Quaffing beer and eating sausages

Last year, the German armed forces shipped more than 260,000 gallons of home-brewed suds to its troops serving in northern Afghanistan, as well as more than 18,000 gallons of wine. On a per-soldier basis, that was the equivalent of a ration of 26 ounces of beer a day, all year long.

OK, there is a down side to all that beer:

In March, an armed forces report found that more than 40 percent of soldiers ages 18 to 29 were overweight -- compared with 35 percent of German civilians of the same age. About 70 percent of the soldiers were heavy smokers. Nearly one in 10 was described as clinically obese. The March report concluded that the rank and file quaffed too much beer and ate too many sausages, while avoiding fruit and vegetables.

However, US Soldiers manage to be overweight and smoke heavily, even though they can't have beer, so how could harm a few daily ounces of beer be that much worse? We don't eat much sausage, but people eat burgers and ice cream for lunch here, and that can't be good.

Winter

I haven't posted to the blog in a while, having lost some motivation for doing anything other than the minimum. I'm at day 129 in-country and a general lassitude has set in over the past few weeks. I have been seeing a lot of patients, which keeps me busy, but a new conflict with the local Army chain of command has left me slightly demoralized. I won't get into it in this public forum but this is the third or fourth "conflict" I have had with a group of Army officers and senior enlisted.

At every turn it seems that I am reminded that the culture of the USAF and the US Army are very different. Someone who would know emailed me and said the air cavalry are "all about butt sniffing and dick-measuring". I don't play those games very well, so that puts me at odds with the senior butt-sniffers on this FOB.

Luckily, my true chain of command back at Bagram has my back and they have supported my decisions and the manner in which I have executed the combat stress control and behavioral health mission here in this region of Afghanistan. The Army sees me as just another Captain who is at their disposal, while the Air Force sees me as one of a few psychologists who have specific and clearly defined roles in this theater. I like this about the Air Force—they are more likely to value you based on your skill-set and treat you accordingly, while the Army primarily values you as a body, or a slot-filler, and any treatment you receive is directly proportionate to your rank.

I still feel positive about my ongoing work with Soldiers. There are a lot of good guys here who have very stressful jobs. I do what I can to help them; regardless of whether that is treatment in country or getting the out of here. The ongoing combat in Afghanistan is off the radar screen of American media—there are still firefights and mortar barrages and guys sleeping out in the cold and the dirt. They say the winter is hard on the Afghans but I am observing that combat operations in the cold are hard on anyone. From what I read in the newspapers, the generals want to wage a busy winter campaign here. Winter isn't even here yet, but it is getting cold fast.