“Gott in Himmel!” wrote my friend and fellow Marine in Vermont, about this bit of news.
A report by Germany’s Parliament found forces in Afghanistan got through more than 1.7 million pints of beer and 92,000 bottles of wine last year.
They are already on track to top those figures this year, with 901,000 pints of beer and 56,000 bottles of wine being shipped in the first six months. …
… Last year, American officers complained about a German colonel who was drunk at mission briefings, Der Spiegel has reported.
Thomas Raabe, a defence ministry spokesman, has defended the alcohol intake, saying it amounts to 0.77 litres of beer a day per soldier – less than the two 500ml cans they are permitted.
Uggh. I must say, even though I previously extolled the extension of Germany’s mission in Afghanistan as a step forward, this is too much. Piled on top of the admission that their SOF units hadn’t been doing much at all, I think we’re better off without them. I really hate to say that, since I really love that country and its people. It would be better if they withdrew to the Fatherland, to regroup, retrain and re-assess.
UPDATE: Similar post at The Torch.
Germans are Germans. They’ve had beer in their soldier cantinas forever. No, the bad thing is the puritanical streak Americans have suffer through – no beer or wine at the end of a mission while all the kameraden are drunk as can be.
Funnier: the Italians get their wine in a sippy-box with a straw, like a Hi-C drink box you’d give a child… tooo funny!
Dave: You know I don’t begrudge them one drop of beer! I am concerned that one of our key allies isn’t pulling its, uhhh, weight. They need to pull it together, lest their brooding neighbor to the East takes this as a sign of flaccidness. That’s my biggest fear. And it should be theirs too.
Well, if their government doesn’t allow them to fight, then what else are they going to do?
Better than returning to the Fatherland, why not just put them in combat? That might get them in shape. And regarding the wine and beer, nothing wrong with that. The Royal Navy conquered the world thanks to quite alot of rum for the ranks and wine, maidera, and sherry for the officers.
Let us not forget the potential of tequila to unite the forces and help the US’ Southern neighbor.
1) The US buys tequila from Mexico. They distibute this to all allied forces in Afghanistan.
2) This boosts morale of the allied forces, causes additional countries to join the allied forces and give Mexico legal money for development.
3) A heathy Mexican economy forces fewer natives to leave their homeland for jobs in El Norte!