LVL_CHG,
I finished Line Training in the middle of last year and was then sent off to a base in which I had no choice whatsoever. Admittedly, it wasn't a terrible base as it was a 5/4 roster with many flights a day back to the UK so commuting was very easy.
I spent less than a year in this base then got my first preference and I'm now based at my home town airport. The chances of this are slim. I'm very lucky but the basing policy is extremely UNFAIR and RANDOM as I'm sure has been highlighted in this thread. It still stands that few people get based where they want very quickly, others eventually and some, never.
GD