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Explaining the chow hall in the army
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- Äas pĆidĂĄn 30. 06. 2020
- If you are on active duty in the Army then you might want to know what its like to eat in the DFAC or chow hall and how it all works. I will be explaining the chow hall in the army in this video.
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**Disclaimer: I make videos on topics i have direct experience with as well as indirect experience with to help save some people the time to have to research the topic on their own. Be aware mistakes can be made as well as changes can be made by the Army. Its best to use my content as a reference but if needed you should always talk with an Army recruiter for more information on a topic. **
I just enlisted on Friday as a 19D Cavalry Scout. I leave July 27. Thanks for all the help, Chris.
Are you a 22 week cycle?
Badass bro Iâm 19d as well I leave in 3 weeks
@@aaronburdick2043 bro I just finished and Iâm at ft Riley now
** I Was one Too !! Good Luck !! **Cavalry Scout 2.0 !!
** CARSON ? MIDNIGHT MESS ! ROAST CHICKEN AND FRIES,BREAD SLICES !
Early to late 90's, Ft. Hood the "Triple Threat" chow hall had this dish that they called Yakisoba, but was nothing like actual Yakisoba. It was basically green peppers, onions and ground beef mixed into spaghetti noodles with a kind of soy and ginger sauce. We called it "Worms and Dirt" but make no mistake, it was the shit. I took it on myself to date a cook to learn how they made it, and years later, made it for my kids. Them fools will eat every last scrap of that stuff. I stir fry it in the wok just a tad longer than the chow hall did, and it's bad ass with jalapenos and bok choy.
they still have it
We had unkind names for the dishes we had at Two Rock Ranch in California. Donkey D*ck and Mystery Meat are the only ones I can recall.
Them foos
First time I ate was in the field at Lewis, it was eat or go hungry.
So I take it your female then? Or the cook was female and managed the courage to ask her?
My Dad went in 1939 and he could not believe how crazy many guys were just getting fed 3 times a day. After the depression.
Ah ok
This is lost on younger kids who never knew hunger
raul duke food as a soldier is very important for readiness and effectiveness youâre no good to Uncle Sam if canât function optimally.
@@humboldtharry4248 Not lost on me one of the reasons I'm enlisting. I know people I grew up with who used to purposely go to the halls (juvi) to get food. Most were just dumbasses tho haha
Many got dental and medical care for the first time, plus several wrote home to say they had their own bed, no sleeping with the brother.
on the way to Nam I pulled KP at a 24 hour mess hall that served steak & eggs to troops returning from Nam. They really gave us the business, but a year later it was our turn!
Yeah, I remember being at Ft. Lewis waiting to ship out to Vietnam and was task in the meanwhile with picking up the used towels and old uniforms in the changing area from guys returning from Vietnam. What struck me the most with those soldiers were their scary looking eyes. I couldn't understand why they looked that way.
A year later it was I returning from Vietnam with those scary looking eyes that others picking up our towels and old uniforms couldn't understand the looks of.
Eat now, taste it later.
Have a good fourth!
@@lelandgaunt9985 You too pal!
Happy Independence Day fellow Patriots!
one of my companys drill sergeants in basic would tell us that
s-ht onna shingle!! mm - mmm gud!!! LOL!
My great great uncle served in WW2, but he was born 7 out of 7 children and he was born into the depression, so getting 3 square meals a day was crazy to him. He's 94 now and one of the coolest people I know.
When I was stationed in Panama way back in 78-80, they had an evening hour for leftovers and for a hungry soldier at night, that late night snack was AWESOME đ
I served at Camp Humphries, South Korea '93-'95. All of us intel weenies and fixed wing aviation had our own little spot across the airstrip from main post. Every (I think) Thursday was Bulgogi day on post. Every chow hall served it. And every swinging richard would hop on the bus and come to OUR chow hall because ours did it best. Hell of a deal getting lunch on a Thursday. ;)
I had no idea you had a Military channel, nor that you are a veteran. Much respect
My father served from 51 to 53. My mother said when he left he weighted 165 and when he came home he weighted 210. He had 10 brothers and sisters and said for the first time in his life he could eat as much as he wanted. He said most complained about the food but he never saw anything wrong. He never went to Korea. He served his time in Austria staring down the soviets.
It's not the best food you'll ever have, but it was (based on my experience) pretty good. It's a great way to save money, so I definitely recommend taking advantage of it. Or at least I used to think people that either ate fast food on post, or went off post to buy food, all the time were stupid.
I can see eating Fast food once in a while but why the heck would you pay to eat when you have good food for free? lol
The chow hall at Fort Hood is pretty good.
