"USAF Academy short chow ?" Topic

I posted last week that the USN was short uniforms …

Now a meat shortage at USAF Academy …

link

!!?! Where is the money that should be paying for this support to the military ?!?!?!?

Did you read the article? It explains what happened and why. It is not a money issue.

From somewhere in the government. 🤔 I think General Scrooge:

"Are there no MEALWORMS? And the crickets, Are they still edible? Those who are hungry must eat those."

😉

It is not a money issue.

Yep -- a failure of leadership and competence issue. Has the US military senior leadership devolved to that of France 1940? The lower tier offices and NCOs in the French army were fine, but almost all of the senior leadership from Col and above were incompetents who spent their time playing regime politics to chase their next promotion instead of focusing on war fighting readiness and training.

Yes, I read the article. And yes, it is always about $ one way or another. I spent some time at Bn and Bde as a logistician. Hey, you have to do staff time, until you take command or instructing, etc.

I.e. when it comes to chow. You have a budget. You must stay within the budget monthly. Emergency funding should have been available, it this situation, I'd think. A decision from higher was what caused it. But an experienced Log sec. could have reacted better, IMO. My Log Sec. NCOs and I were pretty good at planning, forecasting and reacting, etc. Now I am not an academy guy. But I'd think forecasting and ordering supplies are pretty similar as at Bn and Bde level. I can't imagine telling my higher, that we are short on chow, etc.

If in a staff meeting, OPORD, etc. higher tells the staff the plan. You have to be "skilled", etc. enough to let your boss how that plan will impact on all classes of supplies. That was my experience … And that is your job …

SBm +1 … someone dropped the ball. It may have been at the top or the middle leadership level.

Think of it as an impromptu SERE course. It will build character

But think of the savings they'll have in using less TP…! ;-)

I was a S4 for a MI battalion of the First Infantry Division. I was Quartermaster and my predecessor was MI. I spent a year correcting the books for each company and finding missing or wrongly labeled equipment.
It is all about the money.
When Sadat of Egypt was killed, our satellite link ran out of the decal recording paper. We used all on post. I had to go to Kansas State University to buy more from them. A financial nightmare.

There's a reason officers eat last in the Marine Corps. This is part of it. The other reason is food quality.

Legion, you are assuming that anyone even bothered to tell the chow hall that they were going to be feeding X number of extra people, and that the folks ordering for the chow hall had time to react to the new demand. Their dining operation is also run by civilians, and I wouldn't be surprised if their daily menu is planned a month in advance.

What do we actually know? That the chow hall was short of beef -- not food in general, just beef. The 'why' is nothing but speculation. We don't know if an adequate briefing was given and a sufficient lead time provided, or if the commandant got fed up on Friday afternoon and ordered the base restriction. Probably a failure of some kind somewhere, and a lesson on communication and/or logistics.

Think of it as an impromptu SERE course. It will build character

Works for me !!! 🤩

But think of the savings they'll have in using less TP

Wow ! One thing you don't want to run short on !!! 😲

It is all about the money.

Bingo !!! 👍👍

Legion, you are assuming that anyone even bothered to tell the chow hall that they were going to be feeding X number of extra people, and that the folks ordering for the chow hall had time to react to the new demand.

It is someone's job to do that. Whoever is in charge of Logistics, in the Army it is the S4[I was a Mech Bn S4 and Mech Bde Asst. S4]. Being be proactive, able to forecast, etc. is expected. At least it was that when I was e.g. an S4 or Bn S3 Air and Bn then Bde BMO.

As I said, generally an Army Officer spends more time on staff than command. I was a Rifle and Mortar Plt Ldr in the 101. Then later a Mech[M113]Co. Cdr. in a Mech Bde attached to the 18th ABN Corps.

What do we actually know? That the chow hall was short of beef -- not food in general, just beef. The 'why' is nothing but speculation. We don't know if an adequate briefing was given and a sufficient lead time provided, or if the commandant got fed up on Friday afternoon and ordered the base restriction.

