Burgers go way of booze as US general Stanley McChrystal bans junk food

[RamboLiberal]

Source: TimesOnline

First he banned booze in his Kabul headquarters. Now the notoriously austere commander of US and Nato forces has a new target in his war on terror: ice cream and fast food.

General Stanley McChrystal, the former commander of Special Forces in Iraq, who runs eight miles a day, eats one meal and sleeps for only four hours a night, has given orders to close the junk food concessions on Nato bases.

No longer will the fighter pilots at Bagram or Kandahar airfields be able to ring Pizza Hut to deliver. Once General McChrystal has his way, the Whoppers will be off the menu: Burger Kings at both locations are to close. Even the newly opened TGI Friday’s on the waterfront in Kandahar is to close its doors once its contract expires.

“This is a war zone, not an amusement park,” wrote Command Sergeant-Major Michael T. Hall in a military blog.

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“Supplying non-essential 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 resupplying with ammunition, food and water.”

In September General McChrystal banned alcohol at his headquarters after complaining that too many staff had hangovers. Some troops dubbed it his “war on Stella”.


Read more: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/afghanistan/article7080774.ece

[xultar]

1. They are giving their lives they should be allowed some junk food.

[UpInArms]

3. I understand your point of view, but when war and life are entwined so that

they mimic each other, there is no "war" - just another place to use the plastic to charge it!

Make war be war and peace be peace.

:toast:

[Kolesar]

34. They are fighting for our freedom

And *their* freedom, too, apparently

I almost never eat ice cream because it is sugar and milk fat. I don't like the dairy industry, either.

[saigon68]

41. You wouldn't like Wisconsin either

[Kolesar]

42. Praries and ski trails

I could retire there and be happy.

[davepc]

57. The problem is getting it there. The supply lines are prone to interdiction by insurgents

Most of this stuff needs to be driven in by truck via Pakistan.

[EFerrari]

59. And, isn't it true that the supply situation will remain that way?

There's no real way to secure access, is there?

[yurbud]

61. I agree. Let the old fart himself survive on one meal of grubs a day but give the troops a break

[UpInArms]

2. What? A General wants the war zone to look and act like a war zone?

The horror!

[Webster Green]

4. No Pizza?

What a dick! :thumbsdown:

[Hassin Bin Sober]

46. No Pizza = Communism

[EFerrari]

5. What about your prisoners, General? Oh, look over there -- austerity!

Sell it somewhere else. :thumbsdown:

[truthisfreedom]

6. If he truly is having difficulty getting essential supplies moved to the troops in the field because

the trucks are tied up with luxury fast-food, he's right in closing the fast-food joints. On the other hand, if he's just a control freak, he could be screwing up morale for a lot of our enlisted.

[Codeine]

7. If their morale is pizza-dependent

then they have deeper issues.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

11. The arbitrary suppression of ANY nicety WILL reduce ANYONE'S morale.

Nothing to do with "issues".

[ShortnFiery]

44. It sounds inane, but on extended exercises ... some little things as SIMPLE as

access to a warm shower once a week and an ample supply of toilet paper are top notch morale boosters. :blush:

[pundaint]

27. Like maybe third forced tour in a combat area of unreasonable length and with

no definition of what victory would be?

[ShortnFiery]

43. I wouldn't wish serving over in a foreign land: different language and culture + HOSTILE lands

on my worst enemy let alone our YOUTH, our CHILDREN, our TREASURE. :(

[EFerrari]

24. Or, he could just be a sh!tty manager. n/t

[Ex Lurker]

32. it is a morale issue, but not the way you think

the rear echelon troops on the main bases have most of the comforts of home, while the guys out in the field are living in shitty conditions, to put it mildly. Getting rid of some of the luxuries is a statement that "we're all in this together," whether you're an infantry trooper dodging IED's or a clerk-typist back at Bagram.

[ShortnFiery]

45. But you've also heard that the sh*t flows down hill? If the main base guys are

not happy, they'll screw the troops in the field. IMO, such logic is flawed on it's very surface. IMO, a leader wants their troops needs MET and the people who do the best to look out for the troops are their first line NCOs and company grade officers. If those people are "sharp" then the troops will get the minimum of what they truly need.

