I was wondering what other military spouses think about the General that is over in Afghanistan wanting to shut down fast food, no Hodgie shops, no coffee shops, and no movies.
Will this help the Soldiers focus? How many of them take computers, DVD players, video games with them? Will that be banned too?
I guess there was talk of shutting down AAFES, but the Soldiers need access to hygiene items, etc., so they are talking about limiting what is sold by AAFES.
What's your take on all of this?
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Yeah, I don't see this helping matters. I see it ticking off a lot of people by taking away what little comforts they actually have over there which allow them to de-stress at the end of the day/week/whatever. I see it turning an already terribly stressful situation into something even worse.
I agree with Noel. They need these little comforts to feel more at home. Maybe they should just punish those using items during business hours more harshly instead of taking away their free time. I am not a big fan of the "Hodgie shops" but that's because I am paranoid lol.
I just think that the General will make things worse... If the soldiers dont have movies or video games etc. they will find worse things to do with their time...Get into alot more trouble then just sitting in their hooches...And its their only way to forget that they are in Afghanistan for 2 seconds... He will be just shooting himself in the foot if that happens...just sit back and watch cause they dont care what we think...
So I am not quite sure what this General is thinking... How are fast food, and coffee distractions???? Movies.. what else are they supposed to do on their down time??? They are taking enough away from our soldiers..pulling them away from their families, making them miss the birth of their children... and all the little things in life that bring all of us such joy, and things that most people in the civilian world take for granted! Our soldiers deserve the few "stress relievers" they have access to, and they deserve to be able to make "the best" out of a really rough situation! If they are going to take away all the "luxuries" they have over there why not just take away phones, computer access... and hey why not take away stamps, pens, and paper too while they are at it... we wouldnt want the soldiers to be distracted by their families now would we??? (hopefully everyone got the sarcasm in that!) Our soldiers are watching their friends get hurt, or even killed.. if they have no "escape" from the reality of their lives while at war they will seriously lose their minds! Things are already bad enough for them, this will only make it worse!!! How would a general who has such a long career in the military not understand the importance of these "luxuries"! They are not a distraction... they are a temporary comfort, a temporary "escape" even!
I think everyone else has said it pretty well, life seems to be miserable enough without family, friends and creature comfort (Toilet paper going out to friends this weekend :)!) and this will surely make it worse.
As for spring cleaning...maybe after spring break, and snow melting,... and I get my house unpacked of course.
I think it's a load of horse poo, but what do I know. I don't wear stars on my lapels. But what a crappy idea.
I think it's a very, very bad idea.
I do not think this will help them focus anymore. In fact, I believe it will be counter productive. DVD's, Video Games, and computers are a few ways that they Soldier's relax, what little time they get to relax. Not to mention computers, you tell me they're taking away my husband's ability to skype or email me, and I'm an angry Army wife ready to march on Washington. I can understand why he wants them to focus more, but taking away the few things they have left that will help them stay sane, is taking away the very things that are keeping them alive. Without an outlet, they will constantly in "mission mode" as my hubby calls it. This could be very dangerous for many reasons. Bottom line is that General ( all due respect), needs to talk this through with more than just his Aide-de-camp and maybe get with the guys that travel outside the wire on mission and figure out what they need, to be more productive, instead of taking things away.
What do the Generals do for fun?
I think you are all forgetting something: this is Afghanistan. These amenities only EXIST on two or three larger bases in the entire country. The thought process behind it is that there are thousands of guys and gals in smaller bases and more remote places withOUT TGI Fridays and movie theaters. This is not Iraq. The idea was to equalize everyone and not make people bitter that they don't have access to these things that ::ahem:: only certain branches of the military have access to. (I'm not knocking this branch I'm alluding to, just saying its unfair.) I'm in full support of the general's decision, as BF and many of my friends are currently at these remote places where they don't even HAVE a Hodgie shop let alone a Burger King. They don't have barracks, they're in tents. They don't have heat, they don't have showers or toilets. Let's work on getting everyone a bed before we bitch and moan about getting certain areas luxuries.
Before I get flamed, I agree that everyone over there deserves these distractions, but not at the expense of their commrades who are in worse-off areas.
The only thing that let my Soldier feel halfway sane over there was the familar things like fast food and movies. F the Generals and their politics. These troops are under enormous stress and shame on any of these higher ups acting like they know what it's like! When was the last time you saw a General do anything but drive a desk?
The same problems exist in Iraq though Kayla, so that isn't the reasoning behind the General's decision. In Iraq, my husband was never able to call once a week, much less every day. He didn't have any of the perks that most of the Soldiers did have over there, unless he traveled to a different location. So should they just eliminate everything in order to make it equal across the board in both locations?
Why is this starting to sound like health care reform?
It does seem sad that they would take this all away from them. Even though not everyone has access to it on a daily basis, at least it is there.
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