I was US Army twice. In the 1990's I was attending a Navy run school actually at Eglin Air Force Base, northwest FLA. I couldn't believe the Air Force Dining facility was amazing!! It was better than civilain restaurants; made to order ice cream sundae bar or wrapped Nutty Buddies; baked potato bar with luxurious condiments( sauteed mushrooms, shredded cheese, bacon bits). They had a made to order main line grill; no restrictions on starches. They had bussing ladies to remove your tray when you leave; couldn't believe it; never saw it again.
Fort Dix, New Jersey... 1971. I did KP at the induction center Mess Hall on thanksgiving day. Helped make, serve and cleanup 4000 turkey diners plus breakfast and diner. The organization that takes place is very impressive. Give the Mess Sergeant a lot of credit. Not an easy job. Later at Fort Clayton, Csnal Zone the Messhall food was great. I really miss those southern breakfasts.
I was at fort Dix in 1989
Airborne Infantry 1986-1992 loved Army Food. My favorite was the SOS at breakfast with scrambled eggs, still make it to this day at home. Ft. Bragg chowhalls made this so well, amazing.
Chris I was at ft hood from 1975 through 1978 the food was very good. The best part of my 3 years the food was very good if it wasnt it would have been a long 33 months thank you.
Air Force veteran - When I was stationed at Ellsworth AFB, SD, we had some NATO service members visit our dining facility. They thought the food that we were being served was just a show, and that we didn't actually eat that well all the time.....LOL
I was a Food Operations soldier for 20 years. I served in forward deployed unites and supported garrison operations. Most of the facility's I worked in were well managed. If someone has questions I may be able to answer them. Cooks work more than the average service member. There is a facility open 365 days per year. If anyone has questions I will do my best to answer them.
Cooks do work longer hours, but then they donât hump 90lb rucksacks........
I'm going to serve for 3 years as an army cook. Do you think I would get deployed?
Twice in Air Force Basic, several times at Charleston AFB. During the Dominican Republic crisis of 1965, 2 cooks five KPs fed a battalion of the 82nd with 20 minutes notice. Phone rang in chow hall at 1 AM, cook said 'gotta get busy", "Ops says 20 C-130s coming in want us to fed the crews". Well it wasn't the crews. Sign in sheet listed 389. We gave them a full breakfast, and everyone did everyone's job, I would be doing hash browns before loading dishes, back to cooking eggs, etc.
Army food was better than food in college!! When I was in ROTC in college use to love it when we had FTXs at Ft Jackson because we went to the chow hall every time for meals!! Ft Jackson also has good food in the chow hall!!
The food from chow hall was better than the cafeteria in college.
When people ask me how chow hall food was, I tell them I have been food poisoned by the very best cooks that the military had. 1969-1976
Many soldiers complained, but i believe it was because they thought they should, but for me, the food was GREAT! Even loved the C-rations before they were phased out!! đ§đšđđđđ
Roger that !
C-RATS were the best! Heavier than the MRE's to carry around, but the cans were more versatile once you were done eating. Using the peanut butter for napalm was always fun.
The food was pretty decent in Basic, AIT, Airborne and not so good during Ranger School. During Basic you could eat all you wanted, but you had better eat it all. We did not make much money in 1969. E2s made around $95 a month. Paid in new bills. We ate really well at base camp in Nam. Co H (Ranger) 75th Infantry.
Thank you MUCH for your super hooah service in the Rangers in 'Nam. I went through LRSU course taught by former Vietnam Rangers. Best army school I ever went through, highest caliber instructors ever. Thanks for what you did!
Great video...comprehensive and entertaining.
When I retired from the Army in '94, they were "mess (or chow) halls". When I was getting ready for deployment as a contractor in 2009, I was, like, "What the hell's a 'D-FAC'? They were always the best part of deployment, though (midrats and Sugar-Free Citrus Ripits!). Shout out to the Air Force crew that ran the one in Kirkuk...it was huge!
If it was really free I wouldn't be seeing a whole deduction for it đ. I just cook my own food bc ik it'll come out better anyway
Hey hand grenade guy. I'm usually in the live chats and so is anakin. :]
You shouldve been a cook then
Hey Christopher Chaos! Why do you love that stupid comment.
How much were they deducting from you per month and what year was that?
@@oculosprudentium8486 its around 300 dollars a month but you don't even really get the money they take it before hand and still put it in ur leave and earnings statement
Thank you so much for these videos. I'm in the Navy but will be working with the Army later this year. These videos are super helpful for learning Army culture as it's vastly different from Navy culture.
