What is the worst thing you have ever eaten that has been served up in the chow hall?

James Adair — Fri, 18 Nov 2016 22:29:38 -0500

Response by PO2 Peter Klein made Nov 18 at 2016 10:37 PM

PO2 Peter Klein — Fri, 18 Nov 2016 22:37:44 -0500

My first duty station was the USS Sperry. On evening I went to the mess deck for dinner. Got to have beanie-weenie, lima beans and pork and beans. A very aromatic night followed.

Response by MCPO Roger Collins made Nov 18 at 2016 10:38 PM

MCPO Roger Collins — Fri, 18 Nov 2016 22:38:02 -0500

Black eyed peas and canned ham rates right up there.

Response by SFC George Smith made Nov 18 at 2016 10:38 PM

SFC George Smith — Fri, 18 Nov 2016 22:38:36 -0500

DUDE are you Kidding ...
you are talking to the Only clown who can eat any thing But Liver and Brains... and they are not allowed in the Chow Hall...
try eating Pickled Chicken or Duck embryos "Balute' in PI...
Goats Eyes in Algiers... or Chitterlings in the South...

Response by Maj John Bell made Nov 18 at 2016 10:39 PM

Maj John Bell — Fri, 18 Nov 2016 22:39:34 -0500

A tuna sandwich that was clearly stored someplace wet, with brown limp lettuce. Or a burger that was cooked so long that it was crispy, the whole way through, on a bun so dry that it sucked all the moisture from your brain. Unfortunately in both cases we had come from field so hungry that there wasn't enough time to find a stray, worm ridden, diseased, gangrenous cat to cook and eat instead.

Response by SSG Karl Fowler made Nov 18 at 2016 10:59 PM

SSG Karl Fowler — Fri, 18 Nov 2016 22:59:51 -0500

pig brians

Response by LTC Jason Mackay made Nov 18 at 2016 11:17 PM

LTC Jason Mackay — Fri, 18 Nov 2016 23:17:44 -0500

Toss Up, both situations were in a NATO DFAC
- Rapid Reaction Corps France: a mystery sausage that I was assured was "all pig" that would have made a maggot gag. The Brit I was eating with tapped out after one bite, as did I. At night, when the demons come, that taste haunts my nightmares.
- ISAF DFAC in Kabul: Easter 2011 dinner. Rabbit. Yes rabbit on Easter. And it was nasty. Other dishes were also nasty. That DFAC sucked ass as you were doomed to a 7 day rinse lather repeat minimum military requirement menu to start with. It was a long night until breakfast the next morning on Easter-Monday.

Response by Capt Seid Waddell made Nov 19 at 2016 12:06 AM

Capt Seid Waddell — Sat, 19 Nov 2016 00:06:25 -0500

DaNang Army mess hall when I was in transit for R&R. Green scrambled eggs, rubbery bacon, limp wet toast, and coffee that tasted like soap. I can usually eat anything, but I left that breakfast behind.

Response by PFC Jim Wheeler made Nov 19 at 2016 12:10 AM

PFC Jim Wheeler — Sat, 19 Nov 2016 00:10:23 -0500

For whatever reason, I always like DFAC food. I didn't eat there after I got to my unit because I was married and was unwilling to pay to eat at the DFAC.

But throughout training I never really had any complaints.

Response by PFC Jason Jackson made Nov 19 at 2016 12:18 AM

PFC Jason Jackson — Sat, 19 Nov 2016 00:18:55 -0500

Everything, and I mean every single thing I had to eat at the mess hall at the Gulfport naval base. In 96 that place was a shithole.

Response by TSgt Don Purciful TSGT Retired made Nov 19 at 2016 12:22 AM

TSgt Don Purciful TSGT Retired — Sat, 19 Nov 2016 00:22:38 -0500

A 7 second omelet

Response by SPC Erich Guenther made Nov 19 at 2016 3:07 AM

SPC Erich Guenther — Sat, 19 Nov 2016 03:07:39 -0500

Faded Yellow but also turning gray scrambled eggs. Though I have to say the old mermite cans when they were not rinsed properly you could definitely feel the COMET cleanser grit used to clean them in your teeth during various meals in the field.

Response by SGT Philip Roncari made Nov 19 at 2016 6:19 AM

SGT Philip Roncari — Sat, 19 Nov 2016 06:19:58 -0500

Green reconstituted scrambled eggs served on board the "Gordon" troop ship on it's way to RVN 1966,the stuff of nightmares 4000 seasick GIs on a broken down WWII era transport.

