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Suggest a Feature →Thule & Northwestern Greenland
The top of the world. Space, ice, and the most remote American installation.
Pituffik Space Base (formerly Thule Air Base) in northwestern Greenland is the US military's northernmost installation — 750 miles north of the Arctic Circle at 76°N latitude. It operates missile warning radar, satellite tracking systems, and support infrastructure for Arctic operations. The strategic location at the apex of the Atlantic has been American-controlled since 1951.
Pituffik sits on a bedrock promontory overlooking Baffin Bay and the North Water Polynya — one of the largest open-water areas in the Arctic Ocean, a feeding ground for narwhals, walruses, polar bears, and one of the most productive marine ecosystems in the High Arctic. The nearest permanent human settlement is Qaanaaq (the Inuit village displaced when the base was built), 75 miles north.
This is the most extreme and remote posting in the US military. There are no towns, no off-base restaurants, no roads leaving the base, and no civilian infrastructure beyond what exists on the installation. What it offers is unparalleled: the midnight sun, the polar night, Aurora Borealis of extraordinary intensity, and access to one of the last great wilderness environments on Earth.
Must Eat
The spots worth eating at before you PCS out.
The Dining Facility (DFAC)
"The only restaurant at 76°N. Better than you'd expect."
The Pituffik DFAC serves the entire installation community — military, civilian contractors, and support personnel. The facility is designed to maximize morale in an extreme environment. Special theme dinners and holiday meals are community events in the fullest sense of that word.
MWR Facilities
"The MWR program at Thule is one of the best remote-duty programs in the military."
Thule's MWR understands that morale infrastructure is not optional at this latitude. The facilities include a bar, a bowling alley, gym equipment, and organized activities designed to address the isolation of polar night and the social needs of a small, cut-off community.
Outdoor
Get outside. The land around military installations is usually the best reason to be there.
Ice Sheet Hiking and Skiing
◈ Rare"The Greenland Ice Sheet is accessible from the base. Two miles thick."
The Greenland Ice Sheet — the second largest body of ice in the world, averaging 2,300 meters thick — is accessible from the base perimeter. Organized trips onto the ice sheet for skiing and ice exploration are among the most extraordinary outdoor activities available to any military personnel anywhere on Earth.
Arctic Ptarmigan Hunting
"The rock ptarmigan is the Arctic's most huntable game bird."
Rock ptarmigan are abundant on the rocky terrain around Pituffik and are legal to hunt in season under Danish/Greenlandic regulations. The birds' camouflage (white in winter, mottled brown in summer) makes hunting them a legitimate challenge in the open tundra landscape.
Arctic Sea Ice Kayaking
"Summer sea kayaking through pack ice. One of Earth's most extreme paddle environments."
In late summer when Baffin Bay opens, MWR organizes kayaking expeditions through pack ice and along the rocky Greenlandic coast. Kayaking in the shadow of tabular icebergs with narwhals surfacing nearby is an experience that cannot be replicated at any other US military installation.
Culture & History
Places with stories. Most military towns sit on deep history — dig in.
Qaanaaq Inuit Community
◈ Rare"The Polar Inuit community displaced by the base. Cultural exchange when invited."
Qaanaaq, 75 miles north, is the community of Polar Inuit (Inughuit) people who were displaced from the Thule area when the base was built in 1953. The community maintains traditional dogsled travel, hunting, and kayak traditions. Cultural exchange visits are organized periodically through the base's community relations program.
Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)
◈ Rare"The most intense Aurora viewing on Earth. Visible for months."
Thule's latitude (76°N) puts it directly in the auroral oval — the band of maximum Aurora activity. From September through April, Aurora Borealis events of extraordinary intensity are visible on clear nights. The darkness of the polar night amplifies the spectacle. The University of Alaska Fairbanks aurora forecast is the planning tool.
Family
Stuff to do with the kids. Rated by people who have brought actual children.
MWR Youth Programs
"Thule has active youth programming for the families who accompany personnel."
The MWR youth program at Pituffik is designed around the Arctic environment — organized activities, educational programming about the Arctic ecosystem, and the kind of community that forms when a small group of families lives together in an extreme and isolated environment.
Day Trips
When you need to remember there's a world outside the gate.
"The world's second-largest ice mass. Two miles from the base."
The Greenland Ice Sheet begins approximately two miles from the base perimeter — a wall of ancient ice containing 10% of the world's fresh water. Organized trips onto the ice for photography, skiing, and scientific observation are the nearest thing to a "day trip" at Pituffik.
"The Polar Inuit community. Accessible by dogsled or helicopter."
The nearest human community, accessible by helicopter (weather permitting) or in winter by dogsled across the frozen fjord. Cultural exchange visits to Qaanaaq are among the most unusual human experiences available to US military personnel.
Vitamin D supplementation is clinically recommended during polar night (October through February). Consult the base medical officer within the first month.
A high-quality light therapy lamp is not optional during polar night — it is a clinical tool. Bring one or acquire one through MWR.
The community at Pituffik is small (typically under 200 personnel plus contractors). Social dynamics in small, isolated groups are intense. Invest in positive relationships early; they carry you through the dark months.
The financial benefits of a Thule assignment (hazardous duty pay, remote assignment allowance, no civilian expenses) can result in significant savings if managed deliberately. Many personnel use the assignment to pay off debt or build a down payment.
Pituffik Space Base is not a normal assignment. The polar night (November–January has zero hours of sunlight), the extreme cold (-40°F with wind chill), the complete isolation from civilian infrastructure, and the small-community social dynamics create psychological challenges that standard briefings understate. Seasonal Affective Disorder is almost universal in some form. The assignment attracts people who genuinely want the extreme environment — and it can be transformative for them. For people who didn't actively choose it, the adjustment is significant. But the mission is consequential, the natural environment is unlike anywhere else on Earth, and the people who do it well carry the experience with them for the rest of their lives.
This guide is built by people who've been stationed here. If there's a spot we got wrong or a gem we missed, tell us.