Yes none of us were there. But I'm basing my assessment on my past experiences, etc. As I said again someone didn't do their job.

E.g. :

In the ROK I was a Mech Bn S4, '84-'85. The Bn XO was upset. That out in the field there was no cheese in the scrambled eggs.🥚🍳🧀

Another time the Bde Cdr was not happy about the bacon not being crisp enough.🥓 Talked to my senior Mess SGT. Those two situations never happened again.

Can't imagine what would happen if for whatever reasons there was no beef to serve in the mess halls. I.e. You must have it to make SOS for breakfast! Or burgers in the short-order line in the mess halls for lunch.🍔 Regardless of whatever other meats were available. Just say'n …

Traditionally the platoon Sargent ate first. The platoon leader ate last. The Lt had to get warning orders for the afternoon activities. It was a lot easier in garrison on maintenance days.

Yep, the Plt Ldr and Co. Cdr ate last in the field. Troops eat first … period … Taking care of your troops is a big part of being in a leadership position.

"Another time the Bde Cdr was not happy about the bacon not being crisp enough.🥓 Talked to my senior Mess SGT. Those two situations never happened again."

Obviously that "crisp bacon" never came from being served in mermite containers and the 194th AR BDE….

😎 You know the deal !

Today Mermites are probably in a museum somewhere! 😄

Ah, marmites- you're taking me back, Legion. Marmites with runny eggs and floppy bacon and soft potatoes with a styrofoam cup of coffee on a thirty degree morning can revive you. The sound of one of those indestructible but battered cooking spoons on plastic as the chow detail scrapes out the last of the leavings for the officers- that was the Army. Finished off by a lipper of Copenhagen to wake you up.

One of those interesting words, inexplicable to most, that traces the little-remembered influence on the French Army of 1815-1914 on the US Army.

you're taking me back, Legion. Marmites with runny eggs and floppy bacon and soft potatoes with a styrofoam cup of coffee on a thirty degree morning can revive you.

Yes, memories that one can never forget … 😎 You just had to be there to completely appreciate it …

The article says that fish and chicken were still available. I was in situations in the army where food ran short in the field and as an officer I got whatever was left at the end of the line.

Not saying the shortages of beef/steak weren't a serious oversite or that someone in the logistics area should have brought the issue up before it became a problem, but I think there are worse things that cadets could experience than a shortage of steaks.

During cadet basic training at the USMA my company was pretty much deliberately starved by the first three weeks detail of cadre. Eating at attention and trying to learn and follow the rules at the table and being made to sit there and "think about" your mistakes taught me a valuable lesson. Learn the rules quickly, follow them and you too will have enough time to eat AND make yourself a peanut sandwich before the end of the meal! When we weighed in after the first two weeks our cadre was told to ease up at the table because our company had lost more weight than any other company. Good times!

Possible corruption? A CID investigation of my battalion caught one of our cooks selling food the Army purchased for the chow hall on the black market. The cook would forge the inventory reporting food was prepared and eaten in meals and the reality was he smuggled it out and sold it.

The article says that fish and chicken were still available.

As I noted, Regardless, of whatever other meats were available.

Not saying the shortages of beef/steak weren't a serious oversite or that someone in the logistics area should have brought the issue up before it became a problem,

Agreed …

but I think there are worse things that cadets could experience than a shortage of steaks.

Of course … but my experiences on active-duty, shortages of chow for the troops is something that should always be avoided. Admittedly streaks per se were not always served in the Mess Halls.

I was in situations in the army where food ran short in the field and as an officer I got whatever was left at the end of the line.

Yes as a Plt Ldr and Co Cdr that happened, but rarely. Again, as we know the troops' welfare has to come first …

Good times!

Yes … yes there were ! But I was only an ROTC Cadet … 😎

Dragon + 1 … what happened in your Bn by one of its cooks is despicable. I hope he is still in Leavenworth …