Where's the best military chow you've ever had? Where's the worst?

PO2 Rocky Kleeger — Tue, 14 Oct 2014 21:25:52 -0400

This one is just for fun...

Best military chow I've ever had, bar none, was at NAS Pensacola. Civilian chefs, fresh food, sliders to order. (And yet, the Air Force still got extra pay for substandard chow)

Worst, just about any deployment/cruise. On one deployment, we missed an UNREP/RAS, and we were given MRE's that had been dated in the 90's.

Response by MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca made Oct 14 at 2014 9:28 PM

MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca — Tue, 14 Oct 2014 21:28:10 -0400

Iraq was some of the best but that really doesn't count because it was all contractors. The worst, T-Rats in Korea, at least twice a month in the field.

Response by MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca made Oct 14 at 2014 9:30 PM

MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca — Tue, 14 Oct 2014 21:30:42 -0400

I think U2 has the answer because, "I still haven't found what I'm looking for". "Best" and "Military Chow" in the same sentence, hmmm... Kinda like Military Intelligence.

Response by SCPO Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 14 at 2014 10:08 PM

SCPO Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 14 Oct 2014 22:08:59 -0400

Well, the Air Force has the best chow. I will say one of the most surprising meals I had was during was our Thanksgiving and Christmas meal during Desert Storm, the TCN's really went all out for that. The worst? I have been happy just to put something in my belly.

Response by PO1 Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 15 at 2014 1:24 AM

PO1 Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 15 Oct 2014 01:24:25 -0400

The best I have ever had was Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren, VA circa '00-'01. A crusty old Chief Mess Specialist leading a bunch of civilians. Needless to say I was spoiled once I got to my first ship and tasted real Navy chow. Any command with civilians and the food should be good.

Response by TSgt Joshua Copeland made Oct 15 at 2014 7:39 AM

TSgt Joshua Copeland — Wed, 15 Oct 2014 07:39:02 -0400

As an AF member this is gonna sound odd. The best chow I ever had was at ARCENT in Qatar shortly after the Iraq invasion.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 15 at 2014 7:55 AM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 15 Oct 2014 07:55:05 -0400

The best meal I've had was in the ineternationally-run DFAC on Camp Eggers, in Afghanistan. The French forces were running it during much of the time I was there, and they made some very good food!

Worst was probably the week that I ate the ham omelet MRE for five days straight...

Response by COL Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 15 at 2014 9:50 AM

COL Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 15 Oct 2014 09:50:44 -0400

Definitely deployed to Afghanistan. The Chow at FOB Lagman was the best I've seen in a DFAC. It was contracted and sometimes we'd run out of some items, but when it was full up...man it was good. Hard to nail down the worst, but lately...field cooking has become a lost art.

Response by MAJ Jim Woods made Oct 15 at 2014 10:38 AM

MAJ Jim Woods — Wed, 15 Oct 2014 10:38:35 -0400

Iraq, FOB Union III, KBR Contractors.

Response by 1SG Steven Stankovich made Oct 15 at 2014 2:32 PM

1SG Steven Stankovich — Wed, 15 Oct 2014 14:32:17 -0400

I think that the best chow I had was at Camp McGovern, Bosnia back in 2000. It was some top notch stuff. Those guys made some spicy beef bulgogi that was damn good. The worst? Back-to-back-to-back-back what seemed like weeks of Country Captain Chicken T-RATS in Shindand, Afghanistan in 2004. Good times... ;)

Response by SFC Melker Johansson made Oct 15 at 2014 2:35 PM

SFC Melker Johansson — Wed, 15 Oct 2014 14:35:27 -0400

I loved the chow hall at FOB Hammer, Iraq. They had a permanent buffet of Indian cuisine which I quickly learned to love.

