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[–] 23 points 2 months ago (5 children)

It wasn't a joke. During the initial invasion of Afghanistan, one of the first pieces of infrastructure was a self-contained Burger King truck. Airdropped in on a C-130.

Even way back, one of the biggest things during the Pacific Theater in WWII was the fact that the US had three ships dedicated just to transporting frozen and refrigerated foods, so that the troops had fresh food. The ships colloquially became known as ice cream barges because they had the capability to make a ton of ice cream. The Americans in the Pacific were eating fresh meat and ice cream, while the Japanese soldiers were eating shitty rations. It was a major morale killer for the Imperial Japanese.

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  • [–] 12 points 2 months ago (3 children)

    Dammit, you dropped the two pieces of trivia I wanted to! hehe

    The only other one I can think of is also from WWII, where the Germans became aware that Americans were sending things like birthday cakes to their soldiers - that would arrive before spoiling, indicating how good the supply chain was, and no only for weapons, but enough room for personal items like that.

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  • [–] 13 points 2 months ago (2 children)

    Yeah that was a huge part of it.

    What modern Republicans would call a “waste” was a major form of power projection.

    It was a signal. “We are so strong that we can send our troops shit like cake to keep them happy and fed. You’re eating slop and wearing torn boots. We’ve already won.”

    Not only did it boost American troops morale, but it crushed the enemy morale.

    An enemy that feels they’ve already lost because of the massive machine coming towards them is easier to beat than a motivated enemy that can smell the incompetence from a mile away.

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