Top General Bars Fast Food on Afghan Bases
In Afghanistan, the top U.S. military commander believes life is a little too comfortable for some of the men and women in uniform.
One example is a garden at headquarters, featured in CBS National Security Correspondent David Martin's .
"What do you think of that garden where you can sip cappuccino under the shade?" Martin asked.
"I'd like to turn it into a rifle range," McChrystal said.
CBSNews.com Special Report: Afghanistan
He hasn't done that, but McChrystal is shutting down fast-food restaurants on military bases in Afghanistan - such as Burger King - and cutting back on first-run movies.
As a senior adviser to the general explained it, "This is a war zone, not an amusement park."
"You seem to think that life might be a little too soft around headquarters," Martin told the general in September 2009.
"I think life is hard at the combat outposts, and anything that distracts us from supporting them in my mind is something that we shouldn't do," McChrystal replied.
McChrystal himself keeps a murderous schedule, up at 4:30 a.m. and out the door at 5 for his morning run through the maze of buildings and trailers that makes up his headquarters. That is his idea of leisure time.
