Odd military dining experiences

[BEAR]

Going through Jump School at Ft. Benning in 1972 we were standing in line waiting for our omelettes ( yes, they had omelettes). A big mouthed Spec 4 in front of us said that he only wanted a veggie omelette because "eating meat is a sin". The sergeant cooking the omelettes started to put his veggies in the egg mix when a good sized roach fell from the ceiling into this guys eggs. The Sergeant looked up, then at the Spec 4 who wasn't paying attention, then put the mass of veggies on the still squirming roach, folded the egg and mashed it down with the spatula. Turned it over a few times and then served it hot on the plate, which he then gave to the Spec 4 with a loud "Bon Appetit". He then looked at us with a big grin of very white teeth and said "Meat is protein and you guys need every bit you can get." Needless to say we weren't interested in omelettes that day.

[Michaelp]

Christmas 1968.
Guy on left is former WW2 Luftwaffe.
Still living.

[barretcreek]

When I was at Diego Garcia in '84 the captain of one of the LASH ships had been a U-boat officer. Gave the Navy fits on the monthly convoys for not following the script. "Don't tell me how to do this! My job was sinking your freighters."

[jmm03]

Diego Garcia in 1975,seabees can be a rowdy lot to say the least.Large rodents sometimes would appear on the purlins in the chow hall during dinner. If spotted, it was not unknown for the hapless creature to be bombarded from all sides with anything at hand,plates,glasses,full ketchup bottles,napkin dispensers,you name it. We all must have had pretty lousy aim,because I never remember seeing one hit... The best food was when we found the mother lode of langustas on a night time outing to an oceanside reef at low tide. My buddy Mike must have collected a hundred pounds of those sea cockroaches,which we took back to the messhall and talked the cooks into boiling them up in the giant copper kettles. A pound of lobster in each hand,dipped in butter,a cold beer from somewhere,man that was good.

[Dolt]

Went through cold weather training at Fuji Japan with 2/9 3rd Mar Div. We were freezing our butts off in our fighting holes one night and the cook called out "Hot onion soup!" Everybody made a bee line for the mess truck. Everybody but me that is. I was too lazy to get out of my grave and skipped the soup. About two hours later everybody came down with the green apple quickstep...except me. Being a sh..bird saved my bacon that night.

[Ken The Kanuck]

Not having been in the military I am not too sure if my contribution counts, but it does have to do with the US navy. I was working in Bander Abbas in Iran in the 70's and the Shah had bought a bunch of ships from the US navy. I was helping to run a construction camp for the workers on those ships who ex-navy guys. One day a US ship came into port and naturally a bunch of the guys knew one another. Some of the sailors came to the mess hall for dinner, as I was running the canteen I struck up a conversation with a couple of them. It turned out that for some reason the ship's mess did not have a particular item (I think it might of been pineapples, but to be honest with you I cannot remember). It turned out that we had lots of what they were missing, but our beer supplies were low. The ship had more beer than they needed so we struck a deal, a very good for us. We were traded beer for the missing item at a rate of about 5 to 1.

Everyone was happy, my guys got some beer and the ship's crew got what they were missing as what we had was considered to be gold and we got a great deal.

Just goes to show you whenever the government is involved they will fook it up.

KTK

[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

[Major Tom]

As OOD, I had to inspect the mess hall when they closed up for the night. I'd walk in with the 1st cook, turn on the lights and the floor would always be a moving black mass of cockroaches. 8-(
On the other hand, when in 'Nam, Special Forces officers would show up at the back door to our mess hall wanting rations for their camp. We always had a surplus of beef especially steaks. The SF guys would trade captured weapons for steaks. Gun running was very profitable when selling those weapons to GI Joe.

[RCK]

Back in 1967 Army Reserve Summer Camp was two weeks camped in the "woods" at Camp Pickett Va. As a Construction Engineer Bn., we were building roads and small Bridges under tactical conditions on the Post. Late in the second week the Mess Sgt. and two cooks disappeared in the afternoon. That evening meal we had Chocolate Cake with chocolate icing for desert. They had gone back to the base mess hall and baked five large sheet cakes. Seconds for everyone. Made up a bit for the heat, dirt, chiggers and pup tents.