Are Meal deduction just an excuse to profit off soldiers?

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 07 Nov 2018 22:57:17 -0500

Are Meal deduction just an excuse to profit off soldiers? My particular dfac has run out of food and to-go plates multiple times also they're not even open on the weekends most the year. I've lived at this base for 3 years now and all I see is the meal deduction go up every year and I don't see the reason for this because most soldiers would rather eat off base than this trash they feed us.

Response by LTC Jason Mackay made Nov 8 at 2018 2:00 AM

LTC Jason Mackay — Thu, 08 Nov 2018 02:00:35 -0500

SPC Private RallyPoint Member so you draw BAS and they deduct for meals served to you or are you a meal card holder? If the desire was to "make a profit" the insidious Army illuminati are betting on the wrong horse. There is no S1/DOL vacation to the Caymans based on meal deductions that are directed by regulation. The meal rates are centrally directed by HQDA.

There is not a DFAC available on weekends?. I find that hard to believe. It may not be preferred or close but there is 7-365 DFAC coverage. Installations frequently serve brunch vice lunch and breakfast on the weekends and holidays. The installation and tenant units ensure coverage. I can't look it up for you as your profile doesn't have an information posted on it. It is usually posted at the DFAC, on line, and in unit areas.

To go plates: technically they are there for operational requirements, they have turned into a convenience item. The To go plates were not put there for people to take back to their fortress of solitude and muse about their place in the cosmos. The food is planned, prepared, and served in a manner that it is to be consumed at the DFAC.

Avenues you can take:
- quality/quantity of food served: go to the Dining Facility Advisory council meeting with specific instances. Stay away from "always" and "never" in your comments. Make recommendations to fix the problems. All menus are approved by a dietician and meet calorie requirements in the regulation. The menus and recipe cards are standardized Army wide. The raw ingredients are standardized, quality controlled and provided in one of the most regulated contracts I've seen by a prime vendor. If the issue is there the Food Service tech needs to get with Installation Subsistence and the KO to remedy. When DFACs run out of food, it's because the headcounts have become unpredictable. There is a production control aspect you just can't magic your way out of. How do you fix that? People need to consistently use the DFAC.

- go to other unit DFACs. See how they are. Provide constructive feedback through the Advisory Council to improve it based on best practices of others.

-observed food safety issue: professionally raise the issue with the DFAC Manager or lead cook (NCO). Undercooked, off temperature, cross contamination, etc.

Response by SSG Robert Perrotto made Nov 8 at 2018 2:56 AM

SSG Robert Perrotto — Thu, 08 Nov 2018 02:56:40 -0500

If you are a meal card holder, which is a regulation requirement for all single soldiers living in the barracks, then you are not having any meal deduction, as a meal is being provided by the government. If you actually do the math, and actual cost of dining out all 3 meals per day, then you would realize that you are making out like a bandit by having the defac - as for your dfac being closed on weekends, it is standard policy for the posts dfacs to rotate weekend chow between the tenant units, there is ALWAYS a dining facility open, there will always be a meal provided, the Government promises a meal will be provided, they do not promise convenience. get off your lazy ass and utilize it. I cannot believe that a soldier, who regularly gets his week ends off, is complaining about the cooks, who start their days at around 0300 to provide you breakfast, having a few weekends off as well. Entitlement at it's finest.

Honest Truth - I ate breakfast at the dfac my entire career, where else can you get an Ham and cheese omelette, hash browns, sausage or bacon, biscuit&gravy, 2 pancakes, and assorted fruits for $2,50.

Response by MSgt Michael Smith made Nov 8 at 2018 8:11 AM

MSgt Michael Smith — Thu, 08 Nov 2018 08:11:32 -0500

It's not a meals deduction. Its that you eat for free at the DFAC, so you are ineligible for a tax-free basic allowance for sustenance. Fill out a missed meal voucher and stop crying. Welcome to being in the Army.

Response by COL William Oseles made Nov 9 at 2018 7:25 PM

COL William Oseles — Fri, 09 Nov 2018 19:25:57 -0500

When I was a young Speedy Four if you had a meal card you did not draw BAS, hence no deductions.
And if you are on a Post there is a DFAC open somewhere even if the one closest to you is closed, i.e. open on weekends.