I miss Army Food. Potatoes was always in the Menu. Hands Down.
Don't forget grits, too.
@@Roh-c8e Yuck and yuck. Potatoes soup and grits, everyday.
while stationed at Ft. DIX, N. J. in 1970 we discovered that our meal cards were accepted on Mcguire AFB, and Air Force food was better than the Army's. A small group of us hustled over for lunch one day, and while there the base bank was robbed. They locked the base down and we couldn't get back over to the Army side until after 3 PM. Needless to say our Captain was pissed off, and told us we would be eating all future meals in an Army mess hall!
I was station at one of the Navy smallest bases, during the 70's, NAF Nalpes. Italy total personal was just over 200 officer and enlisted. Everyone got meal allowance. One chow hall, everyone eat there, great food steaks every Friday for lunch, except during lent. Most of the time it was closed on the weekends, but the had a restaurant/cafe in the terminal. Base operation was a 24-7-365. only one third of the enlisted base personnel was working on any given day. The officers only see you one to two time a week and only during the day.
Just enlisted myself infantry 11bravo my duty station is gona b at fort lewis Washington 3yrs so let's c how it goes, I've been watching all your vids. Great info đ
Good content by the way! Glad I stumbled upon this channel. Im learning a bunch from your channel! Thanks
Great explanation of how day to day garrison mess halls function. I spent 6 years in the Canadian Army, we had separate messes for privates/junior NCOs, for Sergeants & Warrant officers and lastly officers. I found the food really good, portions were generous, salad bar was comparable to a decent civilian buffet restaurant. There was generally two main courses to choose from, and there was a sandwich bar where they would make sandwiches to order. There was an ice cream freezer that had a variety of things, beverages included tea,coffee,milk,chocolate milk,fruit juices etc. Breakfast had made to order eggs along with the usual hash browns, pancakes,waffles, beans corned beef hash etc.
Totally unrecognizable from my time in the 60s. Mess Halls were usually at the Battalion level, in the field at the company level. In the 70s and early 80s I was NG and that was a whole different thing.
In the late 1980's, the HQ mess at Fort Jackson was really good. I was happy to go home, but I've never forgotten that.
Never had a bad prepared meal in the Army or the AF. I loved sos.
The mre I was not too crazy about.
When I was in ait in 1987 at fort Benjamin Harrison, the warrant officer in charge came to our table and asked us about the food. I said sir, I think it excellent.
He was very happy.
My grandad was in the Army as a financial officer from 1966-67. He says that the chow was always great and there were tons of options for breakfast.
Back in my day BAS didn't show up on your check unless you were authorized to get it. We always referred to it as either mess hall or chow hall. Take I worked in Battalion Staff the S shops pretty much ate together. My 1st 3 units had our own mess hall because we had a mess platoon. 2nds weren't hard to get in the battalion mess hall but when I was stationed where we had a shared mess hall or a civilian run mess then it was hard to get seconds unless it was close to closing time. I find a lot of things changed or you had more strategic post to my tactical unit postings because I have watched several of your videos and while things were run similar there were a lot of differences. I know one thing you missed on your awards video was the JSM you could also receive that if you were say assigned for a short time with a different branch because I got mine from being assigned to a Marine unit for about month and the Marine Commander awarded me with mine. I was in in the 80s & 90s so I'm sure there's been a lot of changes between my time in and yours.
At FT. Carson in the mid 70's we could get pizza at night on the weekends.
Fort Benning for Basic in the summer of 1983. The breakfast was surprising, as the eggs were "cooked to order" in 3 ways: scrambled, over easy or over hard. The sausage gravy was poured over the eggs. First time I ever had grits. Sausage and bacon. The almighty peppered potatoes. All meals were served with salted kool-aid (the army el-cheapo version of gatorade) because of the heat. It was "brewed" in an old-fashioned soda bubbler, like what the old 5&10 or soda fountain would have.
I leave in 26 days for BCT and I've rewatched all your videos to help me out
I was in Schwienfurt Germany and our chowhall had pretty goid food ( while in garrison) when we hit the field it was a different story and we were in the field 6 months out the year!!
Do they still shout âairborneâ when someone drops a tray?
đ
@@nmazer I think "get down with it" is heard more often.
@@ernestpaul2484 Drop with it.
@@nmazer Variations on a theme, I have been out since 88'. Still when it happens in the mess hall, the shout out is just about automatic. It seems like yesterday.
hey chris i was a " spoon" in 4 different units inda 80's and i had 11b grunts tell me they did'nt want my job!!! we fed the troops the best we could!!! and to all y'all hi- tech mos's u still gotta eat!!!!!! shmdh!!!
old reliable
Good to see you! Have a great weekend!
