Deployment Food: Good for Servicemens or No?

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 22:41:46 -0400

Was anyone else surprise when deployed when they ate their first meal? Everyone was grease, fried, and fat. If they military really worried about our health and ensuring we maintain our height/weight and physical standards why do they not serve healthy food when they have a captivated audience?

MRE anyone?

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 10 at 2014 5:39 AM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 10 Apr 2014 05:39:57 -0400

I'm currently deployed and can tell you that in the DFACs here they have color-coded labels for everything they serve. Green = high performance, red = low performance, yellow...you get the picture. Ergo, soldiers have the choice to eat healthy. If they choose not to then it is on them. If a soldier is a "fat kid" and still chooses not to eat healthy then he is essentially "self-chaptering" himself out. If the chain of command wants him to be skinny, they have to have a supervisor go to chow with them and make sure they only choose things that are good for them. Don't see that happening.

Response by CW2 Jonathan Kantor made Apr 10 at 2014 6:57 AM

CW2 Jonathan Kantor — Thu, 10 Apr 2014 06:57:08 -0400

Anyone on here who was deployed to the Kabul Airport where the IJC is headquartered will tell you that they had the worst DFACs ever to grace the field of battle. The food was just terrible. The best way to describe it is with a joke from Annie Hall:

"Two elderly women are at a Catskill mountain resort, and one of 'em says, "Boy, the food at this place is really terrible." The other one says, "Yeah, I know; and such small portions."

Response by SFC William Swartz Jr made Apr 10 at 2014 10:14 AM

SFC William Swartz Jr — Thu, 10 Apr 2014 10:14:16 -0400

Other than the occasional trip to Speicher or another large FOB in Iraq, my BN in '05 subsisted off of UGRs, KBR didn't wanna come to Samarra, was too dangerous...so outside of these trips and large holiday meals, we didn't have the luxury of the food choices some had.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 10 at 2014 10:21 AM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 10 Apr 2014 10:21:12 -0400

My first meal while deployed was an MRE!! Our cooks burnt down the tent that our "DFAC" was in within a couple weeks of being in Iraq so many more after the first cooked meal were also MREs!!

Response by CPT Zachary Brooks made Apr 10 at 2014 11:29 AM

CPT Zachary Brooks — Thu, 10 Apr 2014 11:29:25 -0400

I've noticed this about Army chow in general. While it is great that they supply us with meals effectively for large groups, I wish the Army would put more money and time into obtaining healthier cuisine (less of this GMO crap) for soldiers to help keep us healthy and fit. In the end, that will lead to a more successful fighting force than developing tanks that just sit on a base somewhere and are not used.

Smarter use of funds please?

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Apr 10 at 2014 1:17 PM

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel — Thu, 10 Apr 2014 13:17:47 -0400

I retired too long ago but they had gone whole hog on Salad Bars on ships before I retired and I thought that was a great idea. Everything else was good old fashioned comfort food, horrible for you galley food and I loved it. Probably going to die young from it too. I so miss the Chili from yesterday being SOS the next morning with my eggs.

Response by CPT Jacob Swartout made May 2 at 2014 2:35 PM

CPT Jacob Swartout — Fri, 02 May 2014 14:35:33 -0400

Each deployment, I had to tell KBR or other contractors to cut down on size portions. Some of the foods I wouldn't eat either. Too greasy or you can tell they were foods with too much fat. The labels would show you how many calories in each meal and I mostly based my choices off that. I ate lightly overseas for most.

Response by MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca made Jun 8 at 2014 8:14 PM

MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca — Sun, 08 Jun 2014 20:14:44 -0400

Excellent point CP M. Even though we should know better, the temptation is much greater than the healthy food choices. Then to make matters worse, they PX you to death. I used to see SMs of all ranks leave the DFAC then head over and order a pizza or frozen drink or bag-o-chips from the PX plaza on the way home.

Makes you wonder whether the system is giving the SM a slice of home or taking the SM for a slice of their paycheck.

Response by PO1 Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 8 at 2014 8:27 PM

PO1 Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 08 Jun 2014 20:27:03 -0400

Galley food in the Navy has changed in the 14 years I have been around and many commands are doing their best to serve balanced and non-fried meals. I can't say the quality and taste isn't suffering though. I know on my ship we don't serve soda on the mess decks.

Response by MAJ Ronnie Reams made Sep 15 at 2014 5:07 PM

MAJ Ronnie Reams — Mon, 15 Sep 2014 17:07:38 -0400

I guess it depends on how good your cooks are. Is there still the Army Master Menu? If you're eating A rations, it should be the same almost worldwide. When you're deployed, does the XO try to chopper out one hot meal a day in mermites,
if tactical situation allows?