[Double T]

8. The military is great a watching the pennies while the...........

billion dollar bills get pissed away without a thought; military 'intelligence' rules. Black market junk food business opportunity for an entrepreneur.

[Psephos]

10. While I agree with you about military pennies and dollars, this isn't about money.

I give him credit for understanding that attitudes and perceptions are fundamentally important, and that military effectiveness depends upon physical and mental fitness.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

12. If a military unit's physical fitness is dependent of cutting their access to pizza...

...they have bigger problems.

[Psephos]

47. It's not about pizza.

"When a wise man points at the moon, fools look at his finger."
- Sufi saying

[Double T]

22. A little junk food never hurt or killed anyone.

Sometimes it might even bring comfort and relieve stress.

[Tumbulu]

26. junk food does effect people very negatively

I would just hope that the food that the military serves is much better than any junk food, but I do not have much faith in that either.

[Hawkeye-X]

29. Military intelligence is an oxymoron

and I'm not talking about Rush.

[Odin2005]

9. Has McChystal forgotten that armies march on their stomachs?

Mess hall slop day-in, day-out isn't gonna cut it morale-wise.

[kiranon]

13. Somebody better watch the strawberries 'cause if some go missing

there's trouble. Was it strawberries in the Caine Mutiny that set the Admiral off? Think this general has gone too far in banning fast food. Just my opinion.

[DebbieCDC]

17. Yes it was.

Does McChrystal have a couple of those steel balls to go click-click with in his hands, just like Bogie did in the movie?

[Kolesar]

33. Captain McQueeg

Great comparison!

[msongs]

14. corporate war pr0fiteers can no longer poison US military? cool nt

[im1013]

23. +100

[James48]

15. Only MRE's from now on?

I thought we were going to do away with torture...

[rpannier]

16. Idiocy nt

[JI7]

18. they should get healthy gourmet meals , but 4 hours of sleep and one meal a day is not healthy

either.

[Bette Noir]

19. Way to support the troops.

If active young adults can't eat pizza, who can? And, where's the freedom they're fighting for?

[AnneD]

37. One of the discrepancies of the military.......

you swear allegiance to the Constitution , but you give up your constitutional rights (you fall under the military code of justice).

I am conflicted on this one. I hear they have revamped the MRE's but when I was in they had to much salt and not enough roughage. And the worst part-only 4 blocks of TP. As a women, I always came back from the field bloated, constipated, and with a major rash. I don't know if it made me a better soldier, but it made me a more meaner person.

I agree with his reasoning as this does too much to 'normalize' war, but this takes it too far in the other direction.

[jmowreader]

20. It appears he's having trouble with his logistics system

Has KBR or whoever is supplying his truck drivers stopped sending him any?

[PerceptionManagement]

21. Let's take away McChrystal's press secretaries, his daily big wet sloppy blow jobs

his minute to minute ass kissers, his catered meals..

[saigon68]

55. Fuck Chrazy Mchristal = War Criminal

[Rage Inc.]

25. Jesus!

It's not like won't work it off!

[rabs]

28. General, we who are about to die ...

... would like one last pepperoni-and-mushroom, thin-crust pizza with a :beer:

Pretty please, SIR!

[Tx4obama]

30. I agree

Those fast food restaurant/trailers with the advertising plastered all over the outside don't look good in a war zone. Also, those other independent shops that are set up at the bases to grab the soldiers money should be banned too. Soldiers don't need to be spending money/signing contracts to order custom cars, $400 sunglasses, etc. while overseas.

[dencol]

31. IMO, they can spend their money how they please.

I get your point, but I am not going to tell anybody working that hard for a living how they should be spending a dime.

[JCMach1]

35. -cough- MORALE -cough-

[POAS]

36. Reminds me of USAF Brigadier General Jack D. Ripper

How are your vital bodily fluids General?

[EFerrari]

58. He reminds me of an evil Frank Burns.

[Blandocyte]

38. Private Benjamin

will not want to sign up for the army if they don't have the one with the condos, the Pizza Huts, the McD's, etc. It's all gonna be the other army now? Heh.

