RAF Lakenheath? How is it?

[Spectre08]

Hey, can anybody tell me any first or second hand information about firefighting at Lakenheath and the community around it?

Does the department run alot of calls? Do they do alot of mutual aid? What kinds of calls are most common? How are the facilities? etc.

[2andfrom]

Hey, can anybody tell me any first or second hand information about firefighting at Lakenheath and the community around it?

Does the department run alot of calls? Do they do alot of mutual aid? What kinds of calls are most common? How are the facilities? etc.
Don't know about the firefighting side of Lakenheath-I did mine down the road apiece in London, but I tell you for nothing--- you are in for a nice surprise if you are into old English pubs!!

Hint-- do not try it on with the Yankee "Big Chief I Am" with the locals, you are not the first Septic they have met-and if you go to Grimes Graves you will find out that this area has a history that goes back into the Stone Age.
A pub in Brandon "The Flintknappers" will give you a clue.

[Spectre08]

Don't know about the firefighting side of Lakenheath-I did mine down the road apiece in London, but I tell you for nothing--- you are in for a nice surprise if you are into old English pubs!!

Hint-- do not try it on with the Yankee "Big Chief I Am" with the locals, you are not the first Septic they have met-and if you go to Grimes Graves you will find out that this area has a history that goes back into the Stone Age.
A pub in Brandon "The Flintknappers" will give you a clue.

oh yeah, I have nothing but love and respect for English culture and history. I've studied it alot and was bouncing off the walls when I heard I was getting sent there. My family is of Scottish and English decent and I'm very proud of my heritage. My mom is actually worried that I may just stay in England for 4 years then get out and stay there. I'm afraid that in about 6 month's I'll have picked up the accent full blown.

[Tillerman17]

I was stationed at Lakenheath ( The 48th Tac fighter wing) from '82-'85 and I loved every minute of it. When I was there they still had F-111's but changed over to the F-16 a few years later. The base has a proud history since it is one of the only surviving Tac-fighter wings left over from our days in France after the war. Lakenheath boasts of being the "Statue de la Liberty" ( Statue of Liberty) wing and you'll recieve the patch when you get there. Although I was on the weapons side I know that back then the FD was fairly busy, but don't expect much in the way of structural fires. The base is Ministry of Defense property and they have a fairly strict fire prevention standard. The aircraft are stored in concrete shelters called TDB-V's, some of which are reputed to be haunted by Lakenheath Charlie, a pilot who crash landed during the war somwhere on the airfield. This slow life will give you plenty of time to study!!!!! Here's some invaluable advice though---DONT BECOME A DORM RAT!!!!!. get out and experience England and the surrounding countryside. The locals are very pro-US, now, nothing like the days when I was there with the Nuclear weapons. They didn't like those too much. If you get the chance- get a place off base with a couple of buddies and tour East Anglia ( Thats the county you'll be in). If you're a WWII buff there is a lot of rich history from the war in this area. Good luck and have fun!!! Oh--Did I mention the beer!!!!!!!BEER!!!!!!!!!!BEER! !!!!!

[SilentSunday]

was stationed in lakenheath for two years in 1999-2001. this place is wonderful. the surroundings are awesome. Bury St. Edmunds is a popular place to party. the women are very loving and the beer is some of the best in the world. i liked driving over there, the cars take a little getting used to though. the road system is much better cause you don't have light after light after light. stay away from The Flintknappers in brandon. it will not matter how much you respect them. it's an antiamerican bar. also if you like history, this is the place for you. get out and meet the people ... they love us

[SilentSunday]

by the way how do you get on over there at lackenheath. i am afraid i have talked myself into wanting to go. lol

[Spectre08]

by the way how do you get on over there at lackenheath. i am afraid i have talked myself into wanting to go. lol


I just put it on my little sheet at basic training and they said "ok, you're going to Lakenheath." and I says "YAAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY" and started jumping around like a madman.

[2andfrom]

SilentSunday/Spectre8--it wasn't always anti. Brandon in the late 50's early 60's was the real "Sleepy Hollow" English village.People still remembered world war 2 very well and were grateful to all Allied servicemen, and also the Cold War was running at full temperature.
A mate of mine run "The Forest" pub--now closed I believe. It started to go a bit pear shaped when the locals were told constantly "You earn just that much in a week?. We get that in a day!" The farm hands were frozen out of pubs and homes, cos the prices went up-- why rent a cottage to a low paid farm worker when you can get triple that from a constant supply of Foreign Servicemen--you do not need a crystal ball to work out what happened over a period of time.
Would not surprise me to see a "Al Quaeda" recruiting office in Brandon High Street! (And before you throw all your toys out of the pram-its a joke--remember the English sense of humour?)

[dfire582]

Hello, I'm looking for a contact with the RAF Lakenheath Fire Department. I would like to trade a t-shirt and patch. I'm a professional firefighter from Iowa and was stationed at Lakenheath from 1984-1989. There has been alot of good advice about Lakenheath in this thread just remember that the tour is what you make of it. If you chose to spend all your free time on base the tour will suck, but if you get out and experience the UK and Europe it will be the best time of your life. I lived in Brandon in an substandard flat that my landlord over charged for. As typical of the landlords in the area they over charged rent and took advantage of the US servicemen and women needing housing. I had never seen a piece of coal before much less having to heat a flat with a coal fireplace. On the positive side England was the best experience of my life and I would not trade that experience for anything. While living in NewMarket my next door neighbor was assigned to the Lakenheath Fire Department, I worked the flightline. He was assigned to the fire station at RAF Feltwell and seemed to love his job. I don't think they ran on to many calls. From what I remember the majority of the department calls for Lakenheath had to deal with inflight emergencies.

[2andfrom]

This thread has had a "Heart Starter"--named after a certain beverage taken in the early hours on a very cold English winters day--one third Woods Navy Rum -Two Thirds Tea with milk-2 spoons sugar,served hot, if this don't get the "ticker" going -nail the lid shut, you're clinically dead!

Now the important bit is over, can any one tell me if the American Airbase at
West Malling in Kent, Southern England and another one at Manston near Ramsgate are operational?Or if not when did they pull the pin?
Had some raving parties at West Malling in the early 60's--you colonials certainly knew how make us LFB blokes welcome--my mate was Crash Crew there.
Thats how I got the extended welcome mat up in Lakenheath