Sorry Brett, I'm not a shut up and color guy. This is just one of the things that is going into the pile of reasons to find another line of work. I go to the CAOC and get unbelievable food at all times. On top of that, I can take drinks whenever I want. I go to Afghanistan and it's the same thing but even better. In the war zone of Afghanistan I got better food then I ever did on the boat. Any boat. They have energy bars at all times. I can't even get a proper boxed lunch on the boat when flying a 6 hour mission. No, CS2, that plate of baked beans and chicken wrapped in tin foil that you gave me on the boat will not work for me in the plane.
Take away my BAS. It doesn't cover my mess bill anyways. But do away with the mess bills as well. The thing that gets me the most is that the ship WILL NOT change it's meals to the schedules of the CVW. If the whole airwing is flying mostly night ops and no one is going to get up before 11a.m., well too bad. No breakfast for you. That is not how it's done in the Stan. If you are working night ops, then you get breakfast when you get up, even if that is 6 P.M. This attitude of "that's how it's always been done" is antiquated. It's time for change, right? Maybe it's point paper time. It's not like there are any reasonable arguments to defend this policy. It's just the way it is.
I don't disagree with any of your rationale. It's a fucked up policy that definitely
should be changed. Here's the thing - people have been complaining about this literally for generations. So, MB can write an articulate, well argued point paper and run it up the chain, but what makes you think that his point paper is going to receive any more attention than all the dozens of guys who have done the exact same thing over the last 30-40 years? Why, all of a sudden, is NOW the time it's going to work? What has changed? As unjust as it all seems to us, this just isn't something that big Navy is going to change. We all know it. It's not a matter of "shut up and color," it's just how it is.
Can't win if you don't try? Maybe, but as I said before, I'll spend my time and energy on issues that big Navy doesn't consider DOA.
So, if that's the straw that breaks the camel's back for your (or anyone's) decision to continue serving, that's unfortunate and perhaps understandable. People get out for all kinds of reasons, so if the Navy isn't cutting it for you anymore, you should vote with your feet.
Brett