KHOST, AFGHANISTAN – Specialist Rory Hayes, a soldier with 1-83 Infantry Battalion operating out of Forward Operating Base Salerno, mistakenly believes that each cup of tea he drinks with Afghan nationals is worth half a promotion point, sources confirmed.

Hayes’ fellow soldiers from Bravo Company jokingly told the Tampa, Fla. native that sharing cups of tea with the Afghans they met during patrols was worth promotion points when he first arrived in theater as an individual augmentee approximately halfway through the unit’s deployment.

In an e-mail to Duffel Blog, Hayes’ fire team leader explained. “Hay-Z came in on a flight from Bagram [Airfield] right after he deployed into theater," said Sergeant Don Lewis. "When the rest of the guys found out this was his first deployment, we decided to bust his balls a little bit. We got the opportunity when we went on our first patrol and he asked why we kept drinking tea with all the ‘old dudes’ rather than ‘kicking down doors and fucking people up’. Out of nowhere, I told him that each cup of tea is worth half a promotion point.”