A cook is one of the hardest and most thankless MOS's in the Army. Was always told thank God you're not infantry or a cook. (Stinger/Air Defense Artillery)
@@cmoney220 đŻđŻ! ive been thru the fire as a 94b! " cook" 2 yrs in alaska was no joke!!
Itâs taking you forever to hit 100K, let alone 75K. You need to lite a freaking fire dude!
Tour the man man love the content and information
No Beer? We had beer vending machines in the mess hall at Fort Wolters in 1971. Maybe that was an experiment as the Army was trying to become a "modem volunteer army:" In Basic, every company had its own mess hall. With the running, PT, etc. of training, everyone ate a lot. Fat guys lost weight, skinny guys gained weight. Thanks for the memories and the update.
In my 24 years of Army service, the only time I saw beer was a vending machine in the barracks at fort McClelann Al in 1971
Sure changed a lot.My first three in the Army,1957 1959 we had company mess hall.Cooks were active duty soldiers like the rest of us just different jobs.After I went back in 1961,some places had company mess halls,some had consolidated mess halls,usually run by military cooks but would serve a battalion or larger size area.By the time I retired in 1979,most mess halls that I knew of were consolidated,battalion size or in some cases larger.Fort Leonard Wood has DAFCs that served as many as 700 meals three times a day.At the same time there were the MP mess halls that might serve less than 100 meals a day even though the had a midnight chow for the night shift MPs,
I ate in mess halls in Basic and AIT, but once I reached Berlin, I ate some meals in the company mess hall and others off post in meals the three of us cooked in our little apartment on the economy. In Berlin. I was in the old ASA Field Station, and the food was generally pretty good. I ate breakfasts and the late night breakfast served to those who worked mid shift or eves. Holiday meals were usually great. The Field Station had three companies and totaled about 1000 men, so our situation was different than many other units. Most of the guys worked in three shifts (tricks to us), so the cooks were busy 24/4. In talking about food over there, the very best food you could get was to be found in French mess halls or officers' messes. They didn't care what our rank was, as long as we paid for our meals. It was a treat for us to go up in civvies (suits and ties) to eat at their Officers' Mess. Amazingly delicious food for next to nothing.
I was a food service specialist from 1982-1986. 2 years at Ft Jackson on tank hill serving roughly 200 trainees in a company mess hall and then 2 yrs in Hohenfels Germany serving permanent troops in a consolidated mess hall. In both places we had only a main line and the cold line of salads and desserts. We never herd of vegan areas, deli areas, or even to go dishes. Both mess halls had the same set up of food lines consisted of a choice from 2 meats 2 vegys and 2 starches for lunch and dinner. Breakfast was choice of eggs cooked to order except scrambled. They would be somewhat prepared and pit in a pan. Omelets had fixings including ham, cheese peppers and onions. Choice of pancakes or french toast. Grits. and SOS. (SH!T on a shingle) which was creamed beef on toast.
So I can imagine today's dining facilities are much more different then they were when i was there. When I was leaving in 1986 the military were starting to get more healthy dining. WE longer added salt (or put in half) to the food prep. We had salt and pepper shakers on the tables for the troops to use if they desired. But that is as far as I got.
As far as getting seconds, it wasn't allowed. Our recipe card called for a certain amount of ingredients and a certain size portion. We had to account for every portion given compared to the number of diners. We had a tolerance of +3% or -3% and if we were over or under that amount we were in trouble by the accounting office. I am not sure what are penalty would have been because since I did out facilities menu planning and prepped the reports for food bought and meals served, I did not have that issue. The way it works is the military will give you so much money to buy food for your facility based on the number of troops fed. There was also a monthly menu plan book issued as a guideline on what to serve that month as these ingredients would be available at the rations store. So we would have to take inventory of our back stock each month and add it to the number of signatures collected from dinning and that would be checked against the cost of food purchased which includes condiments and drinks. When we went to the store to get rations we did not necessarily give money to get the food but rather the store facility would note what products you are taking. Meats were ordered by phone and delivered while all other food products would be picked by hand by what we called the rations guy that was part of the personnel from the mess hall. That food would be loaded on a semi right there and would be at your facility shortly. That was part of my job in SC. but in Germany we had a German who was that guy and was his only job is the make sure we had the amount of food needed for the menus.
