2007-02-17 09:28:04 · 17 answers · asked by Tristan 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Military
Write letters home, chat on the computer, have fun enjoying each others company. They also watch dvd's and SLEEP :o)
2007-02-17 09:36:05 · answer #1 · answered by Susan 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The military isn't like a civilian job, there is no real down time. A job is something someone does for a living, and stops doing it when they are off the clock. A Soldier is a Soldier all the time, it's not something that can be left at the door like a coat. Military personnel do not live by the same laws nor have the same rights as civilians. Down time to a civilian is leisure time, down time to a soldier is time to train and prepare. Even military leisure time is actually a factor of personal and psychiatric maintenance.
2007-02-17 09:35:28 · answer #2 · answered by blogbaba 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I am heading to Afghanistan soon, and all I know about land deployments is what I've asked people who just came back. In your downtime, the first thing you'll want to do is sleep and have some fresh food. I don't know how it goes for other nationalities, but we Canadians have our own little club at KAF and we hang out there, where we can have our two beers per man per day, socialize, watch movies.
Another big one is sports and working out, considering that we've got access to some gym facilities and a small sports field.
Another popular pastime is the Internet Cafe where they email or chat with their families and friends back home. We also have phones for that and each soldier is generally issued a card on which he has minutes stored in order to place phone calls.
From what I hear, a bazaar is regularly set up within the wire and we get to sample local goods.
And of course, there's the ever popular just relaxing. Reading, watching movies, listening to music. The kind of things you do back home. Except that you've got body armour, a tactical vest and your weapon within arm's reach.
At sea, it's another story. Most of my downtime I spent sleeping. The watch rotation was just bloody brutal and for a time, I tried working out. Didn't last long, because it's trading sleep for something else. But when the watch rotation went to 1 in 4, I spent a lot of my downtime in the main cafeteria, chatting, playing cards, watching movies, or sitting in on one of the improvised jam sessions. Also, there is always time to email or call home, write letters and the like.
And both at sea and on land, correspondence courses are popular, especially for those who don't have to leave the compound at KAF.
2007-02-17 09:38:57 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
My husband seems like he has a decent amount of down time. He works out at the gym or talks to me on the phone and computer. He gets to sleep in every now and then. He doesn't do as much patrolling/missions as other guys do which is why I think he has more free time.
2007-02-17 09:41:28 · answer #4 · answered by His Angel 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Pretty much the same thing civilians do when they are not working. While stationed overseas I had access to the PX, movies, a gym, a golf course, etc. I was allowed off base to go to the nearest town in the country I was stationed. However when in VietNam I didn't have as much freedom I still had the other conveniences I mentioned.
2007-02-17 09:34:47 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
What down time?! No really, my husband is a crew chief who is currently over there and during the precious little down time he gets he: sleeps, watches movies, listens to his MP3, eats the snacks I send him. Every once in a while, I even get an e-mail. About every two weeks I get a 15 minute phone call
2007-02-17 10:31:11 · answer #6 · answered by mustangsally76 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Don't listen to Big Dave. He is an idiot. What we did during our down time was prepare for the next mission. Then get some food, sleep, clean weapons, etc etc. So there really isn't a whole lot of down time.
2007-02-17 09:36:53 · answer #7 · answered by ? 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Big Dave is a tool.
I slept, read, spent alot of time in the gym and did the whole dvd thing, but that usually turned into a sleep session anyway.
2007-02-17 10:56:58 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Eat, sleep and play video games. They also take care of admin business if they have any, check their mail, and call or email their families. My husband built his own room in his down time, carved his own little niche out of a large, undivided billet with a supply of plywood.
2007-02-17 22:51:12 · answer #9 · answered by desiderio 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
as much as you can do a lot of working out movies and a ton of sleep im deployed right now and its kinda boring but we try to make the best of it with what we have offered to us it is what you make it
2007-02-17 09:36:56 · answer #10 · answered by milifis frikngret 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