Free DFACs and no boat food is why I switched to the Air Force ?♂️
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Porkchop shenanigans, allegedy crappy boat food, and the Great BAS Debate of 2020
- Thread starter Gonzo08
- Start date
That and getting large multi turbojet experience for The Show....
Don't lie, those well-manicured golf courses and squadron bars had something to do with it as well.
Fuckin’ liar...you said it was all about the ascot!
I will read the rest of this thread, but here's been my arguments/points about paying for boat food since day one:
I know the above sounds snobby particulary with the Officer vs. Enlisted thing, but I am constantly being told: "hey man, cost of doing business as an officer." Well, after forcing parts of the wardroom to drive to/from Fallon without mileage multiple times (HARP + AWF), buy blueberries for no reason other than to have an officers' uniform inspection (so far, this has been my only wear on Type 3's too...), making the female O's buy about a $1k in new unisex-ish uniforms, constantly chipping in for subsidizing the enlisted or student Christmas party tickets, then supplying nearly all the cash for the prizes at said Christmas party, not-being-forced-but-being-forced to join NHA, wardroom dues, etc. etc., the "cost of doing business as an officer" adds up.
- I have no problem for paying for food I receive, however;
- The food should at least meet the minimum standards the Navy sets forth or I shouldn't be charged (i.e., when the boat runs out of food and I am still charged or when the "macaroni salad" counts as your vegetable and starch kind of thing - seen similar more than once.) 2.A. Why am I paying for leftovers? I hate when lunch is the previous night's leftovers or dinner is the day's lunch leftovers. Semi-common on my current ship. Hint: the leftovers are there because no one likes them and it sucks you planned the menu knowing "ah no one likes that, we'll have plenty leftover for dinner!" and then I get charged for leftovers.
- The BAS is defined as an amount meant to offset the cost of feeding the servicemember. If that's the case - why are enlisted given more? Are they hungrier? Why am I forced to pay more than BAS underway whereas they have it automatically taken out, but still less than one month's BAS? Ultimately, I think O's and E's should be paid the same amount in BAS and the Navy should set our monthly meal rate to be = BAS or at least no greater than BAS. All DoD services should be equal - either make your dudes pay or don't when you're deployed.
I know the above sounds snobby particulary with the Officer vs. Enlisted thing, but I am constantly being told: "hey man, cost of doing business as an officer." Well, after forcing parts of the wardroom to drive to/from Fallon without mileage multiple times (HARP + AWF), buy blueberries for no reason other than to have an officers' uniform inspection (so far, this has been my only wear on Type 3's too...), making the female O's buy about a $1k in new unisex-ish uniforms, constantly chipping in for subsidizing the enlisted or student Christmas party tickets, then supplying nearly all the cash for the prizes at said Christmas party, not-being-forced-but-being-forced to join NHA, wardroom dues, etc. etc., the "cost of doing business as an officer" adds up.
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You think your plane likes the exact same JP5 day in, day out?
It’s calories, you’re a weapons system, enjoy it.
PAS may have gotten you further - felt like they really held the cards on HST.
That particular Captain spent almost all his time eating on the bridge so he wouldn't have to leave or having guests from around the ship for dinner in his cabin. (He had 2 CSs assigned to him - they made some kickass jerk wings!)
You think your plane likes the exact same JP5 day in, day out?
It’s calories, you’re a weapons system, enjoy it.
If every bird in my squadron rejected said JP5 because it was inedible once every three weeks and then was given the same JP5 for the night flights, I suspect the MO. AMO, and MMCPO's heads would be on platters. Fact of the matter is there are regulations on food standards and it's beyond frustrating when the ship can't even meet those.
Keep in mind you were in a Navy where CSs were actually trained to cook and were given the tools and ingredients to do so. Today: it's mostly just reheating off brand Stouffer's lasagna and other preservative laden foods instead of actually cooking. Once in a while they crush it, but that's when the CSs are actually given the leeway, ingredients, and tools to create something good, which, most of the time, they just don't get.