As with any accounting there are ways to balance the "books". At Ft. Jackson, it was very easy to account for. We had roughly 200 troops and since they were trainees everyone ate. So no issues there. But at a permanent party facility that is much different. As stated by Chris you have the choice to eat there or not. So on any given meal we never know exactly how many meals we will have to serve. So this becomes much harder to balance. Once way to account the food is by reserving the left over portions the next day. So I would deduct the previous days leftovers from the new meal portions to make up the amount of portions expected to be served. Another way is following the trend on any given day or the week's activities to "guess" your portion amounts. You could be under and have a backup plan if you need to make more food. So you would have quick and easy food ready to cook if you are running out of food. Spaghetti and meat sauce is a good meal stretcher. You can easily make more portions with the same amount of ingredients that what the menu called for. Adding more water to the sauce and then thicken it up with cornstarch is how we did it. The accounting in this type of mess hall had to be very inventive to stay within the accounting tolerance.
I don't know if today's facilities have the same accounting practices from way back when.
Rock on! The "vegan areas" and other frou frou areas are where the military is just going downhill. If a soldier is "vean or frou frou" then they are not really are soldier.
I remember when I went in in 1975 (summer of course) at Ft. Knox. When we entered the mess hall, we had to say RA, AR, or NG. When I was in basic, the Drill Sargent would tell us, âWhen I get up. You all get up!â He would have just a cup of coffee while we shoved the food down our pie holes.
Most of my time in the Army was in Germany at Pioneer Caserne in Hanau, Germany 1960-1962. My barracks held two companies. My company was 814 Engr. Co{Floating Bridge} The other company was 568 Engr. Co.(Light Equipment) Our mess hall was in our barracks and serviced both companies. You had no choice of what you got to eat. If the main course was liver, you ate that or you went without and most likely went to the cafeteria on post where, you had to pay for whatever you ordered. The food there was better than in the mess hall. We originally had civilian KP workers until an incident caused them to quit. We were unable to get others to work here and we all had to do KP. I hated KP duty because the hours were long and we were constantly being harassed by the mess sergeant. He eventually got in trouble with our new company commander, who was an airborne ranger who took no prisoners. He was selling the cigarettes in the rations. Those were the days! Lol
I didn't mind Army chow. We never called it a DFAC. 92-96 in Belgium back when breakfast was .95 cents and lunch/dinner was $1.90. It was convenient. I don't miss that yakisoba crap or dry ass chicken breasts tho. I loved breakfast: SOS, omlet to order, oatmeal with hardboiled eggs,, or 4 sausage links with 2 eggs over medium with some Texas pete. Salad bar was a must to fill up tho if you were exercising a lot. Friday was cheeseburger day if I remember right. Steaks weren't of very good quality unless it was Thanksgiving or Xmas. Chilmac rules! Lol
Our cooks were the best! They were cool as heck.
One time in the dead of winter, I drew armed guard at an ammo dump full of 4 duce mortar shells. At 0300, a jeep pulled slowly up the road. We locked and loaded and prepared to challenge. As it turns out, it was our battalion cooks bringing us a thermite can full of chicken soup and ham and cheese sandwiches. Unexpected but awesome. Officer of the Day was with them. It was Lt. Fix. Did the challenge routine, and all five of us took turns pigging out.
Chris Chaos: When I was a 92G2P with HHC, 3/75 RGR BN @ FBGA in '96-'97, I had the rare pleasure to not only prepare, cook and clean, as well as serve food and beverage for My fellow Rangers, but, I have worked with Air Force and even Navy Food Services Personnel. Since I have been out, I have seen, on Television and on the Net, Soldiers in My MOS( 92G) wear a Ranger Tab, Jump Wings, and even a Combat Action Badge. The United States Army has certainly changed alot, even in Food Services matters.
Was Navy in the 70's, Hospital Corps. We ate with the physicians, nurses, etc. and chow was consistently good. Some days it was very good. Our Marine Corps contemporaries weren't as fortunate, although the officer's mess was always good.
In my unit in West Germany before you sit in the mess hall with the brothers before you sit down you to give everyone who is setting at that row The Dap and you had to do the same when when you had finished eating!That is one of the things you had to learn will fast.
