1. Hope Manseau | 06.21.09

Waiting for more infomation from my son who is a crew chief there

2. Carolyn | 06.22.09

Why not tell us how it happened that the rockets struck, where there were fired from, and who fired them, instead of how nice and safe and so much like “Americana” the base is?

3. Kelly | 06.23.09

This is not a vacation spot, my daughter doesn’t quite paint the rosy picture you have painted for your readers. You failed to mention the hospital that is packed with American soldiers and Afghani civilians, many missing limbs or severely burned. You didn’t mention the fallen soldier ceremonies that happen quite frequently for all the troops who have lost their lives. You also failed to mention the troops who are killed right outside the base walls by IED’s. Our troops are their working 12+ hour shifts, please don’t make it sound like they are there on vacation, this is not a picnic for them.

4. maralyn | 06.23.09

Kelly is so correct. Do not fool the American people tell them the truth so they can know what is reality. Military family members know the truth it is ur job to inform non family members of the reality.

5. Natalie | 06.23.09

While Kelly and Maralyn are correct - there is very much a war still raging in Afghanistan - the writer was also correct. I’ve been through the Tillman USO on a number of occasions and it is exactly as he paints it. However, it is important to note that the soldiers who are “hanging” out are usually just waiting for plane to take them home for their two weeks of R&R. They’re getting the much needed rest and recooperation they deserve.

6. susan | 06.23.09

Good description of “the closest thing to home” for Americans posted in Afghanistan. We get many reports of skirmishes and battles, but not so many stories depicting the efforts to supply a semblance of home away from home in the middle of a desert. I had no illusions of a Bagram resort, but this contributes to understanding how impossible it must be for both soldiers and civilians to feel relaxed or safe anywhere, no matter how well-fortified, in a country at war.

7. molten | 06.26.09

People from all over the world don’t like to americans since you bombed Bosnia, invaded to Afghanistan and Iraq. Your everyday dying soldiers not for what - is the pay back for unresponsable Bush’s policies. The world so tired from you…

8. Ghostmech | 06.27.09

You have got to be kidding! My wife is there right now and its no resort, I can assure you. Typical spin by a bloviator who knows nothing and writes a story from his comfortable NY office.

Kelly you are so right! My wife works in the hospital 12 hrs a day, 7 days a week and has done so for 6 months straight. The place is loaded with tremendous injuries, pain & severing and death. It’s ludicrous for a so-called journalist to post a story and inject such a a ridiculous perspective.

9. Mom | 07.02.09

I think the death of two soldiers and injury of 6 explains that Bagram is what it is…..a military base in a war zone! Our loved ones work hard while they are there, see terrible things , try their hardest to help and sometimes can do nothing! My son carries the heavy weight of the memories of his “home away from home”.

10. Ashely | 07.04.09

My husband just got back to Bagram yesterday from R&R. It is no picnic there. There are a lot of unreported things going on over there. It is by no means a vacation. If it were such an easy destination to be deployed to, why doesn’t everyone make it back? There is a war going on and the public doesn’t hear much about what really goes on over there…

11. Marisa | 07.07.09

I have been deployed to Bagram, and although how it is described is somewhat correct, it is almost impossible to “relax” anywhere considering you could be attacked at any time. You can’t sleep on your mere 12 hrs off because all you hear are controlled dets, bombs, and F-15’s taking off non-stop. That is just a tiny part of it. I am a crew chief, and some of the terrible things I have seen come off of our planes I don’t think I could talk about if I tried. Having to go to a fallen comrade ceremony once or twice a week isn’t “like home” nor is having to walk 200 feet to a restroom from your living quarters (if you can call them that). If you want to take a shower you have to carry everything there and back. Not to mention the bathrooms only have three shower stalls, and I had 6 girls in my 15×20 hut. You have no privacy, and have to wait in line to use the phone for 15 minutes. That is hardly like America. Its so easy for everyone to say it isn’t bad there…but I would like to see them make it a day there. Funny thing is, I would go back in a second, and will be next year. The feeling of knowing that I am protecting my son (whom I parent alone) is all the motivation I need. So before anyone starts judging, just remember what we (soldiers, airmen, marines) give up so you don’t have to. Like my son for instance. “I thank God for my life, and for the stars and stripes, may freedom forever fly, let it ring. Salute the ones who died, the ones that gave their lives, so we don’t have to sacrifice all the things we love.”

12. Mary | 07.09.09

My son is there now, I can’t tell you how proud I am of him, but I’m also scared to death. It’s not the resort like atmosphere, that’s for sure. And as for “surfing the high speed wi-fi”, if they can get to it they get 20 minutes to “surf”. He doesn’t sleep because of the jets taking off and landing. He doesn’t have wonderful living quarters, only a tent, and Obama is going to spend 60 million on better living conditions for the prisoners? What about our sons, daughters, mothers, fathers and so on? Don’t they deserve better living conditions.

