question about Petewawa

[Guzman]

is petewawa a hole?

haha,ive heard alot of bad things about it.mostly from a certain guy on the "canadas arsenal" furom.
anyone there now or past wanna share there opinions on that base?

thanks

 

[sgtdixon]

From what my father told me Pet is a great place, just dont f*** with the MP‘s there

 

[IceHawk]

I spent two weeks there on an ex a couple years ago, didn‘t see much of the community but from what I did see it looked pretty good. As for the rest of the base, well I walked every mile on the river side of HWY 17 from end to end. Diverse scenery; some desert (kind of), very dense bush, lots of bugs, some grass lands and oh yeah, lots of bugs!! I don‘t think it qualifies as a "hole" but I don‘t live there so...

 

[ArmyBoyzGurl]

lol, thats true.. lots of bugs! my dad was at 427 Tact. Air there.. for 6 years.. its cool, cuz everythigns close, and its a good place to raise kids i guess.. but i havent been there in 8 years, but from what i remember it was okay. The mess used to be pretty good too! (my mom used to work there)

 

[Pugil]

If you like nature and wilderness youll find in Petawawa, it is next to a big parc (Algonquin if I remember). You have beatiful beaches where you can swin during the summer. They have good facilities I like the gym and cafeteria, they are quit new and big. Only problem with Pet is that it is very far from the big cities( Ottawa 2 hours drive) not like Valcartier or Edmonton.

 

[Guzman]

alright,thanks for the info guys.
anyone eles thats been there,please post your opinion of petewawa.

 

[Jarnhamar]

Depends what your going there for. If your doing an ex there then you won‘t see much of anything except the training area.

If your going there on a tasking your main concern should be avoiding going to the bar and getting liquored up. It seems like the bars around that area are arranged so theres a "special night" every day of the week. Mondays are cheep drinks at this bar, tuesdays at another.

If your moving there i‘m told its a very nice place. Theres lots of activities etc.. Its best apparently to live off base (and out of the PMQs) to get away from the army when you "go home"

You are away from major cities like Toronto, Ottawa but you can find most of what you need in Pet or pembroke. For somethign bigger you‘ll have to make a road trip but unless you live in TO or ottawa, you would have to make a road trip to get something in those cities anyways.

 

[Marauder]

I was there on tasking this summer and from what I saw, it‘s a pretty nice area. Mind you, I can‘t speak to quarters or workspaces, I was down on the Mattawa living in tent city with the rest of the filthy, huddled masses of toons hidden away from sight out in the back forty of the training area.

The base is quite pleasant visually, lots of scenery and Pet (the town) is cosy, if not especially large and overflowing with services. Great haircut at the place on the main drag beside the bike shop though. The beaches were nice too, great way to spend a summer‘s night. Just remember to bring lots of bug juice, cause when the sun goes down, it‘s usually because the black flies and skitters have come out to feed. LOL
Pembroke is roughly 30 minutes away by auto, it has a nice little mall with a movie theater there if you have a need to get off base to sepnd some cash and catch a flick. There‘s only one bar that can remember in there, alright if you want to get trashed and start a fight or bag a wompa beast to help you get the medics to give you some penicillin. But they have a Kelsey‘s and some fast food joints and the whole gamet of small town shops too.

Ottawa is only about 90 minutes away by auto, and a great place to spend a weekend if you want to shell out for a hotel room for the weekend. The War Museum is a definite must-stop. Speaking of, Pet has a wicked museum on base, including an outstanding display about all of Canada‘s airborne formations, great to walk through.

Again, I was basically just playing tourist/unwanted houseguest for two months, so take this at face value.

 

[Jungle]

I lived there for a number of years, until 1995 when my employer of the time was forced to close down following a "hostile takeover" !!! BTW it is called Pet a wawa... no big deal. Pugil is right, Pet is a short drive away from Algonquin park, where you will find everything you need for hiking / camping / canoeing etc... The park is accessible through Achray Road from hwy 17. The beach on base (blackbear beach) is outstanding and is co-located with a campground. Pet and Pembroke are typical small towns where you will find almost everything you need, except the selection is not as big as in the city... that is also applicable to women... LOL !!! All in all a very decent posting, with lots of family oriented activities and outdoor opportunities.

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

I spent my first 8 years there in 2 rcha and they had to post me out of there kicking and screaming. All it took was 2 years in Gagetown to convince me to get out.

