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| US troops in Afghanistan bid farewell to lobster, steak and salsa | US troops in Afghanistan bid farewell to lobster, steak and salsa |
| (about 20 hours later) | |
| No more surf'n'turf overlooking the Hindu Kush, no more salsa classes on the Kandahar boardwalk or mocha frappes in the Helmand desert. | No more surf'n'turf overlooking the Hindu Kush, no more salsa classes on the Kandahar boardwalk or mocha frappes in the Helmand desert. |
| The US army has decided to cut back on catering, morale, welfare and recreation services as it starts the $6bn (£4bn) relocation of a nearly 70,000-strong force, who must all leave by the end of 2014. | The US army has decided to cut back on catering, morale, welfare and recreation services as it starts the $6bn (£4bn) relocation of a nearly 70,000-strong force, who must all leave by the end of 2014. |
| Soldiers used to enjoying four hot meals a day, including a midnight snack, will have to replace two of them with ration packs by the autumn, the US military has said. Commanders can choose which meals to cut, but breakfast and late-night servings are the most likely to go as that would remove a whole shift of cooking duties. | Soldiers used to enjoying four hot meals a day, including a midnight snack, will have to replace two of them with ration packs by the autumn, the US military has said. Commanders can choose which meals to cut, but breakfast and late-night servings are the most likely to go as that would remove a whole shift of cooking duties. |
| The change is billed as key to slimming down a huge military operation supported by thousands of contract chefs and cleaners, going back to the "expeditionary footing" that the first troops to arrive, in 2001, had to endure. | The change is billed as key to slimming down a huge military operation supported by thousands of contract chefs and cleaners, going back to the "expeditionary footing" that the first troops to arrive, in 2001, had to endure. |
| "When we arrived in Afghanistan over 11 years ago, we were lean and expeditionary. We need to leave the way we came in, lean and expeditionary," said Jeffrey Hawk, spokesman for US forces in Afghanistan. | "When we arrived in Afghanistan over 11 years ago, we were lean and expeditionary. We need to leave the way we came in, lean and expeditionary," said Jeffrey Hawk, spokesman for US forces in Afghanistan. |
| But commanders are also keen to eat into huge stockpiles of rations built while there were more than 100,000 US troops fighting in tiny outposts around the country, which would otherwise be abandoned or shipped home at great expense. Hawk said there was a "need to reduce our current food stock in the Afghanistan area of operations". | But commanders are also keen to eat into huge stockpiles of rations built while there were more than 100,000 US troops fighting in tiny outposts around the country, which would otherwise be abandoned or shipped home at great expense. Hawk said there was a "need to reduce our current food stock in the Afghanistan area of operations". |
| The shift will begin on 1 May and be rolled out across Afghanistan by 1 October, although soldiers living in cramped conditions and working round the clock warned that the change, which could spell the end for treats including regular steak and lobster feasts at some bases, will dent morale. | The shift will begin on 1 May and be rolled out across Afghanistan by 1 October, although soldiers living in cramped conditions and working round the clock warned that the change, which could spell the end for treats including regular steak and lobster feasts at some bases, will dent morale. |
| "It's great for, I guess, saving money and cutting back on contractors … but there's a lot more things you can cut back," Sergeant Michael Day, a combat engineer at Kandahar air field, told the Stars and Stripes newspaper. "It's not fair to the soldiers doing the daily grind." | "It's great for, I guess, saving money and cutting back on contractors … but there's a lot more things you can cut back," Sergeant Michael Day, a combat engineer at Kandahar air field, told the Stars and Stripes newspaper. "It's not fair to the soldiers doing the daily grind." |
| Among the other things to go in the shift to expeditionary living will be franchises such as Popeye's at Bagram airbase and TGIF at Kandahar. The PX shops for soldiers will also shrink, cutting back on stocks of goods including computers and high-end sunglasses to concentrate on toiletries and necessities. | Among the other things to go in the shift to expeditionary living will be franchises such as Popeye's at Bagram airbase and TGIF at Kandahar. The PX shops for soldiers will also shrink, cutting back on stocks of goods including computers and high-end sunglasses to concentrate on toiletries and necessities. |
| "Franchise food, coffee and merchandise vendors will also close when expeditionary standards are implemented," Hawk said. "There will be less MWR-led events." | "Franchise food, coffee and merchandise vendors will also close when expeditionary standards are implemented," Hawk said. "There will be less MWR-led events." |
| Medical services will not be affected, so anyone injured in battlefield can be taken to top-level hospitals within the "golden hour" vital for saving lives. And wireless internet will be switched on until bases close, allowing soldiers to stay in touch with friends and families back home. | Medical services will not be affected, so anyone injured in battlefield can be taken to top-level hospitals within the "golden hour" vital for saving lives. And wireless internet will be switched on until bases close, allowing soldiers to stay in touch with friends and families back home. |
| The only other thing that will still be on tap, for an army notoriously strict about appearances, is barber services. "Bases will see a reduction in MWR (morale, welfare and recreation) and personal care services, except haircuts," Hawk said. | The only other thing that will still be on tap, for an army notoriously strict about appearances, is barber services. "Bases will see a reduction in MWR (morale, welfare and recreation) and personal care services, except haircuts," Hawk said. |
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