Response by Capt Tom Brown made Nov 19 at 2016 6:41 AM

Capt Tom Brown — Sat, 19 Nov 2016 06:41:39 -0500

First meal in RVN at a battalion field mess consisted of a slice of fried baloney and room temperature (98 deg) orange bug juice. I looked at it speechless perhaps waiting for the rest, but was told to 'move on', by the mess man. From then on out it was strictly C-rats until further notice. One should not complain too loudly.

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made Nov 19 at 2016 7:39 AM

SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth — Sat, 19 Nov 2016 07:39:15 -0500

How about half raw spare ribs.

Response by SP5 Kb Ford made Nov 19 at 2016 8:31 AM

SP5 Kb Ford — Sat, 19 Nov 2016 08:31:03 -0500

Watery powdered eggs !

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 19 at 2016 9:03 AM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 19 Nov 2016 09:03:06 -0500

Rabbit. Well that's what they called it.

Response by MSgt Richard Randall made Nov 19 at 2016 9:34 AM

MSgt Richard Randall — Sat, 19 Nov 2016 09:34:43 -0500

In October, 1970 coming out of noon chow in basic training we were forming up when my stomach felt like the San Andreas Fault. A few seconds later I knew for certain the fault line was going to crack so I started to sprint up the stairs of the barracks. The TI was yelling stop, halt and everything else he could to get me to turn around. It was probably less than five seconds when another troop followed me, then another, then another. In less than five minutes there were perhaps 30 of us in the latrine. I think there were six thrones and all were occupied. It got so bad some of the young airmen dropped trou in the shower and were doing the Texas Two Step. After a few minutes It got pretty rancid. On top of the explosive deuce some of the guys were starting to throw up.

The TI recognized something was going on so he called the base hospital at Lackland and they sent over a number of med techs and doctors. Our flight was not the only one affected. As I recall, three other flights also had their issues. They loaded all of us who had gotten sick, but were feeling a bit better, on a bus and took us to Wilford Hall. They had to cart a few guys off in ambulances. We had to take some type of medication and drink mass quantities of something similar to Gatorade. There were a few people put on IVs and admitted for overnight observation.

The good news is we didn’t have to clean up the mess. The base sent civilian custodians to wash out and sanitize the latrines. They also locked down the chow hall until they found out what caused the problem. To this day I will not eat pressed turkey roll.

Response by ENS Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 19 at 2016 10:21 AM

ENS Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 19 Nov 2016 10:21:55 -0500

Not so much food, but milk. I poured myself a glass of milk and almost threw up. I opened up the dispenser and saw the milk was in this plastic bag. The date was 4 months expired. Immediately brought it up the the staff. To this day, I can't really drink milk anymore.

Response by 1SG(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 19 at 2016 10:24 AM

1SG(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 19 Nov 2016 10:24:12 -0500

T-rat sausages, which I suspect is unauthorized for the chow hall

Response by PO2 Peter Klein made Nov 19 at 2016 10:32 AM

PO2 Peter Klein — Sat, 19 Nov 2016 10:32:57 -0500

Off the coast of Vietnam in '68 I went to eat breakfast. Grabbed a bowl, some cereal, put the cereal in the bowl and headed to the milk dispenser. Put the milk in the cereal and sat down. RE-CONSTITUTED MILK! Threw the cereal away and got some eggs. Haven't had milk since.

Response by SSG Steven Mangus made Nov 19 at 2016 10:53 AM

SSG Steven Mangus — Sat, 19 Nov 2016 10:53:48 -0500

What was supposed to be beef and noodles, but looked like the night before on the "big phone" and was aptly named mystery meat #12

Response by CSM Charles Hayden made Nov 19 at 2016 10:57 AM

CSM Charles Hayden — Sat, 19 Nov 2016 10:57:36 -0500

In 1953/54, K Rations from WW II recycled one day a week in Army mess halls. KPs would open the cans of ? terrible hamburgers and all else from the K Rations and dump the contents into a huge pot. The cooks would stir the mess a few times and serve a totally unpalatable none-meal!

Response by PO1 Brian Austin made Nov 19 at 2016 12:07 PM

PO1 Brian Austin — Sat, 19 Nov 2016 12:07:43 -0500

Really runny eggs. Looked like a pile of snot on my tray. Probably full of Salmonella eager to invade my body. And the inevitable fatty, gristly mystery meat, slathered with "gravy".
But overall DFAC and Mess Deck food was pretty good, aside from the occasional issue mentioned above.

