To begin the drawdown in Afghanistan, our troops in 17 Afghanistan bases had had their most important meal of the day cut back to only MREs (Meals Ready to Eat). Where is a good breakfast more important than when fighting in Afghanistan in a remote outpost? The original 17 were expected to be extended beginning February 1, 2013. Congressman Bruce Braley (D-IA) received letters from his constituents saying their family members were no longer receiving a hot breaksfast. Braley wrote to Army Secretary John McHugh to protest the move. Yes, when we entered Iraq our soldiers were eating MREs three times a day, but this isn’t 10 years ago, this is today. Apparently, we are readying to hand the post over to the Afghans. I suggest we serve the hot breakfasts and give the Afghans the pot and pans when we leave.
The Won
Bruce Braley
UPDATE from Contributor findalis (can you imagine our soldiers fasting at Ramadan????):Â
I heard from my neighbor whose son is at the front in Afghanistan that they aren’t even getting MREs. In fact they sometimes only get one meal a day (Dinner). He sent out a “Care Package†of cereal, breakfast bars, powdered milk, etc… He is furious.
There is a rumor going around that base that when Ramadan arrives the military will force them to fast for it.
“Midnight meals” are also discontinued and Colonel Joe Wawro made the decision:
The Army has stopped serving cooked breakfasts to some of the U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan as part of its drawdown, a move that prompted troops to write home asking their families and friends to send care packages with cereal, breakfast bars and other foods.
The Army told the Washington Guardian the current cutbacks began Jan. 1, and affect about 2,700 soldiers deployed in forward operating bases in more remote areas of Afghanistan.
Officials said the reduction of cooked breakfasts and midnight meals is not related to the U.S. budget crisis, but rather is part of the effort to begin closing down U.S. operations in the affected areas and transition them to Afghan troops. The affected soldiers are being given packaged meals known as MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) as substitutes for a cooked breakfast, the officials said.
“As a part of the responsible draw down of operational forces serving in Afghanistan, my staff examined ways to reduce our footprint and set the conditions for the reduction of forces,†explained Col. Joe Wawro, an infantry commander for the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat team.
Families are not speaking on the record for fear their family member will be singled out and punished. Thanks to Boker tov, Boulder! and Frontpage Mag
Linked at Grumpy Opinions – thank you! Read about Karl Rove’s Purge here
I heard from my neighbor whose son is at the front in Afghanistan that they aren’t even getting MREs. In fact they sometimes only get one meal a day (Dinner). He sent out a “Care Package” of cereal, breakfast bars, powdered milk, etc… He is furious.
There is a rumor going around that base that when Ramadan arrives the military will force them to fast for it.
findalis recently posted..The Constitution? What’s That?
findalis, I’ll add this to my post if you don’t mind. If our soldier have to fast for Ramadan, I don’t think red-blooded Americans can handle it. At some point, we have to come undone.
Thanks. Trying to find out if you can ship SPAM to Afghanistan. The guys there would love it.
findalis recently posted..The Constitution? What’s That?
[...] Some Soldiers in Afghanistan Not Getting Hot Breakfast – Morning Meal Cut Back to MREs [...]
They’ll be leaving behind stuff a lot more valuable then a 100,000 MRIs– Looks like a symbolic effort of the Great One’s Part so he can claim to be trying to cut costs
Grumpy, I thought the same thing. He doesn’t want to have an up-and-running kitchen because they are moving out but we leave millions if not billions behind each time we clear out. It doesn’t make sense.
Lets stop breakfast for Pres. Obama and close the cafeterias in the Pentagon.
i am in Afghanistan now, on my FOB we do not get breakfast and its outrageous, they claim they give us an MRE but if you have ever been in the service you know you would almost rather starve than eat one of those hideous things. they also cut midnight chow, which for the night shift workers is a huge loss. we run 24hrs a day 7 days a week and we dont get properly fed. there are days where you cannot make it to lunch because you are either working or you cant leave your post to get chow, not to mention those on night shift who are too tired to wake up after only having 3 hours or less of sleep. I do not see why they cut our breakfast chow, i talked to the dining facility manager and what he told me disturbed me. did you know it costs the army more to spend money on an MRE than it would to just cook breakfast?
sean, thank you for this information. If you don’t mind I will add it to this post or due a new posting quoting you. Please let me know if you object. It is outrageous!
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go for it, i don’t have any objections to it. if you have any more questions don’t hesitate to ask.