Response by SFC Christopher Wilson made Nov 9 at 2018 7:43 PM

SFC Christopher Wilson — Fri, 09 Nov 2018 19:43:51 -0500

Don’t go to college. Most universities, like the one I’m at make you buy a meal plan if you live in the dorms and the food is on par with the DFACS most of the time. I swear, the first and only time I ate breakfast in ours, I had flashbacks of being back in the Army.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 9 at 2018 8:28 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 09 Nov 2018 20:28:38 -0500

It’s not a meal deduction... meal deductions are for married soldiers when they’re not utilizing BAS. You’re eating off the govt. you’re not losing BAS because you’re not getting it...

Response by SSG Lyle O'Rorke made Nov 10 at 2018 12:50 AM

SSG Lyle O'Rorke — Sat, 10 Nov 2018 00:50:12 -0500

I call bs on the DFAC not being open. I have been on post of all sizes from about a PLT size presence to one housing 10000s of soldiers. DFACs are always open somewhere on post. Don’t matter the day. Their hours may differ and their condition may differ but there is a meal provided.

Response by PO2 Nick Burke made Nov 10 at 2018 11:06 AM

PO2 Nick Burke — Sat, 10 Nov 2018 11:06:59 -0500

I've had confirmed food poisoning 3 times in my life.
2 of them were from eating on base. Once at 32nd Street in San Diego and once at the Galley at Great Lakes.

Response by 1LT Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 18 at 2018 11:37 PM

1LT Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 18 Nov 2018 23:37:40 -0500

*sigh* Yea I remember the DFAC struggle. The Army provides meal cards to barracks soldiers because some (not all) junior enlisted soldiers don’t budget appropriately. I had a few soldiers who wouldn’t have had much of anything to eat if it wasn’t for their meal cards. I don’t know what post you are on, but I’m sure that an assigned DFAC is open. On FT. Bliss, the post DFAC schedule was published in the post news paper. They operated on a rotating schedule but at least 2 were always open. Brigade staff duty also operated shuttles to take soldiers to the DFACs.

I know being in the barracks can suck, but it gets better.

Response by Maj John Bell made Aug 19 at 2020 5:17 PM

Maj John Bell — Wed, 19 Aug 2020 17:17:34 -0400

There is something wrong with you BAS $400 rate vs a $500 meal deduction.

Are you eating every meal for the month from the DinFac? If so why are you drawing BAS?

If, because of extended operations, you are eating meals from the DinFac for extended periods, You should be charged the daily rate, which is BAS divided by the number of days in the month.

If you are occasionally eating meals in the DinFac, you should be charged the rate for the meal.

As an Officer, unless I was in the field or it was not a duty day, I ate breakfast and lunch in the DinFac, and my deductions were IAW the above. I was also billed the same way for meals provided in the field, didn't matter whether I chose to eat those or not; I paid for them.

Response by SrA Private RallyPoint Member made May 2 at 2021 2:24 AM

SrA Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 02 May 2021 02:24:23 -0400

I have lived on base 3 years now and never go to the defac. If you are even a bit serious about fitness the defac is a terrible option.
I currently spend $200 a month of all my meals, snacks, and coffee. That's an average of 2.11 a meal. I'd LOVE to have the $370 a month the Airforce is taking every month. Only an idiot would have a hard time not feeding themselves for that price.
The military trusts us with guns, aircraft, people...but not our own shopping...come on.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 9 at 2021 8:24 PM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 09 Sep 2021 20:24:27 -0400

lol the responses are all the same. Sad that they dont understand the dfac is a poor excuse for meals. Also you can say the bas being taken away has nothing to do with the dfac but the army connects the two. If it didnt have to do with one another I would be getting my BAS. Yes the money doesnt go straight to the dfac that you are eating. Although they arent profiting off of single soldiers they are pocketing the money. I wish you had the choice of whether or not you wanted to eat at the dfac. I did an experiment and ate at the dfac for breakfast, lunch, dinner and even on weekends. I went to bed hungry every single night, and im 130 soaking wet. I know how to cook miles better than a stateside dfac can ever provide, and I can do it for a lot less than 350 a month.