The best meal from Uncle Sam

[ut1seabee]

Worst chow was boot camp at Great Lakes.Our C.C. explained that all MS's had to have a degree in chemistry.Reason being that chemists were the only people able to turn good food into s#!t. Lucky for me that was not completely true.Although,many times it was. Best chow was a toss up.NCBC Pt.Hueneme and McMurdo Sta. Antarctica. When in doubt, c rats were often the lesser of two evils.

[Maury Krupp]

At the Army mess halls I had to eat in Thanksgiving and Christmas were probably the two worst meals.

Not only because eating in an old run down WWII mess hall by yourself on a holiday isn't real high on anybody's hit parade, but because by the time we single junior enlisted swine got to eat the 0s and SNCOs with their families had picked over everything and the kitchen staff were tired, more surly than usual from working on a holiday, and just wanted to go home.

Probably the "best" (on a relative scale) was the day the IG was inspecting the mess hall; the worst was the day after.

Maury

[Dan Shapiro]

Best was the last. Just returned from Nam and going thru out-processing at Oakland. 2am, steak and french fries.

[noslack327]

I remember this one it was the best.

Best was the last. Just returned from Nam and going thru out-processing at Oakland. 2am, steak and french fries.

[40mmgunner]

Before I joined the Army, I served a hitch in the Coast Guard as a 40mm AA gunner on a weather cutter (look it up, kids) in the North Atlantic, based in Boston, MA. Our Storekeeper Warrant Officer would ask the crew if we would eat beans 'n' franks for a while so he could afford lobster for a couple of meals -- Hell yes, sir!! So, for the first two Fridays at sea, we got all the lobster, steak and fresh bread that starving teenagers could eat. WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
War Story: In those days, USCG personnel in the Northeast were almost all from New England or the Outer Banks of Virginia/North Carolina. Going through the mess line on one Lobster Day, I was behind a kid from Okracoke, NC, who had never seen a lobster before. When the cook flopped two of them on his tray, he looked at them in horror and said "I ain't gonna eat no Goddamn' BUG!!!!!!!!!!!!!" As a native New Englander, I swapped him my steak -----------------------

[Oxmix]

Best was the last. Just returned from Nam and going thru out-processing at Oakland. 2am, steak and french fries.

Unfortunately, my out processing meal at Oakland in 1969 was possibly the worst meal I ever had, and believe me the Army had lots of bad meals. The steak was so tough, I could not cut or chew it. I figured it was Sam's one last chance to screw with me.

On the other hand, possibly the best meals I ever had were at the Navy mess hall in Naha, Okinawa, and Air Force mess halls at Yoza Dake, Okinawa and Ona Point, Okinawa.

Regards

Ox

[cwartyman]

Worst was in Iwakuni Japan in 92 when they served surf and turf of a piece of shoe leather steak and a very mushy lobster tail. Since then have never enjoyed a well done steak again or tried lobster tail. The best meal was on March 13, 1991 in JFK airport when we deplaned coming home from Desert Storm so the plane could be refueled and cleaned for the next leg of the trip, and they were serving McDonalds it wasn't hot and didn't taste great but we were home in the States and they truly cared that we had something from home, then they opened the phone banks up for all 400 of us to make phone calls. Being from NYC i tried to call my parents to get them to come out but they had gone to Atlantic City for the day. Wasn't until I reached El Toro that i was able to get in touch with them, by then the party had started in the hangar so after not drinking for 7 months the 4 beers I had knocked me for a loop lol. At El Toro midrats was always the best meal served, either eggs to order or burgers and fries.
Mack
USMC
1988-1995

[cmbtinfantry]

It wasn't fancy but my best meal was right after we got back from the Shah-e-Khot valley. Good old egg and sausage t rats with grits and awful waffles. It wasn't the best but after sharing an mre between my fire team for 2 weeks it was heaven.

[BEAR]

Since I'm on here I'll give my best experience in a dining facility other than Army. My unit was undergoing amphibious training at Coronado, CA and we had just lined our troops up at their dining facility. True to standard we NCO's stood at the back waiting for our guys to go through before we went through. One of the Marine Gunny's was giving us the squint stare from a short line just opposite the main line. He then stalked over to the main line, unclamped the cigar from his teeth and told us NCO's that there was a line for us over where he was standing. He the told us that NCO's have too much to do waiting to eat chow after the troops. Well, we didn't want to argue with the bulldog on his turf so we followed him over. When we got inside we saw that the facility was divided into two different areas, one for enlisted and one for NCOs. The food was excellent and they had civilian dining room orderlies (DRO) that waited on us at our tables. Never had to lift a finger after I got my food. They even took our trays from us when we were finished. We thought that the Marines really knew how to treat the troops .... that is until we went to Pendelton 2 weeks later, then we realized that Coronado was a NAVY base.
BEAR

[Nick Riviezzo]

Maury, I don't know where you were having to eat after the Officers and NCO's but I never in 23 years saw that kind of crap.If I had I would have been feeding some Officers and NCO's "C" rats. That's just the kind of BS a good officer or senior NCO wouldn't tolerate. The soldiers are the precious comodity. Short change the troops look for some severe guidance from any Commander worth his salt.Nick