SGT Private RallyPoint Member 1842169 <div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>This isn&#39;t meant as a complaint or a soldier whining, but I feel it is a legitimate argument. In my current barracks I have a pretty decent kitchenette, 4 burner stove and a microwave, along with electrical sockets for other cooking items. Although we are given these appliances, we are still paying our full BAS towards meal deductions. So if we want to use the amenities in the room we must pay extra money out of pocket. I just feel that if we are deemed responsible enough by our COC that we should be able to apply for BAS and cook Our own meals. Even if it is a reduced rate, say half towards meal cards and half to the soldier to grocery shop, it would make more sense than spending money to build a kitchen in the barracks but not provide compensation to actually utilize that kitchen. 2016-08-27T17:34:27-04:00 SGT Private RallyPoint Member 1842169

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>This isn&#39;t meant as a complaint or a soldier whining, but I feel it is a legitimate argument. In my current barracks I have a pretty decent kitchenette, 4 burner stove and a microwave, along with electrical sockets for other cooking items. Although we are given these appliances, we are still paying our full BAS towards meal deductions. So if we want to use the amenities in the room we must pay extra money out of pocket. I just feel that if we are deemed responsible enough by our COC that we should be able to apply for BAS and cook Our own meals. Even if it is a reduced rate, say half towards meal cards and half to the soldier to grocery shop, it would make more sense than spending money to build a kitchen in the barracks but not provide compensation to actually utilize that kitchen.

2016-08-27T17:34:27-04:00 2016-08-27T17:34:27-04:00 MAJ Byron Oyler 1842184

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>My BAS does not cover the food I buy for my family and am simply grateful for a few non-taxed dollars to try. I preferred the meal card when I was enlisted.

2016-08-27T17:42:34-04:00 2016-08-27T17:42:34-04:00 SSG Private RallyPoint Member 1842189

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>This is a very tough spot because I can understand why single soldier get meal deductions. The army is worried about soldiers not having money to eat plus they need jobs for the cooks in the army. <br /><br />When I went to college we had meal plans. You were required to have the 7 day 3 meals a day plan. After your first year you could choose your plan. <br /><br />I believe the army could have a very similar plan that would work. <br /><br />You could also have the BAS deduction be taken out based on how often you ate at the dinning hall. You would not receive BAS until next months psyche like with the deductions applied.

2016-08-27T17:44:58-04:00 2016-08-27T17:44:58-04:00 SGT Private RallyPoint Member 1842199

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Also would like to add that my units DFAC is also closed for dinner on Friday night and isn't open any weekend or holidays. So we would then have to drive across post to another one to eat during those times. Or catch a shuttle which would make going for lunch a lengthy process on weekends.

2016-08-27T17:48:06-04:00 2016-08-27T17:48:06-04:00 1LT Private RallyPoint Member 1842256

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Personally, I believe that all active service personnel should be provided all meals free of charge period. Enlisted and Commissioned alike. That, or we increase pay to cover it. I am State Guard and 100% voluntary with no pay unless deployed. However, like all Americans, I enjoy the benefits of the freedom and liberty made possible by our military every day. This is the least that should be done IMHO.

2016-08-27T18:17:17-04:00 2016-08-27T18:17:17-04:00 SFC Private RallyPoint Member 1842285

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>If you have a full kitchen and no dfac you should get bas, in my case I have a two burner stove top no oven, a microwave and fridge. I much would rather eat at the dfac because I have no room or the proper amenities to make dinner.

2016-08-27T18:31:52-04:00 2016-08-27T18:31:52-04:00 CPL Randy Bautista 1842353

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>As much as you want to make it a case by case... In all honesty the army won't let it fly... Reason being its just normal for lower enlisted to be wasteful spender that being also the case with the small pay... I think it's a good idea but practically I'm almost sure it is a bad idea out of 100 maybe 5 would be responsible enough to actually be able to budget... But with that being sad BAS isn't really considered pay BAS is the army's way of saying we don't pay you enough so he is some money for food

2016-08-27T19:11:05-04:00 2016-08-27T19:11:05-04:00 Sgt Private RallyPoint Member 1842697

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>No. Appreciate what you have in your barracks.

2016-08-27T21:27:10-04:00 2016-08-27T21:27:10-04:00 SGT Private RallyPoint Member 1843132

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>If the mess hall is open , that's your meal ticket.

