That's nice. We have some sayings in the Navy,
"Tell the men to fire faster. Fight 'til she sinks, boys. Don't give up the ship."
"Never give up the ship!"
“I have not yet begun to fight.”
"Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!".
There is nothing I could find concerning finer linens or topiary. Taking care of your people is fine. Pampering them at the cost of squandering the taxpayer's money and reducing warfighting capability is negligence.
When I go to an Army base, I think the facilities are too rustic. When I go to a Navy base, I feel like I'm at a gritty factory getting the job done, without too much discomfort. When I go to an Air Force base, I wonder how perfectly manicured flower beds and an endless plethora of support billets are keeping me safe. When I go to a Marine Corpse base, I see completely focused warriors and a Spartan but neatly kept base of operations.
Bad facilities demotivate people, but pampering is a waste of taxpayer's dollars and detrimental to the warrior character.
It varies from base to base. Quantico is a heck of a lot nicer and better kept than Edwards AFB (the base housing I lived in there had swamp coolers, walls that were crumbling, and my internet service managed to download at rates of 300-400 bytes/sec through the phone lines). Whidbey Island NAS is a heck of a lot prettier than Cannon AFB. And while I’ve only got 24 years in the USAF, I can’t say I’ve seen a lot of flower beds on USAF bases.
I was on the Kennedy, and my brother ( a pampered air farce type ) met me at the pier when we came in, and I took him on board. After about half an hour on the ship, he said “ Man, I could never work in these conditions”..typical pampered puke...Navair, baby!!!!
The Golf Course on Hickam AFB was almost heaven.... The Navy/Marine Course at Pearl wasn’t too bad either....
“Our mission is to fly and fight…and don’t you forget it”
"In God we trust: All others we monitor"
“Peace Is Our Profession, War Is Our Hobby”
Pampering them at the cost of squandering the taxpayer's money and reducing warfighting capability is negligence.
The Navy bases I’ve been to seem to be on a par with AFB’s, so I have seen a far share of “flower beds” on them too. It might seem like pampering to you, but taking care of the places where you live and work instills pride and shows self respect. However not all AFB’s are the same and we have our rustic installations too.
BTW, you may think the AF may now have a uniform fit for a postman, but coming from a Navy guy, I wouldn’t start an issue of uniforms along with wasting tax payer dollars.