You don’t have to agree with the war, you don’t have to support the war, but you do have to support the people fighting for your right to say you don’t support the war!!!!

13. Gael | 08.12.09

The author of this worthless read needs to Google Bagram Airfield and take a good look at the many pictures. Then they need to refocus on the attack and write about fact not fiction.

My husband is headed to Bagram tomorrow, and no pictures I’ve found on the internet match the posh description that’s been painted here. The pictures I saw showed a very utilitarian USO, certainly not with the ambiance of a ski lodge. Friends who have returned have told us about paying $60 - $100 a month for internet that is slow and unreliable. The interiors of the B Huts aren’t as nice garages in the US. I know my husband and all the other soldiers are really sacrificing quality of life to go serve their country. I resent the flippant tone of this article making light of life sans indoor plumbing making it sound like they are living such a soft life. Such a small percentage qualify to be in the military, and out of those even fewer meet the demands to go to war zones. To sugar-coat their experiences, and don’t think people don’t want to hear that soldiers really have it easy, is such an insult to the military and their families who are well aware of the truth.

14. Gael | 08.12.09

CORRECTION - I finally found a pic of the interior refurb of the USO, and it is beautiful thanks to the NFL in memory of Pat Tillman. However, it’s by the passenger terminal for troops returning from combat missions and those traveling through the region. This article sounds like it’s the hang out spot for everyone.

15. Robert | 08.26.09

First of all, the reason the rockets were fired when they were is due to the fallen comrade ceremony. When the bullhorns blare out “Attention all personnel, there will be a fallen comrade ceremony at ****.” Basically letting the entire valley know that every single servicemember will be clustered together on the main road in a massive formation. When I was there this usually happened around 0200-0400 timeframe. So you have to wake up if you’re a day worker, get dressed and stand on the side of the road for an hour or so. The strangest thing about Bagram is they can’t decide whether it’s a garrison or a combat zone. They make you salute, and wear a bright reflective belt at night, but you carry around a full magazine everywhere. From my understanding Bagram is the only base you carry your weapon around in condition 3. When I was in FOB wilderness where we did get shot at every day, we had no magazine loaded.
There are 3 USO type buildings that I know of. The one by the terminal is nice, the one by the MARDET is run down and ratty, and the one by the chow hall is so-so. I believe only the terminal building is USO, the others are MWR. It is a very nice base comparatively. It certainly better to be stationed there than most other places in Afghanistan. The NATO bases in Kabul are amazing. I couldn’t believe how nice some of them were. They try as hard as able to make Bagram Airfield a tolerable place, and it is. It has more amenaties than the base I’m at now in Japan. However, the gym is very wanting of new equipment. The author of this article is a good writer, but appears very inexperienced as he totally strays away from the focus of the story and never returns.

16. A1C | 09.23.09

one dont post waiting on more info from son. THAT INFO IS EVERYWHERE BUT DOES’NT NOR SHOULD IT BE. dont make yourself a target. do your research first. not just the now stuff. look at history and figure out who the americans are fighting. research past conflicts. you would be shocked and suprised. for everyone else, dont post what the base is like when it comes to living and different facilities. OPSEC COMSEC any SEC! its on the web by other people but dont make it easier for them to find it and plan another attack please. we know what we know, and just keep it that way, for you dependents dont post how your family memeber is telling you things. some of that stuff is supposed to be SECRET. so keep it to your self if they (which they shouldnt) let you in on it. thanks.

17. angie yarbrough | 09.27.09

my brother is somewhere in afghanistan, i believe at bagram . his name is may, harley d. if anyone knows him or sees him tell him his big sister says hi and she loves and misses him. i know it’s getting more dangerous there and i hope all our boys stay safe until they can get back HOME. his home is searcy arkansas not a dusty tent in hell.

18. Raining Feces | 10.20.09

I am at Bagram now and it is far from a resort, and attacks are not rare, there is a rocket or morter attack at least every 2 weeks. With the troop surge going on, you have to wait in line for everything. The toilets and porta-poties are filfthy becouse they are used by 2 or 3 times the number of people they are intended for. Sleeping arrangements are just as bad, 100 Soldiers are packed into tents ment for 50, you cannot see the floor between the cotts. It smells worse than an old prison. The bunkers we need to get into durring the attacks only hold half of us due to being designed for the number of people who are supposed to be inside the tents. The rest of us have to stand in the open and hope we are not hit. Many of us wear earplugs at nite becouse of the jets, the arial gunnery range, and dump-trucks that roll past our tents all nite. It makes it hard to wake up durring the attacks.