駐阿美軍將關閉快餐店
Fast food joints where soldiers wolf down burgers and pizza will soon be a thing of the past at bases in Afghanistan, as the US military reminds soldiers they are at war and not in "an amusement park".
In the sprawling military base at Kandahar, the fast food outlets facing the axe include Burger King, Pizza Hut, and the US chain restaurant T.G.I. Friday's that features a bar with alcohol-free margaritas and other drinks - all set along the bustling "Boardwalk" area of the base.
On any given day, the giant square-shaped walkway features the surreal sight of soldiers sipping gourmet coffee and eating chocolate pastries with guns slung across their shoulders, while Canadians play ice hockey at a nearby rink and fighter jets thunder overhead.
The US military says its beef with the burger joints is that they take up valuable resources like water, power, flight and convoy space and that cutting back on non-essentials is key to running an efficient military operation.
"This is a war zone - not an amusement park," Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Hall wrote in a blog earlier this year.
"Supplying nonessential luxuries to big bases like Bagram and Kandahar makes it harder to get essential items to combat outposts and forward operating bases, where troops who are in the fight each day need resupply with ammunition, food and water."
Warning that concessions like Orange Julius, Dairy Queen and Military Car Sales were also on the exit list, Hall said less-obvious changes were coming too - including fewer canned and bottled goods coming into the country as well as fewer first-run movie showings and some entertainment programs.
For now, fast food joints like Burger King which operate out of little shacks along the Kandahar boardwalk are still doing brisk business, with lines snaking outside their counters, but their contracts are not expected to be renewed when they expire.
A motley crew of other stores selling Afghan books, jewelry and phone cards and the busy Canadian Tim Horton's outlet that sells coffee and doughnuts will stay on.
Some US soldiers privately grumble about the cutbacks, but others said they were not bothered by the new edict.
Those desperate for comfort food always have the option of the "Chef's short order" section at the dining halls, where fried calamari rings, fish fingers and burgers are free for soldiers and available in abundance.
在美軍駐阿富汗軍事基地，你再也看不到士兵們在快餐供應點大吃漢堡和比薩的景象了。美國軍方日前提醒駐阿士兵，他們現在是在戰場，而不是在“遊樂園”。
在坎大哈規模龐大的美軍軍事基地，一批快餐店面臨關閉，其中包括漢堡王、必勝客以及以供應不含酒精的瑪格麗塔酒和其它飲料爲主的“星期五”美式連鎖餐廳。這些快餐供應點開在軍事基地繁忙的“木板路”地區。
無論哪天，你總能在這個巨大的方形人行道上看到這樣一幅超現實場景：挎槍士兵在快餐店裏喝着美味咖啡，品嚐着巧克力糕點；加拿大的士兵則在附近的溜冰場大玩冰球，而他們的頭頂上是轟鳴而過的戰鬥機。
據美國軍方介紹，關閉這些快餐店是因爲它們佔用了水、電、航班和護送隊等寶貴資源，而削減非必需品是提高軍事行動效率的關鍵。
今年早些時候，美軍司令部軍士長邁克爾•霍爾在博客中寫道：“這裏是戰區，不是遊樂場。”
“向駐巴格拉姆和坎大哈這樣的大型基地提供不必要的奢侈品會加大向駐防部隊和前線運輸必要補給的難度。前線士兵每天都在作戰，需要不斷補給彈藥、食物和水。”
據霍爾介紹，OJ鮮果露、DQ冰淇淋和免稅軍車店也在取締之列，除此之外，還會有一些小的調整，比如減少罐裝和瓶裝食品供應、首輪電影放映以及一些娛樂項目等。
目前，漢堡王等在坎大哈“木板路”地區開設的簡易快餐店生意仍然很好，櫃檯前常常排着長隊。不過合同到期後這些店都將關張。
但有些出售雜物的小店還將繼續營業，比如售賣阿富汗書籍、珠寶和電話卡的小店。生意紅火的加拿大蒂姆•霍頓餐廳也將保留，這家店主要賣咖啡和甜甜圈。
一些美軍士兵私下裏抱怨這一削減舉措，但其他人則覺得沒什麼。
非常想吃“安慰食品”的士兵可以在基地食堂的“大廚快餐區”享用，在這裏，酥炸魷魚圈、魚條和漢堡都大量免費向士兵供應。
Vocabulary:
fast food joints: 快餐店
sprawling：規模龐大的
surreal：having the disorienting, hallucinatory quality of a dream; unreal; fantastic（超現實主義的）
beef：a complaint, an argument or dispute（抱怨，牢騷，爭議）
Sgt. Maj.：sergeant major的縮寫，軍士長
motley：exhibiting great diversity of elements; heterogeneous（混雜的；雜七雜八的）
short order：a dish or serving of food that is quickly prepared upon request at a lunch counter（快餐）