Response by PO1 Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 15 at 2014 2:37 PM

PO1 Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 15 Oct 2014 14:37:16 -0400

Best: Warrant Officers Barracks, Rock Island, Perth, Australia

Worst: Ft. Meade Navy Dining Facility - tried to pass off burned turkey off as a Thanksgiving meal and insisted that no refunds were to be given for family, etc that were allowed in for that meal.

Response by SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 15 at 2014 7:05 PM

SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 15 Oct 2014 19:05:59 -0400

The main DFAC at J-bad was some of the best I had.

The worst was at Sherzad, the guys tried but I came back substantially thinner than when I left.

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 15 at 2014 10:39 PM

MSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 15 Oct 2014 22:39:31 -0400

Best was aboard the LPD Cleveland in the Pacific. Worst was anytime chicken was served on Pendleton, the crows where always scarce.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 16 at 2014 12:15 AM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 16 Oct 2014 00:15:33 -0400

Steaks at Camp Gruber, OK after sling load testing in Air Assault school. ARNG post and they grilled them outside. I think 20-30% no-go'ed that day and they missed the best chow the Army ever served.

Worst? I think some of my compadres from Ghazni are on the site, so I will bite my tongue...but I handed out a lot of immodium that trip.

Response by PO3 Shaun Taylor made Oct 16 at 2014 12:27 AM

PO3 Shaun Taylor — Thu, 16 Oct 2014 00:27:37 -0400

best kadena air force base.

worst: camp Pendleton

Response by COL Jean (John) F. B. made Oct 16 at 2014 9:31 AM

COL Jean (John) F. B. — Thu, 16 Oct 2014 09:31:56 -0400

The best military chow I ever had was following Operation Just Cause (Grenada). The dining facility was in a 5-Star Hotel that had been taken over as a barracks and the dining room staff ran the mess. Lobsters, steak, etc. were plentiful...

The worst was during Desert Storm... One of my attached National Guard companies had the absolute worst food I had ever eaten in my life. I ate there a couple of times and, after being unable to determine what the "mystery meat" was and being unable to see any improvement, I reassigned a few of the cooks from other active and RC units to assist the mess sergeant of that unit (Who was an attorney in "real life" and really did not have a clue. Seems that during drills, they had always eaten MREs or been a part of a consolidated dining facility and had never had to go it alone, as was the case in Desert Storm). It got better and the I was eventually able to send the cooks back to their regular units.

Response by PO2 Aaron Hancock made Oct 16 at 2014 9:46 AM

PO2 Aaron Hancock — Thu, 16 Oct 2014 09:46:41 -0400

Best: camp Lemonnier in Djibouti
Worst: DDG 87

Response by SMSgt James Williams made Oct 16 at 2014 9:50 AM

SMSgt James Williams — Thu, 16 Oct 2014 09:50:10 -0400

Best for me: Karshi-Kanabad (k2) Uzbekistan. KBR ran chow.
Worst - Manas. Gave me worst case of mud butt I have ever had in my life.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 16 at 2014 2:23 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 16 Oct 2014 14:23:31 -0400

Worst was JEB Little Creek - Fort Story. The breakfast was fine. Can't go wrong with an omelet made fresh, but lunch and dinner weren't great. Infact, dinner was what ever there was for lunch kept warm and was now dried out.

Response by LT Jessica Kellogg made Oct 16 at 2014 7:49 PM

LT Jessica Kellogg — Thu, 16 Oct 2014 19:49:17 -0400

OTC Newport has excellent food. Especially the salad bar.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 16 at 2014 8:32 PM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 16 Oct 2014 20:32:23 -0400

I think the best food I've had was at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait.

The worst food by far was at Kandahar AB.

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 17 at 2014 12:54 AM

MSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 17 Oct 2014 00:54:09 -0400

Breakers DFAC at Vandenberg AFB, CA, circa 2006. But i heard it went to crap after the budget cuts.

