Joes American Auto And Marine
5) Instead I would like to focus on this weekend - because while Sunday may be the holiday of chocolate hearts and roses, it is also the day of the half marathon. The forecast for Palm Springs is a high of 80 so the weather is cooperating and it appears that I have been able to stay both virus and injury free, although in this last couple of weeks I have definitely been weary that after all this training I would end up either sick or hurt. Now I just have to face the idea of waking up at 4:30 a.m (SO NOT an early morning person) to drive down to Palm Springs and prepare for the 7 a.m. start time. Wish me luck!
But did they take into account that a new Fodor’s guide will have to be written?
[The Fobbit pictured above is from one of the many shirts for sale from my good friends at Ranger Up. I own several of their shirts, and if you buy something, tell them I sent you.]
I have no idea why when I read this story my mind immediately leaped to a movie I have never seen and never will see, but it did. Ah, the vagaries of insanity. (My favorite line of any movie is from the movie Ricochet where the protagonist proclaims: “Going insane, it’s strangely liberating!”) I also enjoyed the title of my friend COB’s post discussing this issue: The 80’s Called. They Want Their Orange Julius Back.
Any time the guys from TAH and VoteVets agree on a subject, you have yourselves near unanimity, and although I would love to disagree for the sake of being contrarian, I just can’t. For those who haven’t read the article yet, let me give you the short story:
Gen. Stanley McChrystal, commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, has ordered many Army and Air Force Exchange Service facilities closed as a way to focus on the war and to provide space for the U.S. troop buildup.
According to a “fragmentary order” issued earlier this month, concessions such as Burger King, Dairy Queen, Orange Julius, Pizza Hut, the Oakley stores and Military Car Sales must be closed within 60 days, with the possibility that each concession could get a 30-day extension.
As CSM Hall wrote on his blog:
Many of you have heard that there are plans to shut down some of the “amenities” throughout Afghanistan. This is not rumor. It is fact. This is a warzone – not an amusement park.
First off, I spent WAY TOO MUCH time on that dumb Bagram Air Base. I loathed it. I was there performing two functions, either as an overworked security guard on the perimeter, or as an under-utilized QRF sitting there watching movies and playing spades (poorly.) I did however, go to the pizza place there occasionally and the Green Beans coffee shop regularly. There was also a young Kyrgyzstani lass who worked at the massage parlor ($15 per hour) that I would have gladly taken to the Big PX if a) I wasn’t mute around women, and b) was fluent in Kyrgyz. And the local bazaar, I am still sorting through the thousands of DVDs I bought there. For instance, the Spongebob movie… Why? When am I going to ever watch the Spongebob movie with a dude’s head in the middle of the screen because it was filmed on a hidden camera in a Karachi movie theater? That aside, when I finally got away from Poguedishu to pull security for President Karzai, to monitor elections in Ghazni, or run around with the ANA in Wardak, I was relieved.
I will be the first to argue that everyone in the military today has an important, if not VITAL role to play. When your pay is screwed up, there is no more important person in the world than the E4 at S1 who is trying to figure out where your money is. When your SINCGARS breaks down, you take it to the 94 Echoes back there to get it fixed. So, this is not about the people on the base. But, it is about the mentality that is pervasive there.
The reason I hated Bagram so damn much had nothing to do with the amenities, but to the thinking that it gave birth to. Coming off patrol you would have to run to the chow hall to get food. And there you face the sworn enemy of all real combat vets: the SGM with a clipboard writing down uniform deficiencies. Bagram had salsa dancing nights, held in the clamshell that also housed a small memo containing General Order #1 (the “No Fun Rule”) wherein sex and alcohol were verboten. You show me a man who likes to salsa dance without women and booze, and I’ll show you an Air Force guy. (I kid, I kid!!!!)
Here’s what COB had to say:
A lot of this kind of stuff started popping up at bases in Saudi Arabia during Desert Shield/Storm. The problem is that the men doing the fighting never see this shit. I know that neither Jonn nor I saw anything close to electricity or running water for seven months.
Now don’t get wrong, I’m all about doing everything that makes sense to take care of the folks “down range” but Orange Julius? Gimme a frigging break.
Richard Allen Smith of VoteVets was in agreement:
Call me old fashioned, but I’m kind of partial to the idea of a force with an attitude of “if one of us is going to suck, we’re all going to suck”. This order from General McChrystal will not only clear out space for the troop increase, but will also decrease animosity between troops on the line and insider the wire. Good move.
Well, what do you guys think? Ridiculous, or give the troops whatever amenities you can safely get to them? I would really like to hear someone opposed to banishing the Basin Robbins et al.
Also, I might know a young Kyrgyzstani lass in need of a new home, and I’m pretty sure my soon-to-be fiance might not approve of my charity. Won’t you open your heart?
Don’t forget to vote on this issue over at The American Legion’s Big Q.
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This entry was posted on Thursday, February 11th, 2010 at 1023 and is filed under Uncategorized, the burner. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