2016-08-28T00:17:16-04:00 2016-08-28T00:17:16-04:00 SGT Private RallyPoint Member 1843142

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Kitchens in the rooms. Wow the Army has changed..

2016-08-28T00:24:23-04:00 2016-08-28T00:24:23-04:00 SFC Private RallyPoint Member 1843196

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Your argument is that since you're fortunate enough to have a kitchenette, you should have more? This sounds like an argument my 11 year old daughter would make. <br />BAS doesn't begin to cover the amount of food a normal person consumes in a month. It comes out to around $11-12 a day. If you're an experienced cook, meal planner, and prepped who loses no food to rot or waste, you might be able to match that. BAS is offered to people who aren't able to use the dining facility, not taken away from people who do use it.

2016-08-28T01:05:00-04:00 2016-08-28T01:05:00-04:00 SFC Rollie Hubbard 1843204

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>My question is when did the military give kitchenette, 4 burner stove and a microwave?

2016-08-28T01:13:02-04:00 2016-08-28T01:13:02-04:00 SFC Private RallyPoint Member 1843283

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>This has always been a question! What is the point of a DFAC? There is a budget these facilities. The BAS seems to be taken as I get X aminut of dollars if I'am a married soldier but do not have to eat at a DFAC. Single soldiers get the entitlement but its just for show. The prices of DFACS fluctuate with economy, DFACS are convienent and serve a purpose, however if not utilized what good are they doing? Bottom line the military is just another broken system. We should be tax free, beings were paying taxes on money thats paying our salries!! We shouldnt pay for eating anywhere. If we inveloped a 2 yr manditory military obligation upon graduation things would be different for sure. When 1% of our population is qualified to defend its meerely not enough. Not now days at least we got over 500 million known" people here. It would change alot of behaviors.

2016-08-28T03:28:47-04:00 2016-08-28T03:28:47-04:00 SPC Erich Guenther 1843320

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Here is another way of looking at this. You will never be able to compete with the Mess Hall on price and here is why. They buy the food wholesale and tax free because it is resold to you. I used to own and run my own restaurant, would you like a quick course on how much your getting screwed at the Super Market? <br /><br />I could buy excellent Ice Berg Lettuce for 97 cents a head wholesale (20 heads a case for a little under $20)......price that at your PX and see what you come up with. I could buy a case of approx 125-150 limes for $15-17, price what they charge you for a lime at the local supermarket and see if you can compete. Better yet here is something better. Google &quot;Restaurant Depot&quot; and find a location near you and walk in and pretend to flash your membership card at the counter and look at what they are charging for food by walking through the place. You can only buy from them if you have a tax exempt certificate, which you cannot obtain unless you own an eating establishment or run a food service. Now the other thing about a tax exempt certificate is if you have one you can negotiate a lot better prices from Kroger just because they know you can undercut them with the wholesale price (lol). I can guarantee you a quick tour of your local Restaurant Depot will really, really surprise you on prices and how much of a markup your paying via the big box food stores. BTW, instead of trying to sneak in there ask them for a quick tour of the place....probably better to do that honestly and stay out of trouble.<br /><br />I agree with your discussion below with the SGT, they should make it more like college meal plans but even those are inefficient in areas so not necessarily a cure all. No matter how much you try to estimate your food budget with a college meal plan your either left with a few hundred dollars excess or you run out of money before the term ends............the latter the Army is going to have a problem with...........the former they won&#39;t care about but you will feel your getting ripped off.

2016-08-28T04:34:47-04:00 2016-08-28T04:34:47-04:00 SFC Private RallyPoint Member 1843448

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>One of the main purposes of the chow hall is to insure you are eating balanced meals. Yes you could just get short order every day, but that's on you.

2016-08-28T08:12:52-04:00 2016-08-28T08:12:52-04:00 LTC Private RallyPoint Member 1844401

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>It's apples and oranges -- read AR 37-104-4 or DOD 7000.14-R, Volume 7A, Chapter 25. Is it a matter of should or could......or complying with the intent of the DA and DoD regulatory guidance?

2016-08-28T15:16:39-04:00 2016-08-28T15:16:39-04:00 SFC Pete Kain 1844414

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>No, the dining facility depends on financing, Like it or not you are part of that.