Response by SSG Maurice P. made Oct 17 at 2014 2:15 AM

SSG Maurice P. — Fri, 17 Oct 2014 02:15:25 -0400

camp bureing kuwait
camp liberty iraq awesome chow ate 7 times a day hehehehehe

Response by PO1 Russell Henson made Oct 17 at 2014 3:12 AM

PO1 Russell Henson — Fri, 17 Oct 2014 03:12:45 -0400

AF has the best dining facilities, but the Navy has the best chow

Response by LCpl Paul Fajardo made Oct 17 at 2014 9:40 AM

LCpl Paul Fajardo — Fri, 17 Oct 2014 09:40:45 -0400

Best Chow?

Training - Chow Hall at DINFOS - Ft Meade, MD Soldiers get w.e they want (whereas, Marine chow you can't custom order an effing omelette)
Stationed - 22 Area Chow Hall - Camp Pendleton
Deployment - Camp Bastion

Worst Chow?

Training - 90days of MCRD San Diego Chow Hall
Stationed - 30 days of EMV Chow - 29 Palms
Deployed - 15 days of MRE's on one operation

Response by Cpl Aaron Nelson made Oct 17 at 2014 9:52 AM

Cpl Aaron Nelson — Fri, 17 Oct 2014 09:52:17 -0400

Best chow hall this Marine ate at was the 12th Marines chow hall Camp Hansen, Oki.

The worst was 10th Marines Camp Lejeune. I'd rather eat a corned beef hash MRE than that slop!

Response by Cpl Robert Masi made Oct 17 at 2014 5:37 PM

Cpl Robert Masi — Fri, 17 Oct 2014 17:37:14 -0400

Best chow- Al-Taqaddum, Hands down. And then any time I had the privilege to go to an Air Force Base. WOW are they spoiled.
Worst- Any Marine base I've ever been too. They all serve the same terrible shit....I would eat any MRE over a Marine chow hall, any day of the week.
....I still can't believe I was forced to pay for that crap.

Response by SSG Maurice P. made Oct 18 at 2014 1:20 PM

SSG Maurice P. — Sat, 18 Oct 2014 13:20:19 -0400

The best was Kuwait camp BueRHing and Iraq camp liberty....The worst is here at this prison roflmao

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Oct 18 at 2014 2:30 PM

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel — Sat, 18 Oct 2014 14:30:14 -0400

Best: SUBBASE Pearl Harbor. Worst: Boxed Bologna Sandwich Lunch Several Thousand Feet up on a C141.

Response by MSgt Mark Bucher made Jun 17 at 2017 11:44 AM

MSgt Mark Bucher — Sat, 17 Jun 2017 11:44:50 -0400

Best was at Tempelhof Berlin or the CFB at Lahr. Don't consider all the DFACS in Iraq as eligible because they were run by KBR.
Worst was living on MRE's for almost 3 months after 9-11 downrange. Talk about a green fog in the tents at night when you'd wake up to go take a leak.

Response by SPC P Noelle made Jun 17 at 2017 12:09 PM

SPC P Noelle — Sat, 17 Jun 2017 12:09:46 -0400

Best chow I ever had was at Ramstein AB. Worst would be anytime in the field.

Response by SSG Michael Burdiss made Jun 17 at 2017 12:42 PM

SSG Michael Burdiss — Sat, 17 Jun 2017 12:42:49 -0400

Air Force always

Response by TSgt Robert Stockand made Oct 19 at 2019 7:51 PM

TSgt Robert Stockand — Sat, 19 Oct 2019 19:51:24 -0400

Kadena AB had great chow. Beale AFB had great chow. NAS Sigonella made me fat. I had no self-control around all that food.

Response by Sgt Michael Hearne made Jan 3 at 2020 11:57 PM

Sgt Michael Hearne — Fri, 03 Jan 2020 23:57:52 -0500

Fallon, Nevada Naval Air Station. Breakfast at the Navy Mess Hall served "real creamed chipped beef" on toast; instead of the "ground round" served at Marine Base Camp Pendleton or Marine Air Station's El Toro or Tustin down in Orange County, California. Sgt M.B. USMC