User's In-Depth Review of Maxwell/Gunter AFB FamCamp, Montgomery, AL

The following review was written and submitted in early March 2023 by website user Dede.

We have stayed at Maxwell AFB FamCamp more than ½ dozen times. We have family in the area, and Montgomery is a convenient stop. Hours 8-5 M-F. The manager is always out of his office. The primary excuses are always the same. He is in a meeting and will be in later this afternoon. He seldom makes an appearance. It is self-serve if you arrive on the weekend or after 5:00 pm. The buildings are deteriorating; steps have rotted away on the clubhouse, and shower, laundry building. Yellow tape is the primary color of choice. Homesteaders have taken over the primary section of camp. Our TDY students have priority, but it has gotten out of hand. Trash everywhere; most are taking advantage of the BHA Basic Housing Allowance. Why get a house? You get water and electricity-free; why not pocket that  $600 to $800 and live in a run-down RV trailer? There is a fine line between an RV park and a trailer park. There is no cable or WIFI.

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INCORRECT Information on Elgibility

A popular website and a RV discussion forum on the Internet recently reported that "ANYONE with a DD-214" can use U.S. Military Campgrounds and RV Parks. THIS IS WRONG INFORMATION!

• Veterans Awarded the Purple Heart
• Veterans Who Are Medal of Honor Recipients (already authorized)
• Veterans Who Are Former Prisoners of War
• Veterans With Service-Connected Disabilities (0-100%)
• Caregivers of Veterans
• NOT "Anyone with a DD-214"!

For more details on this new eligibility, please look at these articles:

• Many Veterans Gain Access to MWR Facilities
• New MWR Access Delayed for Many Veterans
• Expanded Access Fact Sheet
• Veterans Need VHIC for In-Person Access to Commissary, Exchange, and MWR

Lunga Park in Virginia FINALLY Reopens!

After being closed for several years, since WWII unexploded ordinance was found, Lunga Park Recreation Area has been closed. Finally, they are partially re-opening in June 2023. Currently, the RV Park will remain closed. Tent sites, cabin rentals, the marina, and boat rentals will be available.

Lunga Park Information

Navy Starts Using Recreation.gov

The Naval District Washington has stopped using the "Navy Getaways" website (www.dodlodging.net) for reservations of their campgrounds and RV Parks. Instead, the Navy has contracted with Recreation.gov to handle their reservations. This affects making reservations at Navy Recreation Center Solomons, the Pax River Paradise Grove Campgrounds and the Pax River Hog Point Campgrounds.

While the name "Recreation.gov" sounds like a government operated website, it's not. The private company of Booz Allen was contracted by the US Forest Service to operate the Recreation.gov portal for the federal government. Several government agencies use Recreation.gov for handling recreation reservations.

Recreation.gov being operated by a private business brings additional "processing fees" to the cost of reservations at these three campgrounds. Recreation.gov charges a $8 reservation fee if you make a reservation via their website. The reservation fee is $9 if you call in for the reservation. The reservation fee is only charged once per your reservation, whether you stay 1-night or 7-nights.