Sorta reminds me of Col. Kurtz's attitude in Apocalypse Now-- as if soldiers with access to fast food and booze are the "diletantes" Kurtz complained of when what he wanted was a small number of "real" warriors.

It'll be interesting to see how this goes over.

[timo]

39. what a dick

I can understand the alcohol, need everybody with a clear head at all times, makes sense, but fuck me running?? a cheeseburger and fries???
damn, thats a little harsh.

[Macoy]

40. Let Them Eat Pizza

This sucks big time. When soldiers from the remote outposts get a chance to visit the larger posts, eating third rate pizza is a huge moral builder. And I am not being snide, after a month or two in a small hellhole, that pizza tastes like ambrosia of the Gods. We would sit and slowly eat our pizza (or Whopper w/ cheese) and savor every bite. Yes, in the back of our minds we would know it was third rate, but we were not back home, we were in Afghanistain and that pizza was the best event of the week.

And don’t forget the fact that it IS a war zone. Who can be so heartless that they would stop a trooper from enjoying what may be one of his last meals?


Macoy

[RamboLiberal]

49. Welcome to DU Macoy

Glad to hear from someone who was there. I can understand it may spoil the Rear echelon troops, but yes it is a morale booster for those coming in the the field to even have a third rate touch of home after the privations and dangers of being out in the hellhole.

IMHO General is dumb on this one. Also IMHO alcohol should be available or the troops will find a way to devise their own or find drugs.

[PassingFair]

54. Aren't you just a TAD surprised that there's a TGIF's in KANDAHAR?

What's next, Walmart?

Are we moving in or fighting a war?

[Octafish]

48. Asshole.

Bet the brass still gets to golf.

[Vinca]

50. That's not right. Pizza is probably the closest thing you can get

to comfort food over there. And what the hell is wrong with having some ice cream? It must be really miserable being in the military and have some holier-than-thou type own your taste buds.

[harvey007]

51. Lose the junk food

Lose the junk food and tobacco, but let them enjoy a beer in the evening.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

52. My god. What's next? Dress codes? Uniforms?

Required physical fitness tests?

[Heywood J]

53. If the general has allowed the delivery of luxuries to

impair the ability to supply war essentials like ammo, food, and water, he's more of a piss-poor manager than I thought. Providing food, water, and ammo should have been the first priority and he's basically admitted he wasn't doing his job.

Honestly, I have to wonder about the sharpness and mental acuity of someone eating one meal a day and getting only four hours of sleep every night. Chronic sleep deprivation doesn't exactly lend itself to sound judgment!

[itsrobert]

56. People used to lose weight on deployments

Now with all the fast food junk, people are coming back from a war zone with a gut.

[noamnety]

64. I've noticed that.

There was a recent picture that made the greatest page - a bunch of badly overweight soldiers in uniform feeding a stray puppy cornpops and strawberry milk. The fact that they were themselves so tubby - while in the military - and that this was clearly their normal diet made me cringe. I held my tongue for that thread because DU was clearly having an "ooooh, look at the puppy" moment. But I remember being put on weight restrictions back when I was 133 pounds, at 5'5". Those guys looked like they had swallowed my former self, I don't understand why the weight limits aren't being enforced ... and if they aren't being enforced through weigh ins maybe the next logical step IS pulling the junk food if that many soldiers aren't responsible enough to have open access to it.

As civilians, it's their own business, but it made me wince to see our soldiers like that.

[classysassy]

60. A Douglas MacArthur

The General/Emperor.Where is Harry Truman when we need him?

[Arkana]

62. Oh come on. Really?

I mean, we tell them to put their damn lives on the line every day--you're telling me they can't eat a little ice cream or fast food?

[Old Troop]

63. It's probably correct

I think the thought is that troops outside of the large bases don't have these things and they are the ones doing the direct fighting. The rear echelon folks have a life not too different than being TDY in a rather austere area, but have many of the comforts of home. We used to get the "any soldier" packages with all the good stuff removed by the folks in the rear.