Military Chow

[billrunnels]

Food served in the military varied from take it or leave to down right tasty. I really liked the much talked about "s**t on a shingle". On the other hand I couldn't stand anything served in the mess hall on Friday because of the over powering fish smell. While in Crew Assembly training at Gulfport, Miss. I opted for the Malt Shop instead. The mess was open until about 1:30 AM and it was great to return late from a day in New Orleans for a snack of scrambled eggs, bacon, toast and a cup of coffee.

The food at the 303rd in Molesworth, England was not the greatest but acceptable with one exception. When assigned to fly the days mission we received a special treat for breakfast, real eggs. However, I chose the powdered due to the appearance of the real eggs. The yoke was white from being in storage so long.

The very best food was served at Butler University while I was in CTD training. The cooks were all local women and they prepared home style dishes. The Sunday morning breakfast was something to write home about. I would be in the chow line early and again later for the second meal. What a deal

 

[mikewint]

They say that in the Army the coffee's mighty fine
It looks like muddy water and tastes like turpentine
Oh Lord, I wanna go
But they won't let me go

They say that in the Army the chow is mighty fine
a chicken jumped off the table and killed a friend of mine
Oh Lord, I wanna go
But they won't let me go

They say that in the Army the biscuits are mighty fine
one rolled off the table and crushed a friend of mine

 

[Gnomey]

Great stuff Bill!

 

[CJ7nvrstk]

Yakisoba at the mess hall 3/67 2AD IN THE 80s was the best!

Worst, way too many.

LMAO on the cadence, had forgotten that one.

 

[mikewint]

LMAO on the cadence,

With women in the ranks and the PC climate all the GOOD ones are banned. The E-Nothings even have stress cards that they can use if the DIs are being too mean!!!!

 

[billrunnels]

With women in the ranks and the PC climate all the GOOD ones are banned. The E-Nothings even have stress cards that they can use if the DIs are being too mean!!!!

Women in the ranks certainly would make a difference. Hard for me to imagine how that could possibly work.

 

[mikewint]

Bill tis a totally different Politically Correct world and I'm a dinosaur.
I can still vividly remember the poor Gomer who couldn't keep GUN and RIFLE terminology straight spending the entire day strip naked in the middle of the parade ground chanting: This is my Rifle....This is my Gun....This is for killing....This is for fun

 

[XBe02Drvr]

Navy chow has traditionally been considered best in the services, but the airbase where I served had a perpetual battle over the chow hall. It was a Navy base, and the Navy had the largest single contingent of personnel there, by a whisker, but there were roughly equal numbers of Air Force (to man a NORAD regional headquarters), Army (to man a network of SAM sites), and a somewhat smaller detachment of Marines as a security detail. As host, the Navy provided quarters, facilities, and chow, and billed the other services accordingly.
This led to conflict, as the Army and Marines complained that they were being overcharged and their troops being "coddled", while the Air Force claimed their accommodations and chow were "too spartan". Eventually this controversy percolated all the way to the Pentagon, and the mandate came down: "Turn the chow hall over to the Army!" Suddenly our clean, well-dressed, mostly E-3, 4, and 5 mess specialists were replaced by a bunch of fat, foul-mouthed, slovenly Sergeants with more stripes on their sleeves than most Navy aircraft shop supervisors, and our food went down the crapper. The chow hall soon suffered a plague of rodents, as sanitation deteriorated, and the Air Force went into full rebellion, withdrew from the chow hall, and contracted for catered meals delivered to their barracks.
In the end, ComNavAirLant (a 3-star), and his USAF counterpart went and pounded on some Pentagon desks, and we got our chow back, better than before.
How did I know all this back story? My barracks roommate was an honors Economics and Business Administration graduate, who had been recruited under an internship program, and worked at the base Comptroller's office. He entered as an instant E-4, made E-6 in under 3 years, and turned down an OCS appointment in favor of a scholarship to an MBA program, and took over the family business.
Cheers,
Wes

 

[N4521U]

I found a Shit on a Shingle recipe a while back!!!!!!!!!!
Bwahahahaha.

 

[jetcal1]

Chow swings through a wide range of quality depending on the meal,(B,L,D.) budget, motivation of the folks stirring the kettles, etc. I saw good food officers take care of the troops and some indifferent ones who were less interested. With 7 years at sea, I ran run the gamut from superlatively prepared Thanksgiving dinner to breaking the edge trim on a table with a hamburger bun that was a bit hard. When coming to a new ship, it was also normal to have some flu like discomfort and after that not have any problems in regards to food service. YMMV

 

[billrunnels]

Chow swings through a wide range of quality depending on the meal,(B,L,D.) budget, motivation of the folks stirring the kettles, etc. I saw good food officers take care of the troops and some indifferent ones who were less interested. With 7 years at sea, I ran run the gamut from superlatively prepared Thanksgiving dinner to breaking the edge trim on a table with a hamburger bun that was a bit hard. When coming to a new ship, it was also normal to have some flu like discomfort and after that not have any problems in regards to food service. YMMV

Thanks for sharing your experience. Seven years at sea is a long time.

 

[jetcal1]

Thanks for sharing your experience. Seven years at sea is a long time.

Wasn't all at once. It was spread out over 20!

 

[billrunnels]

Wasn't all at once. It was spread out over 20!

Sounds like a career in the navy?

 

[XBe02Drvr]

Wasn't all at once. It was spread out over 20!