In Basic I was on the fat boy plan. I lost 65 lbs. I'm 6'4. College ball player to the Army. Ft. Benning. Ft. Leonard Wood. Food was good. Breakfast was solid there. Ft. Bliss was really good. So DFAC the line would be out the door and you'd have another DFAC empty down the street. Ft. Riley was trash. Idk why the food sucked there. Iraq liberty was a good DFAC. RAMADI was really good. FALLUJAH sucked. Mosul was good. Taji was OK. Did 2 tours of Iraq
Kewl
Love ur videos you are the best
ikr
I am a contractor and I eat on base itâs $5 and some change. You get a soup, salad and main entree. They have deserts, bread juice all kinds of drinks. Milk, orange juice, apple juice. Itâs so cheap and convenient. I canât pass it up. This was pre covid they have since closed it off to everyone who is not in the military. Hope they bring it back soon lol
meals arenât too bad you have about 2 options hope you like milk and juice lol and your first 3 weeks youâll only have about a minute to stuff your face donât worry it slowly gets better not really lol
Whenever Iâm at work I just put all your videos on shuffle so I can listen to them. Thanks for all your help man, I leave for MEPS on Tuesday đŹđ
Good luck đ
A tip try to be there when it opens. It tends to loose flavor sitting on the steam tray for hours. The chow hall also has a budget. They have to stay like within 2% of it. One play I was stationed at had a lunch food truck due to the distance to mess. It was really good food and every one gained weight. The commander got alarmed at all the failures at the yearly weigh in. The truck no longer stopped. You had to run along side to get your food. In some places the serve 2000 people a meal. That is one heck of an accomplishment.
Remember soldiers breakfast is the best meal of the day..... I never missed breakfast... Modern military is very lucky we really do get great food around the world... When I pass through Kuwait on my way to Iraq the Kuwaitis paid for a Chow Hall that had marble floors and walls and chefs with white hats it was awesome... They had taco bars Burger bars sandwich bars...
The mess halls sound a whole lot better today. It's Basic Allowance for Subsistence, not sustenance
In college in the late '90's I had a summer job as a lifeguard for the National Parks Service in NYC. We were allowed to eat in the Galley at Ft. Wadsworth, which was a USCG Activities base, as well as a USANG base and an NPS facility. We had to be in uniform to enter and we were charged a small fee ( I remember breakfast being $1.50 and I think that dinner was $4.00). The food was amazing.
When you get BAS and your Married living off base in housing or single soldier but authorized to receive BAS you receive enough money to be able to eat in the DFAC for every meal or 3 meals a day during the month just like a soldier living in the barracks. I was married and normally spent it on groceries for the house or went out to eat and the time it was a lot more to eat off base or at the PX etc and did not get no where near the amount of food i would get at the DFAC. So Usually off base living, soldiers basically get the same money that the soldier living in the barracks get if they ate every meal at the dfac. Now if the single soldiers dont eat at the DFAC then they are spending more money and that sucks. I have lived in housing and in the barracks, BAS basically equalls payment for each meal during the month.
I donât remember the Chow Hall on Camp Hansen being good in 1997 but the Main Side Chow Hall on Camp Pendleton was great! One side was all fast food and the Main Line always had baked potatoes with all the fixings, pizza, spaghetti and garlic bread in addition to the main meals with mashed potatoâs/rice, all kinds of desserts: cakes pies cookies jello and soft serve ice cream and a soda fountain in addition to juice and milk.
On Thanksgiving and Christmas, I have to say the mess halls do a good job, you could have whatever you wanted and all you can eat.
Everything in the Army tasted better with Texas Pete hot sauce!!! Was definitely on the packing list.
The DFAC at the Ft. Carson hospital is top notch. My son loved to get some chow there when I had appointments. He was little and they would always hook him up. Back in the 90âs breakfast was like $.90 or $.95 cents!!! The best!!!! I do miss eating off a tray with plates and utensils!
The food from basic to my 2 duty stations was A+. â
Shared training facility with another MOS in AIT. They had night shift so the mess hall was open 4 times M-F. Four meals great for a growing boy.
The food is only as good as the Mess Hall Staff is at any unit, base or branch.
You got that right! Some Mess Sergeants care, others don't.
Very good point about the hospital food.
Ft. Riley, 2/16th Inf and 121 Signal, Custer Hill. 1984-1986. Good service, 2/37 Armour was weekend rotation. Very good. Would let you go back for 2nds if getting ready to close. Ft. Sill, 2/2 F.A., better than Ft. Riley. Yell out how you want your eggs, egg man would do 8-10 at a time. Combo was an omelet with everything the egg-man had.
SOS, best breakfast in the world. The Army makes it better than anyone else.
I had it at ft dix in 1987 and I loved it. My father had it in the ng and hates it to this day.
I was working as a contractor on Al Asad in Iraq in 2008. It was buffet style every day . After eating a huge breakfast and lunch I used to just have a muscle milk and beef jerky for dinner . All food was free.
