Bagram's Creature Comforts

March 2010

The Bagram Air Base is an American Oasis in the middle of the Afghan desert. Troops can shop, have a burger and even have a massage. But soon the mall will be shut down to make room for new troops.
The Kabul we know from the news is a dusty, broken cityscapeBut just an hour's drive north, 20 000 US soldiers bask in the creature comforts of the Bagram Air Base. Gaudy signs offer Burger King, Harley Davidson and Karaoke, and you could easily forget youre in the middle of a war zone. For a lot of people, this is a slice of home, says Lieutenant Koczera, joining the long queue for Burger King. Hes grateful for the opportunity to get a souvenir for his loved ones, free from the constant fear of fire: going off the base is not the time to really shop. But with more American troops on the way, space is getting tight. The commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, General McChrystal, has ordered the more indulgent services to close. Many of the 4,000 civilians from Russia, India, and Pakistan who work on the base face an uncertain future. They say if you are not Afghan, you are going to be closed, says one. McChrystal wants his soldiers focused on the main game now more than ever. And whilst the soldiers here admit that the shops are a bonus, they know theyre here to fight, not to shop.

Produced by SBS Dateline / Distributed by Journeyman Pictures

Category:

• Documentary

Tags:

• bagram
• air
• base
• US
• USA
• army
• troops
• afghanistan
• journeyman
• pictures
• news
• documentary
• current affairs
• journeyman pictures

[samandcass]

believe or not man, not every afghan is crazy bomb toting madman,.

[thecyberpunk]

Oh man, I remember pulling a particularly nasty Convoy duty one time. When we got the FoB we found out that part of the convoy was essentially one of those mobile Pizza Hutts. I was like "we're risking our lives to deliver Pizza to the FoB?"

[aliencrap]

sack of bullshit. Unjust, bullshit war and troops eating bullshit food.

[alex3373]

It has changed so much since I went there in 2002. We were living in tents surrounded by Hesco baskets LOL!!!

[goarmy176]

@BaconSnot

If you wanna bitch about your job, maybe you're in the wrong branch. Your ass would not be in the field if it wasn't for the mechanic who fixed your helicopters, the logistics people who manage your food, and the personelists who do your paperwork.

You may enjoy a badass job, but war has changed. I have other mechanics who have deployed and were shot at with AK47's on the flightline, sometimes have mortars explode feet away.

Don't insult the people who keep your shit together.

[BaconSnot]

@goarmy176 Don't take my word for it, even Gen. McCrystal thougth those REMFs were getting too fat when he shut down burger king. I never heard so much bitching and complaining in my life. And to think, the grunt living in a hole outside the wire is getting paid the same as that same REMF ramming whoppers into his face. I guess life's hard everywhere

[BaconSnot]

@goarmy176 I got my info about Bagram from some 101st Airborn guys I relieved (RIP in army talk) in Zangabad. But I guess living in a mudhut, getting re-supply from helos slingloads at 3am isn't nearly as hard as running out of pizza cheese. It was a treat for me to trade rations with Americans when we could, much less wing night at TGI Fridays. All Bagram or KAF worry about are Taliboners with 20 year old 107mm chinese rockets, who are lucky hit within 2 KILOMETERS of their intended target.

[goarmy176]

@BaconSnot Are you even in the military? Do you watch the news? Bagram is constantly attacked, because it can't move. This is not like COD, there is no frontline anymore. You can be bombed or shot at any time.

Why don't you take your ignorance somewhere else.

[Icix1]

looks like shit with a thin veneer of capitalism

[divine0enigma]

They only showed 1% of the entire base, the rest is a shithole.