Top 10 Air Force Complaints Overheard At Bagram Airbase

[Strelnikov]

From "Inside The Ring" by Bill Gertz and Rowan Scarborough
Washington Times, November 8, 2002

Some Marine Corps jokesters are circulating a Top 10 list for Bagram air base in Afghanistan on how to make living conditions better in the combat zone.

The list comes in response to an article in The Washington Times. It told of photographs produced by two Air Force sergeants on the austere base: long chow lines, dusty roads, few recreational facilities and rationed bottled water.

The Air Force declined to comment. A spokesman for U.S. Central Command, which runs the war in Afghanistan, said conditions are improving weekly.

Here is the Marines' list:

"TOP 10 AIR FORCE COMPLAINTS OVERHEARD AT BAGRAM AIRBASE:
10: Toilet seats aren't the puffy kind.
9: Vichyssoise made with Idaho potatoes instead of russet.
8: Poor quality carpet padding used in offices.
7: Air conditioners only rated at 600 BTUs.
6: Showtime not HBO.
5: BDUs [battle dress uniforms] make airmen look fat.
4: No wine list at dining facility.
3: How come the Army guys get those nice berets?
2: Must those jets be so loud?
1: Hey, that guy in the turban is trying to kill me!


Strelnikov

 

[ShiningIce]

HBO over Showtime u gotta be kiddin me.........................Maybe I joined the wrong branch lol

 

[ForgottenTcklr]

Some of those are fairly morbid,

but it is defiantely a funny list.

Nice one Strel!

 

[amk714]

Funny list, Strel! I guess the Air Force IS the easiest branch to be in! 😀 Only kidding. Thanks for posting this! 🙂

 

[asutickler]

Good stuff! I gotta send this to my dad, he's been an ex-Marine for several decades... and he STILL pokes fun at the Air Force! 😛

 

[Moses25]

From "Inside The Ring" by Bill Gertz and Rowan Scarborough
Washington Times, November 8, 2002

1: Hey, that guy in the turban is trying to kill me!

Guy in the turban? Didn't know that there were a lot of Sikh's running around Afghanistan.

Ignorance is a destructive energy - it is neither created nor destroyed, just converted.

This is no way a dis upon you Strel, it's just that some things never change.

Cheers.🙁

 

[AffectionateDan]

Frankly, even taking this in the spirit it's offered in, this is in bad freakin' form

As a former United States Air Force member who spent 9 months in that sandy cesspool during Desert Shield/Storm, I can't believe that there are actually ungrateful Americans who would mock those who are sacrificing so much to ensure the freedoms that so many take for granted. I lost two friends in Desert Storm. This may have been offered up tongue-in-cheek, but it was just plain wrong. You should be ashamed. People you've never met are far from home, missing their families, and in danger from fanatics who plow passenger planes into office buildings for God's sake. Just to make sure that you can post jokes at their expense. Have you ever served? Ever lifted a finger to earn the rights and freedoms you enjoy? And the sad part is, people will have the nerve to get indignant over my reaction. Try leaving your wife and infant son thousands of miles away while people shoot rockets at you, see how many of these posts you appreciate. I could be violently ill about now.

 

[amk714]

AffectionateDan, thanks for your post. I have nothing but respect for the military, and if I thought that article was out of line, I would've said so. Different branches kid about each other all the time, and that's how I interpreted Strel's post. I'm sorry you were offended by it, and I take back my previous comments. 🙁

 

[AffectionateDan]

AffectionateDan, thanks for your post. I have nothing but respect for the military, and if I thought that article was out of line, I would've said so. Different branches kid about each other all the time, and that's how I interpreted Strel's post. I'm sorry you were offended by it, and I take back my previous comments. 🙁

amk714, thank YOU for having the class to have responded this way. I'd been anticipating a rash of negativity to my rant. Obviously, this is a pet peev of mine, so I hit the ground running on this one. Sure, inter-service rivalries have existed for thousands of years and will continue for thousands more (provided we don't destroy ourselves first). And perhaps it stung me more than it would have most, having hit just that right mark with me. I get pretty riled up when it comes to all things patriotic. Or had ya noticed? 😉 Thanks again.

 

[amk714]

No problem, Dan, and I thank YOU for serving our country and fighting for our freedom! There's nothing wrong with being patriotic. Be well, my friend. 🙂