Best breakfast I ever had was in At the US Army Base outside of Pisa Italy when I was trapped on shore during a winter storm and my Ship had to up and leave Livorno Italy, there were a couple hundred of us stranded and had to Sleep on Base overnight
12:06 - I don't know whether it's allowed now, but when I was stationed at Ft. Bliss back in the early 2000s, I could go back for seconds, thirds, & even then a to-go box after all that (I had a massive appetite in my late teens). It was a de facto all-you-can-eat arrangement back then, in the DFAC closest to my barracks. However, I had to go to the back of the line every time I went back, so as to ensure that those who haven't had their 1st would get their food ahead of me. I don't recall them EVER serving anything fancy like lobster, but once every 2-3 weeks, they would have some kind of cajun-style shrimp & a side of parboiled rice. I ALWAYS went back for 2nds (& 3rds) when they had THAT. Lots of people dissed army food, but I thought it was pretty good (even most MREs are tolerable); I never liked short order, but the main line almost always had an enjoyable item, & they had decent variety. The only thing I disliked about my DFAC was breakfast, but that's only because I dislike the typical American breakfast foods, it's too heavy & too salty, so I hardly EVER went for breakfast. That said, just typing this is making me hungry & nostalgic.
When I was at Fort Carson in an ASA company, we had our own chow hall. Our cooks had arranged with the delivery guys to allow them to hose out their truck, so they made sure that we were at the end of their route. They appreciated it so we occasionally got something extra. BTW, this was prior to our SVN deployment.
On one occasion, we got a cook who had been in Germany, and the other cooks commented that he could go the whole set of pots (twice) for breakfast. In Germany, kp was done by German nationals who were employees. For us, kp was a duty rotating through the lower ranks.
You did KP at your regular unit??? Damn! Back in the day, that was unheard of.
I was a Red Leg Soldier Stationed at Ft Sill. 78-81 We had great chow. Each Battalion had their Own Mess Halls . all mess halls Opened the Same times for each it never Varied and no fricking drive through . 7 am for PT You gotta be kidding me. We did our PT at 5.30. Am
I usually volunteer to stay at HQ to answer phone calls while the rest of the crew eat lunch. I go to the chow hall and basically have a table by yourself. Then, back to duty later.
So they've done away with battalion level mess halls? When I was with a few units, like the 4/23 Inf Reg, or the 6/32 Ar Bn, our mess hall had an NCO only area. When I first got to the 4/23, I wasn't aware of it, and when I went to eat a lunch the first day there, I was sitting in general population and my first SGT saw me and told me I was in the wrong area. We were not to sit with the lower enlisted. Thought that was weird. I seldom ate there after that, because as good as the food was, I found the food at the 2/75 Ranger Rgt was so much better.
I was at bamberg Germany, in the cav and our mess hall ruled. Great food, cooks, and holidays. Master sgt. Ray ran it and we called it Ray's dinner. Of course we were in the field half the time.
Our mess hall was called, "The Choke & Puke."
@@dougtheeliminator1077 Lucky for me I guess. I've heard choke and puke before.lol. master sgt. Ray had been there since he was a private. Also, hey, 2nd Cav.
@@andrewvenezia9864 Choke & Puke, Scarf & Barf, The Ptomaine Cafe, The Greasy Spoon, etc. All the same!
@@dougtheeliminator1077 ha.ha. have a good 4th brother.
When i was stationed in West Germany back in the 80s we had green kool aid and fried chicken for every day for weeks until our brigade commander came we told him about the food the menu changed the next day lol luv the vlogs bro
My granddaughter has been a strict vegan for 4 years. She just signed up and ships out to Ft Sill for basic in Dec. She knows vegan/Army doesn't quite mix, so she has reluctantly started adding meat back into her diet. Doesn't sound like she'll get many vegetables in basic. I watched your vid on food in basic also. I need to show it to her.
I was in 3-1 ADA on Ft Hood, 91-93. We would go to all different chow halls all over the base trying to find something that was better than a MRE. You might explain, a lot of cooks are people who didn't make it through their original AIT school and got shipped to cooks school.
I donât know if you did when you were at Carson @Christopher Chaos but several of us from my unit would go over to the Pete AFB DFAC 3 or 4 times a month. They had better food back then than on Carson. But the one thing I still Jones for is Uncle Donâs.
The chillimac was good. A chilli and elbow mac mix. Salad choices good. Fri. Was steak day at. AIT in ft Sam. Good times
At Ft Hood, Tx in the 70s $0.55 for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner $1.25 for Enlisted.