Worst thing ever eaten period...Australian Vegamite, disgusting. They use it like butter on everything.

Response by SMSgt Terry Rider made Nov 19 at 2016 4:38 PM

SMSgt Terry Rider — Sat, 19 Nov 2016 16:38:33 -0500

A piece of meat that was supposed to be "steak"; it was nothing but a piece of charcoal. That was at a chow hall on Point Mugu Naval Air Station many years ago.

Response by SrA Scott Ulrich made Nov 19 at 2016 5:18 PM

SrA Scott Ulrich — Sat, 19 Nov 2016 17:18:55 -0500

At Hahn AB Germany there were ravens flying all the time except when the chow hall served chicken. Draw your own conclusions.

Response by LTC Joseph Gross made Nov 19 at 2016 10:01 PM

LTC Joseph Gross — Sat, 19 Nov 2016 22:01:01 -0500

Hagus! But in all fairness I was in a Scottish dining hall.

Response by TSgt Joe C. made Nov 20 at 2016 4:10 AM

TSgt Joe C. — Sun, 20 Nov 2016 04:10:39 -0500

vegetable omelet MRE....by far, the worst thing ever created. Glad there was other stuff in the MRE!

Response by SGM Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 20 at 2016 5:49 AM

SGM Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 20 Nov 2016 05:49:26 -0500

Food

Response by SPC Kenneth Koerperich made Nov 20 at 2016 6:43 AM

SPC Kenneth Koerperich — Sun, 20 Nov 2016 06:43:54 -0500

Korea, Katusa nights @ DFAC. Kimchi smelled up the whole base. Could barely make it up to the chow line before you puked from it, then to have it served w/ chicken & rice. But off base you got "dog or rat" a lot. Not 1 cow near Cmp. Howze, so you knew either order chicken or go hungry.
Other stuff over the years:
Tripe Soup
Escargot
Some meat I was told was chicken, but it sure tasted like shit.

Response by Capt Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 20 at 2016 7:27 AM

Capt Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 20 Nov 2016 07:27:26 -0500

Chicken that had blood draining when you took a bite. My roomie presented his to our CO who was telling us there were no problems in the chow hall.

Response by 1SG Al Brown made Nov 20 at 2016 8:07 AM

1SG Al Brown — Sun, 20 Nov 2016 08:07:40 -0500

Everything that has ever been put in a brown paper bag, left in a freezer for days, then sent out in Deuce and a half.

Response by SFC Joseph Weber made Nov 20 at 2016 12:17 PM

SFC Joseph Weber — Sun, 20 Nov 2016 12:17:34 -0500

A KBR DFac in Iraq. Special meal of ditch lobster. I was puking into the burn barrel between my legs as I was launching form the rear at the same time. No longer like lobster.

Response by Cpl Justin Goolsby made Nov 21 at 2016 7:26 AM

Cpl Justin Goolsby — Mon, 21 Nov 2016 07:26:24 -0500

I'm going to be honest, and it sounds stupid... but fish. I'm not a fish person. It was the most foul smelling thing on my tray. I tried to choke down a couple bites, but it was on the verge of coming back up. So I just went hungry that day.

Response by CSM Richard StCyr made Nov 21 at 2016 1:28 PM

CSM Richard StCyr — Mon, 21 Nov 2016 13:28:41 -0500

Joint training in Germany with our partnership unit, Beef tongue with a jaeger sauce and Sauer kraut, the flavor wasn't bad but they left the thin lining with the taste buds on it and the texture was pretty odd. Ended up scraping the gravy off and eating that with hard bread. The German troop I was paired with was a happy camper as he got my chow. Was pretty hungry by morning.

Response by SGT Ben Keen made Nov 21 at 2016 2:09 PM

SGT Ben Keen — Mon, 21 Nov 2016 14:09:06 -0500

The worst thing I ever got from a DFAC happened during one of my first few days in Germany. I went to the DFAC and ordered some eggs, The eggs I got were still 60% raw so I ate what I could and left. I spent the rest of the day in the bathroom. Do this day, I have a hard time eating eggs.

On the reserve side of the coin, on of the best meals I had came while in Iraq. It was during the initial invasion into Iraq and we were down to one bottle of water and one MRE a day per Soldier for awhile. Then the day the DFAC caught up to us, the put together a meal of T-rations, which normally are awful, but honestly it was the first time we had something that looked somewhat like food and was somewhat warm. I remember sitting on a MRE box with my troops laughing and talking about anything but the war. It is one of my best memories because for those few minutes, everything was "normal".

