitchen is great for brunch.

 

Are there any fun things to do in the area or close to base like amusements parks etc?

Nope!

 

What are some of the things you would put on a bucket list for other military spouses coming to that base?

Two Lovers Point, Talofofo Falls and go on a hike. All the water stuff is a must. Diving, snorkeling, rent wave runners, charter a boat to fish or explore.

 

Are there any cities you recommend for weekend getaways? Why? What did you do there?

Saipan, Tinian are worth a weekend visit. However, Palau is the place to go.

 

Best places or activities for kids? Why?

• Beaches