I was at a Canadian army mess hall a few times in the early 80"s (CFB Trenton in Ottawa), Long story why. The food was better than my high school cafeteria for sure. I guess you have to cook better if the eater is armed. Steak night was a total letdown, I do not remember having meat that hard before or since. The food served in the field was not the worst and a hot meal was very welcome out in the cold.The hot food containers and other stuff often had "US" stamp on it.
In the Army from 2004 to 2014. Ate at multitude of DFACS all over the U.S. and the world: Ft Benning, Bragg, Meade, Hood, Huachuca, Bullis, Dix, Knox, and many others I can't think of right now. Although DFACs seem to differ across installations, even on the same installation the quality was different. So for example, the nearest one at my Barracks in Bragg (PSYOP) was ok, but the one down the street nearest SOF was consistently better. And of course, the secret sauce in getting the best meal on an Army base was to go to the Airforce side. Seriously, we would always try to go to Pope AFB if we had a chance to eat there. Not only did they have better food, they actually had workers come around and pick up your plate when you were done. No need to drop off at the collection window. I was blown away how much better Chairforce had it the first time I was there.
Oh and hands down Breakfast was always the best meal. The quality seem to go down as the day went on, particularly when we got to Dinner.
Are talking about the 20th engineer brigade dining facility on gruber rd ?
Hope yâall like chicken because itâs at every meal.
oof
That is not true >:
And fish don't forget fish đđ
Noce
Chicken sausage, chicken enchiladas, roasted chicken, bbq chicken, pulled chicken, chicken cordon bleu... am I forgetting any? đđ
I had no complaints on 5 different places I ate at
My MOS was 94B20 I think that is the same as 92G I did basic training at Fort Dix NJ in 1974
Best Chow Hall ever was in Baghdad Iraq. They had a Mongolian BBQ, best ever!
I'm entitled BAS, but if I don't feel like spending a lot on food, I'll go to the DFAC. Demon Diner and Cantigny were my go-to's when I was in Riley.
I've been waiting for this
Thatâs what she said.
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Drive thru and food truck mess halls, lol. My, how things have changed since I was in the army 1980-1983. Blackhorse!
Basic and AIT were the only times I used the chow hall. Once I got to my unit, we worked 12hr shifts, 3 on, 3 off. So we were given BAS and bought our own food. We also got COLA since at a couple of sites we lived on the economy (in civilian apts, no base nearby.) Loved my MOS, we didn't have to put up with the regular crap the rest of the army had to. đ
35-L,also never had to deal with much grab ass.lot of time no uniform.
What is your MOS, so I can reclass to it when the time comes? At least say what field series your MOS was in, LOL
@@golfery5119 35-L
@@golfery5119 29Y Might be different now, there was word that they were changing it to 31 something. So check with your retention NCO.
The DFAC wasn't a 4-star resturaunt.. but most of the food is on point. Some things can even be made to order. Single soldiers can save quite a bit of money eating the DFAC and if you're deployed to a base overseas, and they have a DFAC, you definitely want what they have because most shops in a deployment won't have very many healthy choices.
Interesting to see how things are with Army Mess Halls. I ate at one Army Mess Hall and that was in Ft Leonard Wood. That said, I am a Navy Vet. Side note, chow in bootcamp galley wasnt bad. With that I use to eat at Galley in Washington State. It was actually quiet good. They also did allow seconds. I also was stationed at at Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickem in Hawaii. There Galley was right next to where I worked. They allowed seconds and they also had people who would pick up your plates and food; this was the Navy side not Airforce Side. I was suprised first time they did that. Now first half of my time in Pearl Harbor I lived in Barracks so I had as you said free meal time. I then moved off base. I still went ahead and at often there for breakfast and Lunch, and paid in cash. Though I noticed something interesting. One month I ate there for every meal and paid in cash. I paid more in cash than what I got in basic substance allowance.
Messhall prices are supposed to be equivalent to what you were given in BAS. In my time , breakfast cost .27, lunch .45, and supper was .38, BAS was $1.10 a day, or $33 a month. If the month was only 28 days, you made a small profit, but a 31 day month you lost, but overall for the year, it about equaled out.
In general, the quality of the food was directly dependent on the creativity and management skills of the mess sergeant, at least in the smaller individual mess halls, not necessarily true of the larger consolidated mess facilities. One of the greatest indications of the food quality of a facility was the âsosâ, most mess sergeants took great pride in their SOS.
In the Australian Army we had a few nicknames for cooks .... tuckerf**kers was one, baitlayers was another (presumably this has something to do with serving poison.) My personal favourite was fitters and turners (because they fit food into pots, and turn it into sh*t.) In the main however, I never had any complaints. Food in the Sergeants mess was definitely way better than in the other ranks mess though.