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Soldiers' Creature Comforts?
 By Tom Shoop | Friday, August 22, 2008  |  03:34 PM

"Being on a big military base, even one in a relatively dangerous spot, can feel a bit like being on a cruise ship," writes Graeme Wood in a dispatch on TheAtlantic.com. "Grand exertions are made to ensure comfort, and leisure is organized: basketball at six, bingo at 11."

Writing from Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan, Wood notes the dizzying array of multinational and multicultural restaurants that have been dropped into the war zone, and the other efforts to provide at least some of the comforts of home to a diverse group of coalition forces.

It's common for people to say that easy access to pizza and burger joints makes soldiers soft. (Wood quotes a Vietnam veteran in Iraq, working for DynCorp, as saying that today's soldiers "aren't worth a hair on a Nam vet's ass.") But ultimately, he writes, the real problem may be that making deployed life a pale imitation of the home front could sap troops' morale.

"The happiest soldiers I met, Wood says, "were the ones who spend months at a time in bleak, perilous conditions, and who scorn the doughnuts and menus of their less exposed countrymen."



Comments


Chris Levi, thanks for your service and thanks for your "boots on the ground" insight.

JoeB  | Tuesday, August 26, 2008 |  07:49 AM


I'll bet Dan never had to squeeze a trigger and watch a body jerk, and until he does he should reserve his comments on combat or its participants until he does.

John W.  | Monday, August 25, 2008 |  06:47 PM


Dan Ketter should have read the article in question before spouting off his usual crabby nonsense.

The piece didn't pass judgement on the troops, but rather described the conditions under which they serve in Afghanistan.

Any legitimate criticism of military policy is misrepresented by some elements (such as Mr. Ketter here) as somehow not supporting the troops or evidence of disrespect toward the armed forces.

Clive A.  | Monday, August 25, 2008 |  08:43 AM


Being in country (Iraq)right now and having been exposed to both ends of the creature comfort spectrum, to an extent the idea that the lesser the living conditions are the happier and more cohesive a unit is, bears great amounts of truth. Now having thrown that out there the reason that all of these things exist out here are three fold, one there are more civilians out here than GIs, so they surely demand such comforts and quality of living for themselves and secondarily we GIs as well, The second reason these things are out here are Moms and Congressmen, they both want to feel better about Private/Airman/Seaman Snuffy being out here, thus a few creature comforts and lastly (but assuredly not least) these things are big business or the most parts, yes there are several services and such for free but your comfort foods (read junk) and all of your PX items and such are all for sale... at prices often AAFES and their distributers should have shame for. So yes these things are out here but the one thing that must never be forgotten its these guys and gals are all here of their own accord and are here to win the war. So if they have things better than their predecessors, so what. The fact that these things exist for them in no way lessens their resolve, fighting spirit or their ability to do whatever it is that they are (highly) trained to do.

Chris Levi  | Monday, August 25, 2008 |  03:46 AM


A pacifist magazine is now passing judgement on the troops. Bet he's using all the creature comforts that are there for the military and paying nothing for the privilege. He's a former protester and he belongs in the rear with the gear

dan ketter  | Friday, August 22, 2008 |  05:08 PM



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Government Executive Editor Tom Shoop takes a look at news and events affecting the federal bureaucracy, from the perspective of a longtime observer of government.

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