Military Campgroungs Standards

We have experienced the same thing from time to time at military and private campgrounds and a "thank you" does mean a lot and we all like to hear it when we feel we went the extra yard for someone. Some of these hosts are without a spouse and an invite to a home cooked meal or giving them a home baked treat would be a special way of saying thank you. We also make a point of knowing their name and find the time to let the campground manager know what a super host they have and what the person did to make us feel the host went above and beyond what was expected of them. Tipping somehow does not feel right and I doubt most of them would expect a monetary reward anyway.

For the camp hosts I manage (USFS campgrounds), they are not allowed to accept money tips. HOWEVER.... as mentioned, inviting them over for a meal, or social hour, or giving them some cookies, a bottle of wine, etc.. is GREATLY appreciated by the hosts. And don't forget the comment cards. These are small ways to show your appreciation for their work and it means a great deal to them.

As we are into our 3rd year as camp hosts, the best compliment you can give when hosts have been extra helpful is to leave the message on here, if it is a military cg, along with an ICE comment, or even the comment cards...and of course, your kind words in person.....One heart felt "thank you for what you do" means so much....When, as in being a host, you are usually fielding complaints, fixing things, and trying your darness to make people's stay the best experience ever, kind words make the day go so much better.....

Wouldn't it be nice if this forum served as a resourced community of interest providing constructive criticism to the below listed MWR leaders on the viability of MCG's!

Without end user input MCG's could easily be cut as not directly supporting the "warrior" and the on-base family!

MWR Leaders look to protect best programs

www.defense.gov//news/newsarticle.aspx?id=62755

Robert L. Gordon while appearing before the House Armed Services Committee’s military personnel subcommittee pledged to sustain military families’ best programs while searching for ways to deal with inevitable budget cuts.

Gordon said “Our services have done a very good job assessing the programs for the degree to which they provide effective quality of life for service members and their families,”

Robert L. Gordon III www.defense.gov/bios/biographydetail.aspx?biographyid=261

Rich Gorman www.army.mil/fmwrc/docs/bioGorman.pdf

Charles E. Milam www.afsv.af.mil/leadership/bio.asp?id=11222

Timothy R. Larsen slsp.manpower.usmc.mil/gosa/biographies/...2014&PERSON_TYPE=SES

Thanks for the links and the article.

I wish we could find these folks email or mailing addresses.

I've been a Camp Host for a number of times so I'm going to put my two cents worth in (which about as much as it's worth). Along with the CGs, let's standardize Camp Hosts:

1- They can’t be anti-social.
2- The personality must at least borders on human.
3- Helpful attitude.
4- Must create a positive first impression
5- Must not give the impression that they own the CG.
6- Have a sense of humor that gets exercised
7- Pass a stringent course in tact and tolerance
8- Can enforce with diplomacy
9- Required to start every conversation with “We’re glad
you’re here. How can I help you?”
10- Knows the installation, surrounding area, and are not
geographically challenged in giving directions.

Then we need to standardize campers:

1- Read the rules and observe them.
2- Host is a misnomer. Think of them as Camp Shepherds
3- They don’t work 24/7 so observe the same courtesy in
knocking on their door, as you would expect at your own
home.
4- Use some tact and judgment when expressing a complaint
5- Deal with them using the same attitude and respect
you’d deal with your mother. If you’ve never had one,
then a one-time exception can be made for your bad
attitude.

The host's authority on the installation is minimal. Kind of like a locomotive engineer. They don’t have the power to steer the train and can’t make it stop on a dime. But if it jumps the track they are the one’s who catch hell.

larryf wrote:

These are small ways to show your appreciation for their work and it means a great deal to them.

By all means, provide a positive, written comment about good performance. One atta-boy from you may wipe out some of those ah-craps they got that weren’t deserved. A positive word of praise is one of the better things that make the job of being a Camp Host worth doing.