"...and the troops can't watch football due to the shutdown" says Howie Long on Fox Sports pre-game

[underpants]

No sports on AFN news channel during shutdown

The American Forces Network, reduced to just a news channel this week by the government shutdown, says it has no plans to screen football, baseball or other sports until things get back to normal.

Navy Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist John Harrington, an AFN spokesman, said in an email that the broadcaster’s lawyers had determined there is no sound policy or legal basis to air sports.

The legal opinion advised that televised sport “is not deemed critical to accomplish essential aspects of the DMA (Defense Media Activity) mission in direct support of excepted military operations and activities.”


Harrington said AFN doesn’t have the manpower to run its sports channel because civilian staff have been furloughed due to the shutdown.

“We are keeping the AFN|news channel running with a handful of military operators working 24 hours a day to keep the information flowing,” Harrington said.

http://www.stripes.com/news/no-sports-on-afn-news-channel-during-shutdown-1.245044

[spanone]

1. due to republicans, who initiated and continue to support the shutdown.

[PearliePoo2]

2. I took a look at the stripes link to read the comments.

Just guess WHO the majority of the troops that are posting are blaming?
Depressing...

[uponit7771]

3. This stinks!!

[lpbk2713]

4. So that means no Limbaugh either?

I'd say they got the better part of the bargain in the tradeoff by far.

[underpants]

6. Good question

[legcramp]

7. No, part of AFNTV is shut down, not radio

So they still get all those programs.

And TV still has FOX, MSNBC and CNN news.

At least in Japan.

[legcramp]

5. Where there's a will there's a way

Anybody who has been in the military knows that sometime things "just happen".

My grandson is deployed to an FOB in Afghanistan that they share with another NATO country.

He was told that as part of the "drawdown" they haven't had AFN TV or internet access for over a year. However, the partnering NATO country does and the comm guys are able to tap in.

So he gets sports and can Skype.

His wife works for a private American company that contracts to run the E-Club at their home AFB base in Japan. She can't get AFNTV in their apartment on base but the E-Club gets whatever channels they want.

She expects to make $3-400 in tips today, so she's happy.

BTW, who is getting the bulk of the blame?

You don't want to know.