Military bases expand dramatically and accumulate amenities over time

Evidence

Equally telling was Reynolds’s explanation of how bases tend to expand dramatically over time. “You start out small” with an outpost, he said, “thinking you’ll only be there for a week … And then it’s two weeks. And then it’s a month. And then it’s two months.” In the process, bases add facilities, fancier food, and recreational amenities: steak and lobster, flat screen TVs, and Internet connections. The major said he and others in the military refer to these comforts collectively as “ice cream.” — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 714

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to broader base-blowback and permanent-war literature; “ice cream” as euphemism for mission drift.