Do soldiers have personal time while serving in combat zones? Are they ever off duty, even when sleeping or eating?

I was a combat infantryman in Vietnam. Most days we were in the jungle on “search and destroy missions” our LA Dodgers Hawaiian Shirt was to search out the enemy and destroy them. That included their weapons, supplies, food, shelter and anything or anyone who supported them. We were on rotation with three other infantry companies. Three weeks in the jungle then one week on the LA Dodgers Hawaiian Shirt base providing perimeter security for the artillery company stationed on the top of the hill. The three weeks patrolling were 24/7 “on duty”. Searching out the enemy by day and taking a guard shift every night. No time off at all. During our one week on the fire base, we had time to clean our weapons, get clean clothes and shower. We were still on duty filling sandbags, repairing bunkers and digging trenches.

Every three months or so, our LA Dodgers Hawaiian Shirt would be airlifted by helicopter to the rear area for three days of “Standdown” where we could drink beer, watch movies and relax. We were also entitled to take two one week R&R trips out of country to “relax and recuperate”.

The standdown and R&R were our only downtime. Rear area troups had Night clubs, PX stores and occasional USO shows to entertain them. Infantrymen’s jobs didn’t allow for such.