Odd military dining experiences

[Griff Murphey]

I did not have complaints at Fort Sill Army ROTC advanced camp about the food as much as about the water. It was heavily chlorined, when we could get it. Spec 4s dumped Clorox bottles into the water buffalo trailers and lister bags. Great Kool Aid, burned as it went down.
C-rats... What can you say? Best part, the crackers and peanut butter.
Camp Hansen officers' open mess, Okinawa... Generally good food, interesting with the Okinawan cooks - they would cut the grapefruit up and down, making it very hard to get the segments out. One time they served an oyster stew. Hard to find the oysters... One marine officer remarked, "Let's see if I can snag the duty oyster as he swims by..."
Naval vessels... If you were close to the time breakfast closed, forget ordering. Better remember to fold your napkin neatly and put it back in the napkin ring (which had your name on it) because if it was left lying on the table it would be stuffed into the napkin ring as imaginatively as possible to look as messy as possible. You had to use the same napkin 3-4 days in a row.
Strangest meal on a ship: USS DURHAM, as we picked up 3500 refugees, called by the 1MC from a sea of filthy, scared, and sick humanity, to a perfect tex mex meal in the wardroom, complete with white jacketed mess attendants. Then... Back to work.
Strangest meal off of the ship: Col. Singh of the Singapore Army had invited us... many of the officers of 1-4, to dinner at his spacious pre-WW-2 British Army officer's bungalow. Picked up by a Singapore Army Mercedes with driver popping a "Monty" salute. He and 1-4's XO, Maj. "Iron Mike" McGowan, had gone to Army Command and Staff College together. Rice with tiny tropical fish in it, very hot. Chaplain had tears running down his cheeks... no amount of Tiger beer could sooth our palates. Broiled chicken was brought out and eyes brightened ... Real FOOD! We loaded our plates to the gunwales, uh oh... it tasted like it had been soaked in perfume. Ahh... we had to eat it all once our plates were loaded.
Call me a chauvinist officer pig, but the officers clubs were sure nice. Fun to play the slots out in the Far East. Good times. One day I hope to see the Cubi Point O club bar again... At P-cola.

[butlersrangers]

Here's one!

life of the party.jpg

[Michaelp]

Wierdest I ever saw was at the BX at Bien Hoa in 1969.
By then that place was like a little city-they had a modern air conditioned movie theater and a nice shopping center with a decent restraunt/snackbar.
Our rear area compound bordered it and we had free run of the place.
I was buying a bunch of stuff for the guys back on the team when a deuce and a half full of army guys in from the field pulled up.
They headed for the snack bar for chow and BX stuff.

A punk ass AP and backup appeared and told them they were not allowed in because of their appearance.
He said they had to go to their own unit which was miles away.

I was beside myself in disbelief. They loaded up and left. I still think about that shameful day.
I bet none of them ever forgot, either.
It wasn't just the "hippies."

[Garden Valley]

Wierdest I ever saw was at the BX at Bien Hoa in 1969.
By then that place was like a little city-they had a modern air conditioned movie theater and a nice shopping center with a decent restraunt/snackbar.
Our rear area compound bordered it and we had free run of the place.
I was buying a bunch of stuff for the guys back on the team when a deuce and a half full of army guys in from the field pulled up.
They headed for the snack bar for chow and BX stuff.

A punk ass AP and backup appeared and told them they were not allowed in because of their appearance.
He said they had to go to their own unit which was miles away.

I was beside myself in disbelief. They loaded up and left. I still think about that shameful day.
I bet none of them ever forgot, either.
It wasn't just the "hippies."

Summer of 1968 I was sent down to Da Nang to the NSA optical shop and with a bit of spare time afterwards I took the shuttle bus to the big Air Force PX in Da Nang. When I started to go in a "punk ass AP' stopped me and told me that Marines were not allowed in the PX. I've not had a good thought about the Air Force since then.

[Clark Howard]

We were having burgers in the DOOM, and wieners and loaf bread in the mess hall at Danang. After months of this diet, I persuaded several members of the ops crew to slip through the wire to the Fleet Air Support Unit's mess hall. Since we were wearing Marine flight suits, (AF Nomex was still months away), we were allowed to enter the line for a meal. The white-coated server asked, "Steak, or lobster, sir". I took the steak, but the guy behind me asked for "both", and got it with a smile. The Navy soon figured us out, and if they could catch us before we made it to the mess, they jeeped us back to our unit operations. Look at Google Earth, the whole area is now restricted for Agent Orange contamination. Bon Apetit! Regards, Clark

[gtodan]

Hadji's Revenge. During Desert Storm evac'd a team of medical doctors into northern Saudi Arabia. Seems a whole Patriot missile battery was rendered ineffective after eating at the area "dining facility". Was common practice for the military to hire locals to work in the DF's under Army supervision. Really?

Anyone else ever gotten sick eating from a mermite can?

[Ltdave]

went to alaska for 35 days in 89 for Brim Frost (exercise for the defense of Alaska). all 5 branches were involved...

i was only a Senior Airman and got tagged to stick around at End-Ex to police the quonset hut housing on Fort Richardson (shares a fence line with Elmendorf AFB)...

we had been eating in the Army mess hall. nasty chipped tile floor, long worn "banquet table" tables, and plastic chairs where we had to police our own dishes and were served by sweaty BDU wearing specialists, serving up the same stuff for the last 34 days...

i had a couple of PFCs assigned to me (from Fort Richardson) to help clean up the barracks and make sure everything was good to go. i suggested we go to Elmendorf to eat lunch because i wanted better food...

we walked into the Dining Facility there and were greeted by an Airman in Chef whites, who asked how we'd like our burgers cooked (or whatever it was we ate). the food service area was ceramic tile, all polished. bright stainless all cleaned and polished. we sat down at our tablecloth covered 4-place table with condiments, napkin dispenser and flower, cushioned chair on carpeted floor. the soldiers ate in disbelief that there were drapes on the windows and not crooked venetian blinds and when the civilians came around to bus our table they were about in tears...

they were even CLOSER when i told them the DF at my home base had 3 fireplaces, a separate dining area for "private" unit get togethers, chandeliers and a rock garden outside the glass walls...

[meterman]

I served in 4 branches...missed the Foreign Legion and the Marine Corps...and this story is right on the button. The AF knows how to treat it's people. Housing, food, duty, everything.

[John Sukey]

Not much to add,except when we went TDY to Cold Lake Canada.
Senior NCO's mess.
Food served on PLATES and you had a choice of entrees.
4 person tables with TABLECLOTHS!

[Major Tom]

Mess Sgt. "get in, get it, sit down, eat it, get out". No idle chit chat there! Oh, and there better not be anything edible left on the tray when you turned it in to the KP.