Karaoke night, other amusements take a back seat at Kandahar

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A wrestler with World Wrestling Entertainment throws himself on his partner during a match at Bagram Air Field in 2005. Leisure programs at larger bases will be reviewed with an eye toward focusing more on the mission.


Karaoke night, other amusements take a back seat at Kandahar
By T.D. Flack, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Friday, October 30, 2009

KANDAHAR AIR FIELD, Afghanistan — Turn out the lights, the party’s over.

Karaoke, salsa and hip-hop gatherings and a few other popular programs have been shut down at Kandahar, and it could happen at other installations in Afghanistan as commanders carry out a directive by Gen. Stanley McChrystal to focus more on the mission.

Resources devoted to amusing troops on the larger bases would be better used supporting warriors on the more remote, bare-bones bases, officials say.

McChrystal asked units last month to assess every non-mission-related base program as part of an overall look at the military’s presence and strategy in the country, Col. Wayne Shanks, International Security Assistance Force public affairs officer, said Tuesday.

The goal is to “eliminate inefficiencies” in the command so troops “can focus more on our mission,” Shanks said.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=65733