Response by SGT Robert K. made Nov 21 at 2016 2:17 PM

SGT Robert K. — Mon, 21 Nov 2016 14:17:18 -0500

Left the unit for battalion but was asked back to be a driving instructor - the supply guy didn't bring enough plates and flatware or cups - ate dinner off a piece of cardboard. very interesting - but got lucky - the roach coach showed up.

Response by PVT Paul Sevy made Nov 21 at 2016 3:30 PM

PVT Paul Sevy — Mon, 21 Nov 2016 15:30:12 -0500

I guess I am not that picky, I always had great food from the chow hall, how ever the officers mess was better as far as selection

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 22 at 2016 2:51 PM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 22 Nov 2016 14:51:43 -0500

Spoiled lobster tails (smelled like ammonia). DFAC NCOIC actually stated they naturally smell like that.

Response by LTC Tim Ellis made Nov 22 at 2016 3:00 PM

LTC Tim Ellis — Tue, 22 Nov 2016 15:00:17 -0500

mystery meat

Response by Sgt John Steinmeier made Nov 22 at 2016 3:21 PM

Sgt John Steinmeier — Tue, 22 Nov 2016 15:21:20 -0500

Having been in the Air Force my steaks were always cooked perfectly and there was always plenty of melted butter for our lobster. The dessert bars were to die for.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 24 at 2016 11:42 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 24 Nov 2016 11:42:32 -0500

It had to be those Green Scrambled Eggs that was brought out at midnight while on Reforger in Germany. The eggs were cooked in the early morning hours, but we did not get them until midnight or later since we were on the move so much. BTW, No one even wanted them, as by then we were trying to catch a couple hours sleep. Thanks for the memories.

Response by Cpl Brian Johnston made Nov 25 at 2016 3:35 AM

Cpl Brian Johnston — Fri, 25 Nov 2016 03:35:22 -0500

One chilly morning, I decided to have the cream of wheat that I'd seen in the mess hall.
Just like when I was a kid, I put a patty of butter on it, some milk, and sugar.
As I began to eat, I noticed some of my Deep South fellow Marines looking at me with slacked jaws.
They asked me, "WTH are you doing?"
I answered, "Eating my cream of wheat."
They answered practically in unison, 'THEMS ARE GRITS, YOU YANKEE IDIOT!!!"
The "cream of wheat" did taste kind of spoiled!

Response by SFC William Stephens A. Jr., 3 MSM, JSCM made Nov 30 at 2016 10:15 AM

SFC William Stephens A. Jr., 3 MSM, JSCM — Wed, 30 Nov 2016 10:15:30 -0500

green eggs and ham in KOREA during a rain storm and walking back through the mud eating it on the way back to my howitzer watching it float in the tray. "REDLEGS"

Response by Cpl Rc Layne made Jun 3 at 2017 7:41 PM

Cpl Rc Layne — Sat, 03 Jun 2017 19:41:58 -0400

Christmas Party with ROK Marines in 1984. Dog.

Response by SFC Brian Chambers made Nov 8 at 2017 6:29 AM

SFC Brian Chambers — Wed, 08 Nov 2017 06:29:18 -0500

Hi folks,
I shut,down our dfac for having magots in the ice machine!

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Sep 14 at 2018 2:39 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Fri, 14 Sep 2018 14:39:04 -0400

In Desert Storm we had a Saudi contractor serve us meals. The Spaghetti was horrible. I was essentially ketchup thrown on pasta.

Response by SFC Brian Chambers made May 9 at 2019 11:12 PM

SFC Brian Chambers — Thu, 09 May 2019 23:12:26 -0400

28 days of the same supper meal, chicken and gravey, every body was rasing hell!

Response by Sgt John Steinmeier made May 10 at 2019 12:00 PM

Sgt John Steinmeier — Fri, 10 May 2019 12:00:03 -0400

Not that i partook in it but I remember four days straight of Meatloaf being an option at Lunch, Dinner and Mid-rats.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 12 at 2019 1:55 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 12 Dec 2019 13:55:58 -0500

something that was supposed to be an apple at the DFAC on Basrah. It was shaped like an apple, very pale yellow, had the texture of a raw potato and tasted like wet cardboard. overall not the worst thing I've ever eaten but what made it so bad was that they tried to pass some random "fruit????" off as an apple.