# German soldiers are 'too fat to fight' Taliban because they drink so much (while



## daftandbarmy (4 Dec 2008)

German soldiers are 'too fat to fight' Taliban because they drink so much (while our boys go dry)

They drink too much and they're too fat to fight, that's the damning conclusion of German parliamentary reports into the country's 3,500 troops stationed in Afghanistan.
While British and U.S. troops in the country face a strict ban on alcohol, their German comrades are allowed two pints a day.
The stunning statistics reveal that in 2007 German forces in northern Afghanistan drank 1.7million pints of beer and 90,000 bottles of wine.
The troops also downed 896,000 pints of beer in the first six months of this year, the Times reported.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1091559/German-soldiers-fat-fight-Taliban-drink-boys-dry.html


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## RHFC_piper (4 Dec 2008)

???


Really?


These guys don't appear all the "fat"...  







But, then again, this could be just a small cross-section of what is there.

Is there any substance to this? Has anyone here worked with the Germans and agree with this article? 

I've personally never worked with them, but while I was in KAF an Aussie troop mentioned that Canada had the "fattest army in NATO".... Have we lost the crown?

(Before anyone freaks out; I'm sure the comment was made in jest... please take it as such)


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## ModlrMike (4 Dec 2008)

Having just returned, I would say that there's enough fat to go around. There are certainly members of every contingent who's hold on gravity is greater than their comrades', but I don't remember any one contingent being more earth bound than any other.


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## RHFC_piper (4 Dec 2008)

ModlrMike said:
			
		

> Having just returned, I would say that there's enough fat to go around. There are certainly members of every contingent who's hold on gravity is greater than their comrades', but I don't remember any one contingent being more earth bound than any other.



How eloquently put...   ;D


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## Haggis (4 Dec 2008)

Having just returned from a tasking in Germany, I have to agree with Modlr Mike.  Excessive girth is equally distributed amongst the NATO allies (and several partner counteries as well).


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## Dariusz (4 Dec 2008)

Having served with the German military, I would have to disagree with the article.
There has been many articles about how fat German soldiers are, written by the British press, in the last 4 to 6 years. I think that any military has it’s overweight troops. Speaking from my personal experience / deployment to Afghanistan, I would have to say that the most obese soldiers at KAIA during my roto in 2004, were female British soldiers.


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## -rb (4 Dec 2008)

RHFC_piper said:
			
		

> I've personally never worked with them, but while I was in KAF an Aussie troop mentioned that Canada had the "fattest army in NATO".... Have we lost the crown?



No No, we haven't lost the crown, in fact from my point of view we seem to be wearing it prouder than ever....along with the gravy stains on some members shirts as well. Besides the numerous times I heard the snickers and chatter in the mess to seeing a CF member get lowered to the ground on the front of an ARV because he was too large to safely make it off the vehicle under his own control has made me lose all faith in the CF fitness standards. True, there are a few in every contingent but by and large nowhere near the ratio we seem to have. Of course this is all just my personal opinion. end rant. 

cheers.


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## RHFC_piper (4 Dec 2008)

Being one of the "pudgy" guys in the CF (I'm working on it), I think I'd have to say I somewhat agree with yukon... but i also agree with Modlr, Haggis and Dariusz; I think every NATO army has their fair share of pudge, (I don't know anything about the Brit women in Afg, though... sorry Dariusz.), but I think we do have our own issues in that regard as well...  I'm not going to say much more on this issue, due to the fact that I may just be one of those guys adding weight to the CF...  But when I can run longer without pain, I will and I will drop the weight (or I'll get the boot).    But with that said, I can't say I've lost faith in the CF fitness system, 'cause it's not the system that fails the troops, its the troops that fail the system.... But, again, I'm not one to comment.

As for the topic at hand; do they seriously attribute the weight issue to beer?  Really?  'Cause if they take that away from the German troops... jeez... Bad data.


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## Dariusz (4 Dec 2008)

It must be the beer, the food on German army bases in Afg sucks  ;D
And the two pint rule is not really enforced (I was an MP), every company has different rules. When I was there we were told that we can drink as much as we can, as long as we are capable to fight. Everyone has a different alcohol tolerance.
And even if the "two can rule" applied, there were so many bars on base that one could go to the next bar to get two more beers etc.
It is like it is, the military of a nation represents its average population (usually in better shape).
A German without beer is like a Canadian without Tim Hortons


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## RHFC_piper (5 Dec 2008)

Dariusz said:
			
		

> A German without beer is like a Canadian without Tim Hortons



I would almost say "a German without a beer is like a Canadian without a beer" ....  but we manage... somehow (Timmies... lots of Iced Caps.)


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## sm1lodon (10 Jan 2009)

RHFC_piper said:
			
		

> But when I can run longer without pain, I will and I will drop the weight (or I'll get the boot).



I can tell you from long, detailed experience, the fastest way to lose weight, while causing the least pain and using up the least time to recuperate is the Stairmaster machine.

