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Posted on 04/28/2025 3:15:04 PM PDT by george76
While the memo didn't strictly forbid “fun” it did attempt to ban dominos, cards, and video game tournaments before the Army made an about-face last week.
...
The Army has canceled a memo that would have directed a defense contractor to cease providing ping-pong and other “recreational activities other than sports and fitness” for soldiers at Camp Arifjan and Camp Buehring, Kuwait, said Lt. Col. Christina Wright, a spokeswoman for U.S. Army Central Command.
“All activities remain in place,” Wright told Task & Purpose on Monday, in response to a query about the letter of technical direction, or LOTD. “The purpose of the LOTD was to relook what redundant activities contractors were required to provide in addition to existing services.”
A copy of the April 14 memo was posted on Reddit more than a week ago. The document appeared to be a letter from the Army’s regional contracting center in Kuwait to Vectrus Systems Corporation in Colorado.
...
The company is one of four contractors selected by U.S. Army Sustainment Command in 2019 to “provide essential logistics support services to forces in the field” under a 10-year contract, according to the Army.
“The purpose of this LOTD is to cease conducting recreational activities other than sports and fitness,” the document says. “Recreational activities to cease include Bingo, 9-Ball, Jenga, board games, cards, ping pong, dominos, and video game tournaments, as well as carnivals, line dancing, karaoke and arts and crafts. Armed Forces entertainment does not apply to this LOTD. This applies to activities on Camp Arifjan and Camp Behring.”
But on Monday, Wright told Task & Purpose that the memo had been canceled last week.
No information was immediately available about why the Army had changed course on banning the games. The original document posted on Reddit said it was meant to “Follow the Secretary of Defense guidance to focus on warfighting.”
When asked if Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had directed that all recreational activities for troops be directly related to sports and fitness, a Defense Department spokesperson referred questions to the Army.
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Initial directive was an example of malicious compliance; trying to stir up dissention within the ranks and cast SECDEF and POTUS in an unfavorable light.
Let SECDEF sort it out and punish those responsible.
Possible malicious compliance move that got reversed?
Soldiers should focus exclusively on how to become better killers ;-)
And lots of practice!
So stud poker instead of draw poker...
In WWII they had ice cream ships. And movie nights near the front lines.
All killing and no play will result in a pretty ineffective fighting unit.
During the war in Europe, Patton ordered condoms by the tens of thousands to keep his soldiers happy and healthy.
Ban drinking? You couldn't possibly liberate France and not have a tipple or two.
During Gulf War II, SouthCom banned ALL SEXUAL RELATIONS, even between married service members. Plus they banned consumption of all alcoholic beverages (except for the two beers you could get if you watched the Superbowl on the big screen in the DEFAC).
And you see which of those had a more favorable result.
“ The company is one of four contractors …”
I would guess that all four were providing $2000 domino sets and decks of cards at $500 per pack. This sounds like a halt to review contracts that might have been expanded by an Obama Lt. Col. to malign Hegseth.
Well, there’s already a very good USO MWR tent facility on Arifjan. Great A/C, many big screens, free telephone to States, video game consoles, etc.
Maybe the contractor was cutting into USO’s racket?
“Possible malicious compliance move that got reversed?”
____________________________________________________________
Those were the orders issued by PDJT and Whiskey Pete. There’s no “malicious compliance” in the military. There’s only following the orders you receive.
This is just one more amateur screw up by the SecDef.
What? No more drag shows? Oh, wait, that’s the Navy...
OK, newbie.
Why are we still in Kuwait?
America has strong national interests in the Gulf. Kuwait is a strategic piece of ground a stone’s throw from Iran
America has interests be yond the perimeter of your rock
LOL. Orders from on high are ALWAYS subject to some level of interpretation. And someone somewhere in the chain of command always seems to want to make life as painful as possible for reasons of their own.
The bidenized military is very easily subject to malicious compliance.
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