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 […]scnewsltr.dodlive.mil
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.
I am quite familiar with NAVSUP P-486. On my most recent deployment I got in several arguments with our SUPPO about it. I went the route you recommended earlier - the "sampling the mess gradesheet route," and cited specific examples of failures from NAVSUP P-486. I got a nasty phone call: "do you know Skipper sees these?! What am I supposed to do?" "Yes. And admit that you messed up like an officer and fix the problem and tell him it won't happen again?" WRT the 21 day menu, frustratingly, you can have the same meals every 7 days and state: "well yeah, multiply that by 3 and you have 21 days." Outside of a few changes in dinner, every meal was the exact same thing each day of the week i.e.: fake Italian (reheated Stouffer's) mondays, taco Tuesday, frozen burger Wednesdays, fake Asian Thursdays (mixing spaghetti with ground beef along with some peppers and onions and calling it Yakisoba, throw in a limited supply of lumpia for good measure), etc.
As far as the cooking goes, I think part of the problem is cooking so early: lunch is done by 0900-0930ish on my current ship and then spends until 1100 on the steam plates just making everything overcooked and/or soggy. Why does it have to be done so early?!
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