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In one of the deadliest battlefields of the Iraq war, US Marines stumbled across something totally unexpected, a KFC restaurant. Somehow that isolated little fried chicken franchise told them more about the state of the war than any intelligence reports ever could. This may go without saying, but when in a prolonged combat situation, there's always a risk of morale dropping. In order to keep spirits up, a lot of methods can be employed. One of these is good food. For the most part, military rations are pretty terrible. They're designed to keep soldiers in the field in fighting condition with long expiration dates, portability, and sufficient calories being the main priority. The taste is, well, let's just
say it isn't Michelin quality and leave it at that. So, to keep morale up, American soldiers at bases around the world have a lot of dining options. Among these are a host of fast food restaurants serving well-deserved comfort food to those deployed. Though not the healthiest of choices, it is believed that a taste of home can make an otherwise miserable situation more bearable. Of course, this is not without controversy. For decades now, the United States has experienced an obesity epidemic, and the military is by no means immune to this trend. Although the numbers are less than the general population, a distressingly large number of service personnel are fighting the battle of the bulge, so to
speak. Many believe that having such unhealthy food close at hand gives the soldiers too much access to calorie-dense meals, impacting their health as well as potentially their combat effectiveness. In spite of this, it's generally believed that the downsides are far outweighed by the morale boost given. So, fast food restaurants still have a home on bases around the world, and just because they happen to be in a combat zone doesn't mean this has to change. The United States military, being the logistical titan that it is, has developed a way not only to supply their soldiers with all the resources they need to fight a protracted war on the other side of the planet, but also quite literally to air-drop fast-food restaurants
into foreign territory. And no, this is not hyperbolic. During the global war on terror, after a region was secured, these franchises would open up outlets on or near military bases. For example, in 2004, a C-17 Globemaster III cargo plane literally delivered a Burger King to Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, an image that's done the rounds over the years. It's been shared on social media and is considered to be one of the most baffling, yet hilarious, images produced during the conflict. This is not the only example of fast-food being located on or around military bases in the Middle East. Burger joints, pizza places, sandwich shops, and many others would spring up overseas to serve Americans in areas that were once hotly
contested. So, what does fast-food have to do with the Battle of Fallujah and the effectiveness of the American campaign? After years of sporadic insurgent attacks and IEDs and extensive rebuilding efforts, the city started to return to something that resembled normal. It would still take a tremendous amount of effort with coalition forces as well as the Iraqi security working hard to prevent further terrorist attacks and to protect the civilian population from regular shake-downs by the insurgent forces. For support, how did they know their efforts were effective? Well, they can get their hands on fried chicken. In 2008, a Marine security platoon in the Hail Dubai region of the city came across an
open KFC. They stopped inside and talked to the employees, three of whom were full-time staff and a number of part-timers. They used this encounter as an opportunity to assess the economic stability and overall safety of the area, using the presence of the restaurant and other businesses as a gauge to determine how effective the coalition efforts were. That restaurant specifically served around 25 customers per day, which may not seem like a lot, but it was much more than even a short time before. And the workers were unafraid of insurgent activities, a clear indication for the conditions in the area. Also, the Marines were more than happy to order some food for dinner that night. And just in case you're curious, at the time
a full meal cost around 4,000 dinars, which was about $3.50 in 2008 money. Although this was a sign of economic revival in the war-torn area, it's important to note that this was unfortunately not an actual KFC, but rather a knock-off brand called King of Kentucky Chicken Restaurant. A Colonel Sanders is on full display, but no, it wasn't the official licensed brand. KFC did open up some locations in the country, mostly in Baghdad and a few other important locations, but none in Fallujah. Why is KFC, knock-off or otherwise, important? Well, let's wind back a bit for some context. It's 2004 and the American-led coalition to topple the regime of Saddam Hussein has occupied most of the country. Official
resistance collapsed, but the nation was marred by an ever-growing insurgency. One of the focal points of this was the city of Fallujah, located in central Iraq. As a center for Saddam's Ba'ath Party, the city was a main point for resistance, and Americans and other coalition forces would have to secure the city street by street, block by block, building by building. The First Battle of Fallujah started in April of 2004. However, due to the destruction in the area, the interim Iraqi government pressured coalition forces to exit the city. Security would be taken over by the Fallujah Brigade, but they would disintegrate and the city would firmly fall into insurgent hands. Determined to
take back the city, on November 7th, the Second Battle of Fallujah kicked off. Over 12,000 coalition soldiers launched the operation. During the fighting, major portions of the city were leveled and the civilian population was displaced. The battle raged until December 23rd and when it was done, the insurgents were mostly destroyed and the city secured. Though there would be pockets of resistance that would endure long after the fighting stopped. The battle was one of the fiercest in the war with 110 coalition soldiers killed and 600 wounded with 3,000 insurgents killed or captured with very high civilian deaths and large portions of the city destroyed. Even after the end of the main fighting, insurgents would still infiltrate the city and would be a major
headache for coalition forces for years to come. So, after years of consistent combat, the fact that Marines could get their hands on some fast food was a sign that the situation in the city had stabilized. In the 19th century, miners would carry canaries with them to detect build-up of dangerous gases. A healthy canary meant all was safe to work. In the same way, a KFC or other fast food joint was a sign that things were safe from insurgents. This wasn't the only time KFC was used to determine the safety of Iraqi territory. During the first Gulf War, there were fears that the Iraqis would utilize chemical weapons. This wasn't without reason since they had been used during the recent Iran-Iraq War. Unfortunately, the
American military had not spent any significant resources toward detection technology. So, with their normal improvisation skills, Marines stationed in the region came up with their own way to detect chemical or biological agents. There was a distinct lack of canaries for the task, so they did the next best thing. Live chickens, called poultry chemical confirmation devices or PCCDs, the Marines acquired a number of chickens in a project they called Kuwaiti Field Chicken or KFC. These poultry sentinels were placed outside of their camp where it was believed that their fast respiration would cause them physical distress, giving the Marines enough time to don their protective gear. You can imagine the panic when one
morning they found all of the chickens dead. However, none of the Marines showed any signs of a chemical attack, and they later discovered that the birds had frozen to death overnight. On the plus side, the Marines ate well that night. The same trick was tried again for Iraqi freedom. 43 Kuwaiti field chickens were acquired for the role. The plan was to place them in crates on the roof of vehicles during the invasion of Iraq. Should the Iraqis unleash chemical weapons, the chickens would drop dead, warning the Americans to turn around and avoid the area. Again, this worked in theory, but things fell apart before the invasion even started. 41 of the 43 died shortly after they arrived at their
posting. Apparently, they pecked and scratched at the sand, which clogged their nostrils and giblets, and according to one soldier involved, quote, "It didn't help that nobody here really knows anything about chickens." End quote. For their service and dedication to their country, Lance Corporal Pecker, Captain Popeye, and PFC King, their remains were buried with full military honors beside what the Marines jokingly called the tomb of the unknown chicken.
