Caches on military bases.

[+ZeroHecksGiven]

Did they loosen the restrictions on visiting museums? The last time I had checked (which was several years ago) you had to know someone on base to get permission to even visit the museum. This was at Fort Lewis.

 

I'm pretty sure you're right, even before 9/11. I had the chance to visit there about 12 years ago or so and it was a fun museum, but pretty sure you needed the proper credentials or know the right people

 

I did a quick search and found this site: https://sponsor.lewis.army.mil/requests/linkspage.htm

Which seems like you should be able to get access at the very least, but then near the bottom in read it mentions needing to have a sponsor of some sort. I suppose it would only take a phone call to get to the bottom of it, but this is probably nearing "off topic" status, so I'll leave it at that. Besides, museum will be closed until 2011 it seems.

Edited November 22, 2009 by NWCREW

[+erik88l-r]

As the geocaching.com volunteer reviewer who's probably published most of the caches hidden on base in Iraq and Afghanistan I'm happy to do it. We have had a couple of issues crop up that have resulted in some special steps to the review process, though.

 

First, I've had a civilian geocacher from Jordan e-mail me to say that he was nearly killed trying to hunt a cache on base, so I've asked that every cache page for such a cache on a base in the middle east clearly state that it is on a military base and that proper credentials are needed to access it.

 

Secondly, we've had someone in the military contact geocaching.com and express concerns that GPS coordinates can somehow be used for targeting by the bad guys, who also have internet access. For that reason we ask that all cache hiders there confirm that they have permission from their CO or other base authority.

 

The situation in some countries is a bit different though. On Okinawa and Guam, for example, there are lots of civilian geocachers, and it's not fair to them to have cache on a base that they can't access. So none are knowingly published on base there. Guantanamo is part of Cuba, but the only civilian geocachers there are tourists visiting from abroad. There I ask that the cache page state that the cache is on base so those folks don't waste their time driving around to the Gitmo side of the island.

 

I would think that caches on US bases that have areas open to civilian recreation would be published without any problems assuming that the CO has obtained permission. We can't assume permission for geocaching on base just because hiking or fishing is permitted.

 

~erik~

[+Castle Mischief]

Secondly, we've had someone in the military contact geocaching.com and express concerns that GPS coordinates can somehow be used for targeting by the bad guys, who also have internet access. For that reason we ask that all cache hiders there confirm that they have permission from their CO or other base authority.

 

 

Let us hope the bad guys never figure out how to install Google Earth.

[Knight-Errant]

For what its worth, we have been advised by a fellow local cacher that on at least one military installation in Iraq had all its caches removed by order of the installation commander. However, to comply with this order the cacher had to first FIND each and every one of the caches on the installation, before the removal could be facilitated.

 

We do see valid arguements for both sides of the issue and our opinion is that if express permission is given by the military authority in charge AND it is in a publicly accessible area, then the possibility of cache placement (on property controlled by a military installation) should exist.

Another issue to consider is the sometimes unclear boundries of a military installations. In one of the previous posts, there was mention of a publicly accessible museum. Next to one of our local installations there is a museum that would seem to be part of the facility, but is actually entirely owned and operated by the local city and has been for years. However, Google Maps, Mapquest, Yahoo!, Rand McNally, and Bing all still show it being part of the installation proper.

[+GrandpaGene]

Currently, AFAIK, there is a virtual and a earth cache on Fort Sill, Oklahoma at Medicine Bluff. There were two traditional caches in the cantonment area, one close to the museum, I believe. Last time I looked there were two in Fort Pickett, Virginia close to a lake that is open to civilians, especially for fishing, though they do have to insure that close by ranges are not active. There are also several virtuals at Arlington National Cemetery.

[+bflentje]

Currently, AFAIK, there is a virtual and a earth cache on Fort Sill, Oklahoma at Medicine Bluff. There were two traditional caches in the cantonment area, one close to the museum, I believe. Last time I looked there were two in Fort Pickett, Virginia close to a lake that is open to civilians, especially for fishing, though they do have to insure that close by ranges are not active. There are also several virtuals at Arlington National Cemetery.

 

Yep, I've done the ones at Fort Sill and Arlington. There's also one at the publicly accessible campground at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin, outside of the razor wire fence.

[+bflentje]

Currently, AFAIK, there is a virtual and a earth cache on Fort Sill, Oklahoma at Medicine Bluff. There were two traditional caches in the cantonment area, one close to the museum, I believe. Last time I looked there were two in Fort Pickett, Virginia close to a lake that is open to civilians, especially for fishing, though they do have to insure that close by ranges are not active. There are also several virtuals at Arlington National Cemetery.

 

Yep, I've done the ones at Fort Sill and Arlington. There's also one at the publicly accessible campground at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin, outside of the razor wire fence.

 

I also forgot to mention that there's an oldie inside the fence at Fort Leavenworth, KS (the base, not the prison).

[+hzoi]

This is a bit of a zombie thread. But to answer the original poster's question, it is up to each installation commander to determine what is allowed on their installation and what is not. In deployed areas (or "downrange"), with tighter access controls and Soldiers who are not allowed to go outside the wire for recreation, commanders were more willing to allow geocaching on post. They also didn't have family members to worry about. Stateside, posts are more open, meaning that commanders have less control about who is coming in the gate, so some may be less willing to let people leave containers in random areas on their installation.

 

That said, there are a number of installations stateside that allow at least virtual and earthcaches (e.g., Fort Sill, Oklahoma) and some that even host a large number of physical caches (e.g., Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, which requires a recreation permit).

 

Want your local installation to allow geocaches? A request to the Morale, Welfare and Recreation office (or service equivalent) is probably a good way to get started.