Soldiers looking for a comforting snack from home may have to wait until they get back in the states. The U.S. Military is taking steps to remove fast food chains from its bases in Afghanistan.
Military officials feel that these restaurant outlets are consuming valuable resources like water, flight, power, and convoy space. Axing extras is part of the plan to run a more efficient military campaign. “This is a war-zone – not an amusement park,” Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Hall wrote in a blog entry earlier this year.
Large bases like Bagram and Kandahar are home to several U.S. chains including Burker King, Pizza Hut, T.G.I. Fridays, Orange Julius, and Dairy Queen. According to Hall, these luxuries make it more difficult to transport essential supplies to combat outposts and forwarding operating bases.
Other proposed cuts include fewer canned and bottled items coming into Afghanistan, as well as fewer entertainment programs. The fast food restaurants continue to attract winding lines of U.S. soldiers, but their contracts are not expected to be renewed when they expire.