 

[onecat]

***I spent my first 8 years there in 2 rcha and they had to post me out of there kicking and screaming. All it took was 2 years in Gagetown to convince me to get out.*****

Why is that? Is Gagetown better than Pet?

Here is a question I‘m sure someone out there can answer, as a single guy which is teh better base to be stationed at?

 

[Armymedic]

I‘m in Pet for my 7th yr.....
I was here for 2 as a single guy for my fidrt posting, and its not that good. For a single guy anywhere there‘s a university, ie Fredricton (gagetown), Quebec City (Valcartier), or Halifax are all good, all from experience. As for here, its better if you come hitched up as long as you ‘partner‘ is very supportive. Its hard for spouses, but it a good place for pre-teen kids as there is lots of sports and club to get into. If you like the outdoors, fishing, camping, or hiking, I don‘t know of any other base in Canada you can walk from your home and go do that.

 

[Recce41]

Fellas
I spent 19 yrs of my 22 there, and it was great, my wife loved it, kids loved it. Plus grew up for a while there. Now off to Gagetown and I am going to hate it. That is one reason I‘m getting out. Petawawa is an Operational Base. If you like tours, the only people that hate it are single and Downhomers. It is one of the two places I may move to.

 

[2Lt_Martin]

We downhomers hate anywhere that isn‘t the island, cause we don‘t have anybody to bitch and moan with. If you get two downhomers together bring earplugs and wait for the bitching about how ****ty the mainland is in general.

Also don‘t f@ck with the MWO‘s in Pet. Especially the ones at the leadership school. Not mentioning any names here.

On another note in a previous post the term "toon" is mentioned. Can someone refresh my memory I think it‘s a slang term for reservists, but can‘t quite remember.

 

[Zoomie]

Toon - derogatory term for Reservists; stems from the parent word "Cartoon" ie. only on weekends

 

[Dacier]

That makes me laugh.

Anyway.. at 9:15 AM EST Feb 9th, I‘ll be on the train from Toronto to Montreal. Starting basic this Tuesday the 11th.

Cya all.

 

[RoyalHighlander]

LOL in Pembrook the old Copeland Hotel used to be a good lil pick up place, but some times you had to fight off the locals . Ahh memori3es of the Mattawa Plains camping swimming Piece of advice. If swimming you find what appears to be a mortar round LEAVE IT IN THE WATER ! ! WP rounds used for practice would some times ignite when they dried out

 

[Horse Gunner]

Guys, after spending 9 yrs in the British Army, I decided I wanted to come home and join the Canadian Army. Once all the paper woek etc was completed, I was asked where I would prefer to be posted (depending on which united needed more bodies) and after hearing "horror" stories about Pet, I chose 1 Horse (also as I served in C Bty 3 RHA). So now after reading the above posts, could someone please tell me if I‘ve made a mistake on Choosing Shilo over Pet?

Cheers fella‘s

 

[greeves]

Well, Horse Gunner, is it too late to change your mind? I‘ve been to Shilo once on exercise and didn‘t think too much of the place. Mind you, I‘ve only been there once. However, I have a long association with Petawawa and many fond memories. My parents were married there, I was christened in the St George chapel (Dad was in 1st Bn Canadian Guards and 3 RCR). I also spent 3 summers as an army cadet on the Mattawa Plains and quite a bit of time there as a reservist. The 2RCHA guys I talked to all seemed to love living in Pet. I have a friend who was posted to Shilo with 4th Air Defense Artillery and he hated every minute of it. However, he had just spent the previous 3 years at CFB Baden-Solingen so he may have been a bit biased. Anyway, welcome home HG! By the way, I jumped with members of 2(?)RHA when they came over to earn their Canadian wings. They were the craziest mothers to ever come out of the *** end of a CC-130! On that subject, does anyone know if 2RCHA still has a jump element?

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

Horse Gunner. I spent 8 years in Pet. and loved every minute of it. In fact I tried to get sent there in the career I‘m doing now but it‘s closing down. I only spent three weeks in Shilo doing stuff but I was‘nt impressed with it. Just remember to give it time though. VeryRudeIndeed. I was just going over my jump book and was wondering if it was in 1984 that you jumped with 2RCHA. About 15 of us from D Bty. jumped at Weston-on-Greene to get our British wings. I still get nervous about those way TOO quiet balloon jumps. CHEERS