Perfect example: I'd say about 25% of the food they serve is intended to be fried - french fries, fried chicken, chicken nuggets, jalapeno poppers, mozzarella sticks, and so on. Instead of just cooking foods that you wouldn't fry (i.e. a twice baked potato, or, just real mashed potatoes that aren't instant and out of a box for Pete's sake), they keep relying as if the old menu exists and you end up with a mushy buffalo chicken sandwich, with overly burned french fries, boiled "Scandinavian/Antigua/California blend" veggies right out of the frozen bag, and it just blows. Do we really think the frozen chicken patty full of preservatives is all that much better for me than taking the time to make a real one and frying it? Same for the fries (I mean, I don't eat them now, so I guess that's a win for my health?). So now, we have "fried chicken," but that really just means "we turned the oven up way too high to appear as if it was fried, so expect your chicken to potentially be frozen in the middle but burned on the outside, but don't worry, it was pre-cooked before we touched it so it's safe for consumption." Minor exaggeration, but not much. Instead: just teach our CS's to cook foods that aren't designed to be fried if we are going to rid ourselves of the fryers.
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Catch your own food?
I haven't been haze grey and underway in a bunch of years, so no way to compare what you guys eat these days to what I ate on the USS America or some small boys. Sorry to hear that the food sucks. It's the easiest morale booster going.
My dad always said he joined the Navy instead of the Army because of "three squares and a rack."
I haven't been haze grey and underway in a bunch of years, so no way to compare what you guys eat these days to what I ate on the USS America or some small boys. Sorry to hear that the food sucks. It's the easiest morale booster going.
My dad always said he joined the Navy instead of the Army because of "three squares and a rack."
It's not really legal when we're within 200 miles of somebody else's country, which is a lot of the time nowadays.
Do you know what those regulations on food quality are? If it's a regular Navy ship, then it's governed by NAVSUP P-486. Any conversation you have with SUPPO, the FSO, or CO/XO should reference this because that's what they're going to use to smack down your complaints. If you're on a ship where MSC runs the galley like Blue Ridge, then they have a different set of regs but they also have actual cooks who are supposed to actually cook since that's all they are hired to do. There shouldn't be an excuse for bad chow on an MSC ship.
Again, if you're on a normal ship, there are tight regulations on when, how, and why you can use leftovers in order to prevent foodborne illnesses. I'm surprised they do it so often. On small boys, it's usually just a midrats thing, but I'm sure your galley is just as limited (I don't get the feeling you're on a small boy). The thing is that regular Navy ships are beholden to the Navy Standard Core Menu, aka the 21 Day Menu. This gives them limited options on not only what they can cook but also what they can order through the supply system (all food must come from the central supply system) with ends up with shitty food quality all the way around. If it's an MSC ship, then they have fewer excuses, but they're still ordering out of the same central supply system so expect USDA grade D meat and lots of frozen and canned stuff that's been heavily processed.
Sailor, Supplier, Service, and the Navy Standard Core Menu
BY PAUL SMITH, NAVY FOOD SERVICE READINESS OFFICER, NAVAL SUPPLY […]
You can't use the galley to cook stuff you catch. That's a NAVMED regulation for food safety but I can't remember which one exactly. If I recall, it's the same one that governs Doc doing inspections of the food before you do a stores onload.
Haifa, 1991 - port visit. Suppo announces to wardroom that he has in stores - a "large quantity" of USDA fresh beef - rib-eyes - days from expiry. Ships XO with a little air detachment prodding, adds "all you can eat steak bbq" to the already planned "beer on the pier" event. Thousands of rib-eyes cooked to perfection, and some locally procured beer (Ice cold). It was epic and one of those rare occasions where the right thing was done. Every sailor had a local female or two accompany him - I think we introduced a good portion of the Haifa female population to the pleasures of American beef.
Purely unintended pun - I am neither that clever or eloquent to include it on purpose (as @Brett327 likes to remind me from time to time)