Goodbye Whopper and DQ!
 

From CNN:

Whoppers, Dairy Queen sundaes and the latest movies will soon disappear for U.S. military personnel serving in Afghanistan, according to a blog posting by Sgt. Maj. Michael T. Hall discussing changes to morale, welfare and recreation facilities on U.S. bases there.

In an effort to put more focus on fighting the Taliban, the military is cutting back on "non-essentials" in Afghanistan, Hall announced on the International Security Assistance Force Afghanistan blog this week. Hall is the command sergeant major for ISAF.

On large U.S. facilities such as the Kandahar and Bagram air bases, that includes closing restaurants such as Burger King, Dairy Queen, Orange Julius and Pizza Hut, dropping first-run movies from base theaters and cutting the amount of canned and bottled goods imported from the States, Hall writes.

“This is a warzone – not an amusement park,” he writes.

“Supplying nonessential luxuries to big bases like Bagram and Kandahar makes it harder to get essential items to combat outposts and forward operating bases, where troops who are in the fight each day need resupplied with ammunition, food and water,” Hall says in the blog posting.

Hall says eliminating the restaurants and other facilities will free up space to accommodate more than 35,000 U.S. and allied troops who will be arriving in Afghanistan in the coming months.

But troops shouldn’t feel neglected, Hall writes, as the military plans to increase fitness centers and Internet and telephone capabilities.

And they’ll still be able to get a good cup of coffee as the Green Beans Coffee outlets at bases across the country will remain open, Hall writes.

U.S. bases in Afghanistan say goodbye to Whoppers, DQ – Afghanistan Crossroads - CNN.com Blogs

Al Udeid has a monopoly on the circus now.

I hear the Muff is going away too. The last (well only) good reason to do the 'died.

“This is a warzone – not an amusement park,” he writes.

I was deployed when this came out. Was this statment really necessary? They could've stopped at we need the resources and everything would've been fine. To insult the the tens and tens of thousands of men and women who have left their families to go fight was uncalled for. Do they believe we are treating the war zone as an amusment park? I don't think the serve UGR at Epicot.

I cannot explain how p-oed this crap makes me... ahhhh. It's not that I have to have these when I deploy.. short periods of time realitively speaking. These things are for the ground guys that are out in the field for extended times... if they want a damn cheeseburger once in a while during their 1+ yr long deployment then so be it!!

Stupid Asses!

The real reason that they're getting rid of DQ and BK is that the whoppers were putting a strain on the AF's ability to ship reflective belts, PT gear, and toner cartridges into theater. More importantly, by eliminating the hundreds of civilian employees, we can free up space for more Master Sergeants to forward deploy and ensure that everyone is properly tucking in their PT gear shirts.

+1 Riddler ... ain't that the truth

Guess the SgtMaj never visited Aviano AB back in the day either.
I'm hearing Al Asad is like a small downtown USA. I wonder if they are cutting down on the 'amuzement park' atmosphere present in other theaters. Btw - this type of morale and welfare is welcomed by those ground guys when they get back to 'home base' after being out on those FOBs. The discourse comes from those that enjoy the benefits every day, instead of only 1 week out of every 3.

USMCFLYR

They'll throw out the "this is a warzone" quote when it comes to DQ, but not when it comes to reflector belts, tucked in PT shirts, and wearing shower shoes to the shower? I guess wishing for consistency is a little too much.

I always felt a little bit insulted that they thought Burger King, Dairy Queen, and Pizza Hut would boost my morale. They take some of the cheapest, mass produced junk that passes for American Culture, and then set it forward as a reminder of the American Way of Life that we're all there fighting for.

But that was just my personal take on it. I hear some people actually want to eat that junk. To each their own I guess.