The word has been sent out… There will be real beer for the Superbowl…
In this theater, General order Number One is: NO BOOZE.
For the Superbowl, however, that order has been suspended, and each person will be allowed to beers apiece, under very tightly supervised conditions.
In Desert Shield/Desert Storm, and now, during Operation Iraqi Freedom, there has been no source of alcohol… We also have not been afforded the opportunity to pitch liberty in the local ville…
It will be interesting, when this is all over and done, to analyze the differences between this war, and previous wars when alcohol was available… Did it make difference?
There are folks out there who have claimed that ths conflict is the modern version of Viet Nam… I think that perhaps it is more that this is what Viet Nam should have been like. Now, granted, we might be comparing apples and oranges here, with all of the advancements in technology, medical knowledge, and public support, but I can’t help but think that this is the way that Viet Nam should have ended; in fact, that was the plan, but it didn’t quite carry through to the conclusion that we were hoping for.
(Now wasn’t that a bit of a segue…)
It will take decades for the debate behind Viet Nam to resolve itself, and so will any debates on this conflict. The end state for this war is starting to be realized, and it won’t be long before we totally shift out focus on Afghanistan, and leave Iraq to her own devices, hopefully stronger, with freedom, and a peoples who will come to appreciate what we have done… I wonder what the end overall “lessons learned” will look like…
Here I invite your discussions and insight…
January 27th, 2009 - 17:43
The Thunder Run has linked to this post in the blog post From the Front: 01/27/2009 News and Personal dispatches from the front and the home front.