It uses the largest muscle masses in the body, primarily thighs and glutes, so you can burn more calories per hour for a given level of recuperation necessary than running, which is one the most recuperation-intense activities for losing fat because it is not using the thighs nearly as much as the hip adductors.

Using a Stairmaster, when surrounded by beautiful, smooth-skinned Asian motivation in Honolulu, I lost fifteen lbs (264-249) in two and a half weeks one time, while maintaining the same weights in my lifts: squat, deadlift, bench and all the ancillaries.

Use the machine with the pedals that move independently, not one goes up forcing the other down, and vice versa. And NOT the one with the endless loop of stair steps.

The key is that you can take tiny steps that don't turn the Stairmaster workout into an hour-long squat session. Using long strides, which what the fluffy little skinny people tout as being the way to do it is not. Full-range repetitions are for muscle mass, short and more numerous repetitions are for aerobic capacity.

Every movement is a balance between aerobic, anaerobic, and recuperation considerations.

I look at the stairmaster like a carving knife or liposuction machine. You just have to know how to use it.

Oh, and please, all you people who have never, once been on a Stairmaster, never engaged in any formal weight training, and have never been overweight, refrain from trying to lecture me on the potential for injury. I know whereof I speak, and all your professors and Jane Fonda workout books have no more bearing on the realities of body reformation than me reading a book by Richard Marcinko has on your experiences in theater.


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## 54/102 CEF (10 Jan 2009)

If your force is older your force is naturally fatter - but thats not paint them all with the same brush.

I see ours as still 65% over age 35. The forward operating deployed troops may be younger but techs and back office types will on a % basis be older and alas beefier. All in all I say the fitness program started by Gen Hillier is working well - I can't say I saw a good example of pork here at NDHQ in a while.

Just my 2 cents for the day.

Now where's my Tea Biscuit?


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## Haggis (10 Jan 2009)

54/102 CEF said:
			
		

> All in all I say the fitness program started by Gen Hillier is working well - I can't say I saw a good example of pork here at NDHQ in a while.



Agreed, but NDHQ, as a whole, still has a long way to go.  Taking the downtown "Y" away from us didn't help the 200 or so who work in the core, away from NDHQ.



			
				54/102 CEF said:
			
		

> Now where's my Tea Biscuit?



Right next to your large double-double (both of which have far more calories than a pint of beer).


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## HItorMiss (10 Jan 2009)

sm1lodon,

Piper runs with pain because he was wounded in 2006 and is still recovering. I am sure though your advice will work well for others.

As for Germans being too fat I disagree, I have worked with the German forces several times and they to a man were fit and good to go. Now that being said that was of course just working with the combat arms types and not so much with the support arms trades but the ones I did see in KIA and around Kabul seemed fit as well. I still think we are the single fattest military in NATO and our PT is not only abysmally low it's also ignored by the troops and often the chain of command.


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## tyciol (21 Jan 2009)

How are the troops from France faring in regards to alcohol-related gut? Are they not alotted a share of wine (rather than beer as with the Germans) or is it only the Foreign Legion that is given wine? Is beer more fattening than wine?


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## geo (21 Jan 2009)

Beer, wine... same thing.... they are all "sugars" once they are invested... sugar is energy - if you don't burn it, your body will store it.

And no, the French military is no more "chubby" than any other military.
Wine is part of the french lifestyle... the french military reflects that lifestyle.

- I should point out that, whenever someone goes in to see a MD in France, the MD will not hesitate to tell the patient they "need to lose weight"


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## KingKikapu (21 Jan 2009)

I am reminded of that Robin Williams HBO special where he talks about the swiss army and how their knives have wine corkers on them.

''Many of you have never opened Chardonnay under fire before...''


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## CorporalMajor (21 Jan 2009)

I find fat content a very misleading gauge of someone's fitness and ability to fight.


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## daftandbarmy (22 Jan 2009)

KingKikapu said:
			
		

> I am reminded of that Robin Williams HBO special where he talks about the swiss army and how their knives have wine corkers on them.
> 
> ''Many of you have never opened Chardonnay under fire before...''



Neither have the Swiss... not since the 18th century anyways  ;D


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## tyciol (20 Feb 2009)

CorporalMajor said:
			
		

> I find fat content a very misleading gauge of someone's fitness and ability to fight.


Well, it affects ability to fight so much that fitness and health do. Being a wider target doesn't help so much when you're dodging gunfire, although it doesn't really hamper laying it down. Certainly you can be a good soldier with fat and be better than a thinner soldier with less skills. Even so, one can't help but wonder if they'd be even better if they were trimmed.


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## geo (20 Feb 2009)

I think that there has to be a good balance... 
Trust me, over time, those "love handles" will creep in and crowd the trousers when you least expect it.

Get stuck behind a desk & away from the field too long and "sproing" ugly things happen.
Having shed 60-70Lbs of tonnage from my "lifetime high", feel a lot better for it too.


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