Stepping back from the Garrison mentality

Having suffered through a Joseph Heller-esque drama of 'The General's PIZZA HUT" in Iraq, this sounds reasonable:

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUST...rpc=22&sp=true

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In the sprawling military base at Kandahar, the fast food outlets facing the axe include Burger King, Pizza Hut, and the U.S. chain restaurant T.G.I. Friday's that features a bar with alcohol-free margaritas and other drinks -- all set along the bustling "Boardwalk" area of the base.

On any given day, the giant square-shaped walkway features the surreal sight of soldiers sipping gourmet coffee and eating chocolate pastries with guns slung across their shoulders, while Canadians play ice hockey at a nearby rink and fighter jets thunder overhead.

The U.S. military says its beef with the burger joints is that they take up valuable resources like water, power, flight and convoy space and that cutting back on non-essentials is key to running an efficient military operation.

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"we used to be stupid. We are now trying to change." Is this what I am reading here?

Every time I read about such facilities, I just figure there is some vast organisational need that forgives being moronic. If you want a cold Coca-cola, put some cans in a canvas bucket and leave it hanging in the shade.

Personally I see great psychological advantage in not making the MOB-FOB anything like "back home."

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Originally Posted by William F. Owen

Personally I see great psychological advantage in not making the MOB-FOB anything like "back home."

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Unfortunately, we have elected to believe the marketers instead of the Soldiers... :mad:

During OIF I, we had hardly any amenities at all. We drank hot water, ate T-rats and slept in pools of sweat.

We wrestled, played spades on MRE boxes and talked #### to each other for entertainment when we weren't busy.

It was the greatest time of my life.

In subsequent tours, with increased amenities, I longed for the days of roughing it. I can't really explain why.

I think that providing soldiers with all these things might make them forget where they are and what they are there to do.

I whole heartedly support this decision.

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Originally Posted by jkm_101_fso

I think that providing soldiers with all these things might make them forget where they are and what they are there to do.

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Of course it does. Vietnam should have shown us this, but that particular lessons seems to have been lost along with so many others.

Of course, now Jim Webb and others want to introduce alcohol downrange. Worked in 'Nam.

We 'learned' all the bad lessons from Viet Nam and immediately purged any that were good...

Old Eagle reminds me that my Battalion commander in 1966 had three RTOs. One for the Bde net, one for the Bn net and the third carried a Packboard with a waterproof bag full of iced beer. If he saw you doing good work, you got a cold beer. Far better morale enhancer than a Coin... :D

My take on the no alcohol thing is, health issues aside, it is really designed to reduce the alcohol induced hassles on leaders. Maybe it needed to happen, I dunno. I do know I'm sure glad I missed it... ;)

This is a big deal being made about something completely irrelevant. We've got a Pizza Hut booth and a Dairy Queen booth here and I've never seen more than 2-3 people in line at either. I do agree that this stuff is irrelevent to the war effort, but are we really flying in Burger King resupply on C-17s? Instead of ammo or Soldiers? The worst was the artilce in Stars & Stripes recently that had the gall to say it should all be pulled because it wasn't fair that some Soldiers didn't have access to it. Since when has the military been about being fair?

This is an easy thing to complain about: sure Troops are getting soft and fat of Big Macs and we don't need this stuff to fight. But the guys in WWII didn't get 15 days of non-chargeable leave during their 9 month deployment. Or laundry service. How about we bring back the old WWII-style deployments "until it's over over there?" Get rid of the internet? We can just write letters, then there are less OPSEC violations, too.

Times change, wars change and amenities change. How about we get rid of the military folk who don't leave the FOBs? That would save on water and electricity and make room for more ammo, too. We've got President Karzai launching all sorts of inflammatory talk as we move into the traditional fighting season and we're focused on frappes. I'm new to being deployed (7 weeks into my first deployment) but shouldn't the focus be, well, elsewhere?

Just my 2 Afghanis.

Mike

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Originally Posted by MikeGreene

This is a big deal being made about something completely irrelevant. We've got a Pizza Hut booth and a Dairy Queen booth here and I've never seen more than 2-3 people in line at either. I do agree that this stuff is irrelevent to the war effort, but are we really flying in Burger King resupply on C-17s? Instead of ammo or Soldiers? The worst was the artilce in Stars & Stripes recently that had the gall to say it should all be pulled because it wasn't fair that some Soldiers didn't have access to it. Since when has the military been about being fair?

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The concern is not intermittent patronage or lack of patronage at Burger King. It is rather how its image, amenities and use affects the readiness and performance of personnel. Temporary stand-down in a fairly secure environment is beneficial. However, provision of benefits and amenities will influence the performance of staff work and other duties on base. Also it is certain that a proportion of current and deferred nervous disorders can be caused or made worse by rapid transition from a somewhat cushioned stand-down on base to a more hazardous state outside the wire.

Mindset is particularly affected by state of being and is indicated by wording. ‘Outside the wire” shows a healthy acceptance that one area can be more dangerous, whereas ‘Indian country’ is weak and suggests an area dominated by an opponent. As an extension it is generally preferable to avoid value-loaded terms and especially jingoism. Hence, ‘opponent’ or ‘enemy’ rather than ‘insurgent’ or ‘terrorist’, ‘somewhat cushioned’ rather than ‘well-appointed’.

What sort of mindset results from availability of a spring bed with mattress, fitted sheet and doona as opposed to a stretcher with sleeping bag and poncho cover ? How about AC power for air-cond and neons not just in medical facilities but in offices, sleeping quarters and mess huts ? Huts as opposed to bunkers and tents ? Beer on tap or an issue of cans from a slab ? Maintenance of an ice-hockey rink as opposed to a sand-box volley or basketball court ? Private instead of shared internet, phone and computer resources ? Ready access to a PX and mail order for almost anything for local or home delivery ? Civil contractors providing slushies, cooks, launderers, drycleaners, maintainers and drivers sometimes using local hires rather than own nationals ?

So where is the line between ‘Indian country’ and ‘outside the wire’ ? Of course austerity can be taken too far but equally there must be a median state and it is unlikely to include Burger King, or an officers or EM club with a padded bar and brass kickrail. Also it is appropriate for military psychologists to be employed in more than psych warfare and treatment of already acquired ailments such as PTSD.

It seems that discard of some on-base amenities in the Afghan theatre has been commenced. Has that process been continued and where is it at now ?

The discard may have been entirely arranged by staff officers but it should be informed by the views of military psychologists. A useful ‘pre-emptive’ task for them would be to poll and assess the opinion of personnel deployed in or about to deploy to a theatre of operations and to then recommend the nature of amenities for each type of base in that theatre.