So here I am sat in the middle of southern Afghanistan in the intense heat with one question on my mind… Subway or Burger King?
It will come as a surprise to most I’m sure that the coalition forces’ base at Kandahar boasts many of the comforts of home – and possibly even more.
I spent this morning with members of 42 Commando’s mortar troop on the outskirts of the base practising live firing.
Due to the length of time it took to interview and film the guys we missed lunch at the mess hall.
There I was ready to crack open one of the ration packs prepared for our forthcoming operation when Captain Alex Burlingham, 42’s press guy, suggested a visit to the ‘Boardwalk’.
The boardwalk, I’m told built and named by the Americans, boasts any number of eating establishments from home. You name it: Pizza Hut (still Pizza Hut and not Pasta Hut out here), Burger King, Subway… the list is endless.
The story goes that the square shaped wooden structure (roughly the size of a football pitch) was built by the Americans from the wood they’d collected from cargo boxes carrying kit.
Once it had been built they leased the various stalls out to the food giants for those home comforts.
Not only that, the Canadians also came on board with the idea and built a full-on hockey court.
It is surreal to say the least. But still, you can’t blame them when the average US deployment is at least 12 months. That’s a year away from home with little over a few weeks for rest and relaxation.
Yes the coalition forces are at war, but I guess you need some downtime.
Aside from the boardwalk there’s also stores selling cheap goods (everything from Nike Air trainers and knives to iPods, DVDs and sleeping bags), gyms, coffee shops and even a massage parlour.
They say an army marches on its stomach and here it is essential that the troops are well fed.
On the base there are countless mess halls where servicemen and women can eat to their heart’s content.
Soup, fruit, yoghurts, cooked breakfast, roast dinners, and even trifle, are served three times a day every day.
Eating in the huge mess halls (similar to school canteens) is a fascinating experience.
With each visit you can sit beside Brits, Canadians, Aussies, Yanks, Dutch, Spanish, French, or even Afghans.
And the conversations which go with each sitting are bizarre to say the least.
The marines, it seems, like nothing more than to rip shreds out of the Yanks for their deployment lengths.
And if you want some downtime you can watch Sky News or American network television on any one of a number of fixed widescreen tvs.
Due to operational security I’m still not sure exactly what I will be doing with each passing day. There is talk of an operation with 42 Cdo within the coming days, and there is also talk of moving further afield to visit another of the unit’s companies.
It’s all on a need to know basis and I seemingly, do not need to know just yet.
With any luck I will have the chance to update the blog as I go.
I’ll be in touch.
Tristan
It will come as a surprise to most I’m sure that the coalition forces’ base at Kandahar boasts many of the comforts of home – and possibly even more.
I spent this morning with members of 42 Commando’s mortar troop on the outskirts of the base practising live firing.
Due to the length of time it took to interview and film the guys we missed lunch at the mess hall.
There I was ready to crack open one of the ration packs prepared for our forthcoming operation when Captain Alex Burlingham, 42’s press guy, suggested a visit to the ‘Boardwalk’.
The boardwalk, I’m told built and named by the Americans, boasts any number of eating establishments from home. You name it: Pizza Hut (still Pizza Hut and not Pasta Hut out here), Burger King, Subway… the list is endless.
The story goes that the square shaped wooden structure (roughly the size of a football pitch) was built by the Americans from the wood they’d collected from cargo boxes carrying kit.
Once it had been built they leased the various stalls out to the food giants for those home comforts.
Not only that, the Canadians also came on board with the idea and built a full-on hockey court.
It is surreal to say the least. But still, you can’t blame them when the average US deployment is at least 12 months. That’s a year away from home with little over a few weeks for rest and relaxation.
Yes the coalition forces are at war, but I guess you need some downtime.
Aside from the boardwalk there’s also stores selling cheap goods (everything from Nike Air trainers and knives to iPods, DVDs and sleeping bags), gyms, coffee shops and even a massage parlour.
They say an army marches on its stomach and here it is essential that the troops are well fed.
On the base there are countless mess halls where servicemen and women can eat to their heart’s content.
Soup, fruit, yoghurts, cooked breakfast, roast dinners, and even trifle, are served three times a day every day.
Eating in the huge mess halls (similar to school canteens) is a fascinating experience.
With each visit you can sit beside Brits, Canadians, Aussies, Yanks, Dutch, Spanish, French, or even Afghans.
And the conversations which go with each sitting are bizarre to say the least.
The marines, it seems, like nothing more than to rip shreds out of the Yanks for their deployment lengths.
And if you want some downtime you can watch Sky News or American network television on any one of a number of fixed widescreen tvs.
Due to operational security I’m still not sure exactly what I will be doing with each passing day. There is talk of an operation with 42 Cdo within the coming days, and there is also talk of moving further afield to visit another of the unit’s companies.
It’s all on a need to know basis and I seemingly, do not need to know just yet.
With any luck I will have the chance to update the blog as I go.
I’ll be in touch.
Tristan
Twitter: @tristan_nichols
No comments:
Post a Comment