U.S. Troops Finally Get Pizza Hut Back in Afghanistan

by Jason Best, Posted Feb 22nd 2011 @ 2:00PM

Hoping for a quick end to the war in Afghanistan? Well, when you look at how long it took the military to reopen a Pizza Hut at a base near Kabul, you might have to rethink your definition of "quick."

As Slashfood reported way back in September, the current commander of U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan, Gen. David Petraeus, decided to lift the fast-food ban on coalition bases that had been implemented by his famously no-nonsense predecessor, Gen. Stanley McChrystal. According to the Wall Street Journal, McChrystal viewed fast food as an "unnecessary luxury," and he told senior officers that he "didn't want to be the first American general to tell a grieving mother that her son died delivering frozen pizza."

It didn't take long for Gen. Petraeus to reverse course, however, citing the morale-boosting impact of, say, a simple Whopper with fries. Yet it appears to be proof positive that the Pentagon does nothing in short order that it's taken five long months for troops to get their first slice of Meat Lover's pie.

Last week, the Pizza Hut at Camp Phoenix "fired up its ovens and opened its doors to anxious service members wanting a 'taste of home,'" enthused a statement from U.S. Forces-Afghanistan.

But there was little word as to why, exactly, it took an organization of highly trained specialists who are masters of some of the most sophisticated technology known to man five months to install a couple of ovens in a converted trailer and start tossing dough.

Commanders at large bases across Afghanistan will now decide which fast-food operations to permit on their bases. Burger King could return, in addition to more Pizza Huts. Our advice? Don't hold your breath.

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Filed Under: Food News, Fast Food
Tags: McCrystal, Petraeus, Pizza Hut, U.S. troops