2016-08-28T15:26:40-04:00 2016-08-28T15:26:40-04:00 SPC Private RallyPoint Member 1844496

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>I think they shouldnt. IT would only fuel the alchoholism that lives within my section xD

2016-08-28T16:14:07-04:00 2016-08-28T16:14:07-04:00 1SG Charles Hunter 1847045

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>A kitchen in every room for junior enlisted? Barracks have certainly been upgraded since I was in!

2016-08-29T17:09:38-04:00 2016-08-29T17:09:38-04:00 SGT Private RallyPoint Member 1848290

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>BAS should be handled on a case by case basis. As it stands right now (at least as an 11b at Bragg) it is a completely broken and discriminatory system given that no one who applies for separate rats gets them. For those of us who are over 30, and SPC/E5 should be given the opportunity to make our own dietary decisions and spend our money more intelligently giving us at least SOME of the same advantages that married people have in the army. <br /><br />There are plenty of salty old morons who are going to come in here saying "OH YOU ENTITLED SOLDIERS THESE DAYS" - the same guys who have either A) been married the entire time they've been in the army, or B) those that are so old they were a product of a time when you could work a full time job at mcdonalds and afford college tuition. <br /><br />As someone who was married, and is now divorced, I have seen both sides of the fence, and as it stands the ONLY advantage to living in the barracks is the proximity to work - everything past that is a product of an antiquated system that benefits traditional (1940's) atomic family ideals, and in modern society is outright discriminatory and a huge black eye for the Army.<br /><br />If every single soldier E5 and below has to pay full BAS, then everyone should have to pay BAS to an extent as well. We are all at work from 0600 to 1700 every day, there is no reason that someone being married should exempt them from the same outrageous bullshit the rest of us have to deal with to eat every day.<br /><br />As a little tidbit of knowledge to those of you spouting crap about how good of a deal the DFAC is, take the time and google "USDA Food Cost Index." This is where the Army pulls its BAS numbers from, and it by default slaps the highest tier price for its costs, which is the "liberal" category. The DFAC in no way falls into this category given the skimpy portions (4oz meat) provided during normal meals. <br /><br />To those of you saying BAS is an entitlement, and its not your money to begin with, you are wrong. BAS is paid to every enlisted soldier regardless of rank or time in service. Just because BAS isnt included in your base pay doesnt mean it is not your money. It is part of the entire package that you agree to when you raise your right hand and swear in. You dont buy a car with electric windows then have the dealer pull the wiring out of the doors shortly before you pull off saying "Oh thats an entitlement, its not part of the base vehicle so you only roll your windows up and down when we want you to." <br /><br />I should also clarify that BAS is provided to the SERVICEMEMBER to purchase food. "BAS is meant to offset costs for a member's meals. This allowance is based in the historic origins of the military in which the military provided room and board (or rations) as part of a member's pay. This allowance is not intended to offset the costs of meals for family members" This is from militarypay.defence.gov Those of you who spend 350$ a month for you and your wife to have a fridge full of groceries need to take a step back and start researching this topic.<br /><br />I'm ashamed at all of my fellow NCO's in here who are vehemently trying to discount this, as I am certain you are doing the same to your joes. Educate yourselves, and try to come up with solutions to what is a glaring problem with our Army.

2016-08-30T07:54:11-04:00 2016-08-30T07:54:11-04:00 SGT Private RallyPoint Member 2634184

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>just say your Jewish and you get bas

2017-06-08T18:41:48-04:00 2017-06-08T18:41:48-04:00 SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member 3465454

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Yes they should, they should charge by meal. I think its crapy to take a soldiers bas for meals they do not eat. I buy my own food and will always even before the army and only in a situation where it is impossable when i cant, or other wise i will. It hurts my pockets but i eat for my lifestyle and pleasure.

2018-03-20T21:09:59-04:00 2018-03-20T21:09:59-04:00 MSgt Stephen Bloch 5059480

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>When I enlistd my pay was $68.00 per month. I lived in a WWII baracks! The food was terrible! What is wrong with you people! Maybe you should be permantly posted to the field!

2019-09-25T15:55:03-04:00 2019-09-25T15:55:03-04:00 PO1 Mb Mcintosh 5239120

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>A meal card should be like a debit card. What you don’t spend in the chow hall should be yours to spend elsewhere

2019-11-15T11:10:04-05:00 2019-11-15T11:10:04-05:00 PO3 Randy Walker 5964560

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>No

2020-06-03T07:25:49-04:00 2020-06-03T07:25:49-04:00 2016-08-27T17:34:27-04:00