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For One Night, GIs in Iraq Get a Taste of Home: Football and Beer
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Several service members said Thursday that the only other time the ban was lifted was in 2005, for troops operating under the Baghdad command.
The military in recent months has begun closing some small outposts and moving a larger percentage of its troops to large bases that have more and better amenities. Most military bases have recreation centers with large-screen TV sets and televise American shows. The Super Bowl always draws huge crowds, despite the inconvenient hour.
The only other reprieve from soberness U.S. troops in Iraq can get is a four-day excursion to the Persian Gulf state of Qatar, and not all are entitled to such trips. Service members there can have three drinks per night under close supervision.
Troops in combat zones caught drinking can face reduction in rank and pay and, in extreme cases, a court-martial.
Odierno asked commanders to "exercise discretion and good judgment in enforcing these guidelines and restrictions."
First Lt. James McGuire, 29, of Queens, who has been stationed in Mosul, in northern Iraq, for more than 11 months, said he has watched nearly every Super Bowl with his dad, throwing back beers.
"I'm Irish, sir," he said in a phone interview. "It'll be nice to have a beer and -- even if it's just for three hours -- feel like I'm back home."
Non-fans were just as delighted.
"I don't care about the Super Bowl," said 1st Lt. Scott Trout, 25, of Greenville, S.C. "I just want to kick back and relax and have a few beers."
