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The writer of "Don’t cut AAFES services" (letter, Feb. 17) makes Bagram Air Base sound like a wasteland of misery.

I have been to Bagram several times. When the writer said all they have there is the Non-classified Internet Protocol Router Network and nothing other than running water, I had to read the letter twice.

The last time I was at Bagram, I indulged in Burger King, Dairy Queen, Green Beans coffee and spent too much money at the post exchange. They even have a United Service Organizations facility with free wireless Internet!

I live in the boondocks of Afghanistan, and some of us here look at Bagram as a kind of Disneyland. It seems the writer is greatly downplaying the facilities at Bagram. Even here at Forward Operating Base Bostick, we have a Morale, Welfare and Recreation center with computers, SPAWAR (Space and Naval Warfare Systems) phones, and DSN phones, as well as another MWR center with a pool table, TVs and books. We have running water, and even though it’s sometimes ice-cold, we’re not using water bottles like some other bases. And we have a dining facility where you can get a hot meal or a sandwich almost any time of day.

I agree with Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Hall (the top U.S. enlisted man in Afghanistan). I think too many people are more concerned with whether they can get their Green Beans, as opposed to what’s going on around the country.

I felt your readers should know that life is nowhere nearly as bad as the writer makes it out to be. So, in a way, I thank the writer for this opportunity, and the next time I’m in Bagram I’ll make sure to buy her a double mocha frappe latte to show my gratitude (my own sarcasm).

Spc. Michael TullisForward Operating Base Bostick, Afghanistan

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