Sure can't complain about not enough shore duty! Is jetcal1 code for ADJ1?
My rate hardly ever went sea. Our only sea billets were PLAT camera support on the carriers.
Cheers,
Wes (TD2)

 

[jetcal1]

Sure can't complain about not enough shore duty! Is jetcal1 code for ADJ1?
My rate hardly ever went sea. Our only sea billets were PLAT camera support on the carriers.
Cheers,
Wes (TD2)

I was an AD. Jetcal1 came from apiece of test equipment used for testing jet engines. (For some reason I was particularity adept at sniffing out issues with it.)
TD went bye-bye in 84?
All but 2 years was spent in type II arduous duty squadrons. (VF, HM, ships company) My sunset was VR which was an easy airplane and the hours were mostly human.

By the way that was actual "underway" screws turning time.

 

[XBe02Drvr]

TD went bye-bye in 84?

I thought it was '88. In any case, long after my time. In '90, I was flying with a First Officer who was a TD for eight years and withdrew his request to re-up when informed he was going to be converted to an IC and his promotion to TDC cancelled because the rate was being abolished and IC was already top-heavy. He was about to go from TD1 with three years in rate and a promotion date to Chief to IC1 with zero time in rate. For a guy who had been a fast tracker in the TD rate, that seemed a bit of a kick in the teeth. He landed on his feet, though, as he had accumulated 1400 hours flying time and all his licenses except ATP in Navy flying clubs along the way. GI Bill took care of the rest. He flew with us as FO for only ten months, then upgraded to Captain just before we went Chapter 11. Eventually retired from Delta as an international Captain on one of the big Boeings (forget which).
Cheers,
Wes
PS: What aircraft in VR? I remember fueling (in my part time off duty job) a C-9 out of (I think) JAX, that had an ancient WWII vintage APCM enlisted pilot in the left seat (stripes, man, stripes) and his squadron commander, a newly frocked REAR ADMIRAL in the right seat, who happened to be his son-in-law. This was the Admiral's last flight in the squadron, as his next billet was to be in DC. They both laughed when they saw my shocked expression, and the Chief said: "I was a little dubious when this nugget aviator started pursuing my daughter, but the lad's turned out alright, don't you think?"

 

[mikewint]

After 2 years college, living in a dorm, I was relatively attuned to "institutional food" so the Army chow lines were not a really big change. The same bland food and I must admit there was always plenty. In Basic those sweet DIs roamed the Mess Hall like sharks, as always, looking for some reason to pounce. Slow eaters and over-weight recruits were mostly their targets. Slow eaters were forced to shovel it in and the chubby guys were allowed a few mouthfuls and then forced to leave the mess. Not easy to eat when a DI is screaming in your ear.
Once out of Basic things got easier and Ft. Sam Huston food was palatable. In Vietnam it was a variable and one never knew what would make it through. Rations were classified and A, B, or C. A Rations were "fresh" foods such as frozen meats, fruits, vegies, and "milk" (reconstituted, yuk)(no cows in Vietnam just Water Buffalo). A Rations required refrigeration and that was is very short supply so the standard A ration was highly modified.
B Rations were foods that required no refrigeration so mostly canned and packaged foods but still prepared by cooks in a standard Army Field Mess situation.
C Rations were "Combat" rations and in '63 we were still getting K-Rats and C-Rats left over from Korea and WWII. The standard B,S,D cardboard packs. I remember my "chopped ham and eggs" can was packed in 1942. Horrible chocolate bars and a powdered lemon drink that would dissolve tooth enamel.
Around '65 or so the K-rats and C-Rats were being replaced by MCI-Rats or Meal, Combat, Individual though we still simply called them C-Rats. They were not a whole lot different basically just more variety. They were HEAVY (over a kilo) since just about everything was in cans: M,B,C,D. M-meat, B-bread, C-crackers/candy/spread, D-desert and an Accessory pack.
The M-can is where that absolutely horrible Ham and MotherForkers comes in. Some other varieties were eatable, Beans and Baby Dicks and spaghetti and meatballs were a favorites and seldom made it out to field teams. In the spread can the peanut butter was an oily mess but it made an excellent fuel to heat the M-unit cans or to stop a case of the "Runs". The D-unit fruitcake was also horrible.
A bonus was that the small B-unit can made an excellent "field stove" in which to burn C4, triox, peanut butter, or even diesel fuel.
Once again the weight of these MCI rations was extreme over 5lbs for ONE days rations.
In about '66 or so we began to see LRP-Rations which were freeze dried meals in about 8 or so varieties. While this made the weight considerably less it took about .7 qts./L to re-hydrate a single meal. While there was lots of water it was all contaminated so out came the Halzone tablets and that wonderful iodine taste to everything

 

[tyrodtom]

About everywhere I went in the Army the chow was bad, in the USAF it varied, depended on where you went.
I can't say how many times I saw signs posted in latrines that said " Be sure to flush twice, it's a long way to the chow hall"

The food was so bad when I was stationed in Germany the only time I'd eat in the chow hall was if I was out of saved up C-rations and out of money to buy anything at the PX.

 

[jetcal1]

PS: What aircraft in VR? "[/QUOTE]
VR-58

 

[aacs45]

Women in the ranks certainly would make a difference. Hard for me to imagine how that could possibly work.

It works fine. Among the professionals, competency is the deciding factor....either you hold your own or you don't. I've been retired almost 15 years, but stay connected to the active force for other reasons. Today's kids grew up together on the sports fields. It's matters less and less to them someone's sex or even persuasion. As for 'diddling,' it obviously still happens, but again, the behavior choices comes down to being professional or not.
And the chow can still leave something to be desired; Doha was the absolute pits.