Best and worst GI mess

[Fox Mike]

The restaurant post got me thinking about some of the GI mess halls (now called 'dining facilities') I have eaten in over the years. The better ones were few and far between. One of the best Army was at the Sergeant Major Academy at Ft Bliss. The USAF consolidated mess on Dover AFB was also outstanding. On the other hand the mess hall at Ft Eustis lived up to the name 'mess'. I shouldn't even bring up the very first meal at the reception center at Ft Knox. Beef stew they said though I wondered if all the horses were acounted for. It was eaten ONLY because I was starving.

 

[Jeepnik]

I was spoiled. Most USAF chow halls were pretty good. But by far the best was at the Red Horse outfit at Ramstein in Germany. The cooks were all German civilians. The food was often German dishes, and they had beer. Yep, beer right in the chow hall.

As to the worst, well it didn't come from a chow hall. It was catch as catch can while attending a little course down at Hurlburt Field in Florida. At least they fed us pretty good when it was over. Oh, and they let us take a shower and put on clean clothes.

 

[olcop]

Navy food was very good aboard a medium sized Navy ship, shore duty food was still good, and, in those days, it was all prepared by Navy cooks, never had civillian cooks when I was in. My son did tell me that Marine Corps food in Iraq was prepared by civillian cooks, and was pretty good

 

[phonejack]

TAD at MCAS Beaufort, 1969. Mess hall had two lines at night for the meat. One night left line was meatloaf, I knew it would be raw in the middle. Other line was chittlins. Really ? Ok, why not, try something different. Halfway down the line I noticed everybody in the meatloaf line was looking at me ! I looked to either side and realized I was the white icing in an Oreo. Oh, one taste and I was done!

 

[Colonialgirl]

As I said before; TWO good mess halls, One on Osan AFB in Korea and the other at Sea Range the missile practice range on the yellow sea (1967-68). However I grew up on US Navy bases until the end of my 6th grade and the food in the mess halls on all the bases was pretty tasty; also aboard the USNS Geiger going to and home from Morocco. Fort Ord wasn't too bad either.

 

[Bob Wright]

The very best meals in the Army were the C-Rations. We ate pretty good on the troop ship, both going to Korea and the return cruise. At Ft. Ord, the food was pretty good, but we had a man who had been a baker in civilian life.

I was on a C-130 that had to make an emergency landing in Japan at an Air Force base, don't remember which one, but in southern Japan. Those Air Force guys ate GOOD! Maybe Atsugi AFB?

Bob Wright

 

[DPris]

At all four AF bases I was stationed in the 1970s, the chow halls were about equal. I don't recall anything that stood out positively or negatively.

Visited a Navy buddy in '72, the food on his destroyer escort based out of Long Beach was great stuff!
Denis

 

[tinman]

I thought we ate pretty good at Ft. Bragg............then I spent a summer teaching at West Point....... :wink:

 

[A.J.]

I was in the Army (active and USAR) for 31 years. Best DFACs (by far) were in Mosul and Tikrit, Iraq during my combat deployment.

Crab legs
Piles of sliced mangos
Pecan swirl ice cream
Unlimited salad bar
Authentic Indian cuisine prepared by REAL Indians
Etc...

Incidentally... The prime rib always sucked! They boiled it first to suck out all the flavor. Yeah.... There I was.... War is Hell!

 

[pete44ru]

.

IME, the worst mess I had to use was at Westover AFB, Chicopee, Mass.

Somebody was stealing/selling all the meat except chicken out the back door for quite awhile.

I had chicken there just about every conceivable way it could be cooked - I didn't eat chicken again for about 10 years after I finished my hitch. :roll:

.

 

[protoolman]

Navy cooks were always pretty good in my experience.

 

[lipofsky]

The best I ever enjoyed was the Air Force facilities at Ladjes in the Azores, the worst was Mayport naval Station Mayport Fla.

 

[graygun]

The only one that stands out in memory (best) is the 369th Sig Bn mess hall at Vung Tau,South Vietnam.

At Cu Chi,I only ate breakfast...fresh eggs,pretty good.

 

[Armybrat]

Was just an Army brat, but thought the Presidio Officers Mess was like fine dining.
The Navy fed us dependents really good when we sailed to Japan & Taiwan on the Edwin Patrick in ‘57.

 

[loaded round]

LOL! I couldn't eat chicken or liver for almost 10 years after I got out either!

.

IME, the worst mess I had to use was at Westover AFB, Chicopee, Mass.

Somebody was stealing/selling all the meat except chicken out the back door for quite awhile.

I had chicken there just about every conceivable way it could be cooked - I didn't eat chicken again for about 10 years after I finished my hitch. :roll:

.

 

[blackhawknj]

If the officers and senior NCOs didn't eat there, beware !

 

[Ka6otm]

Navy cooks were always pretty good in my experience.

Best meal I ever had during my military enlistment was on a Destroyer Escort in Pearl Harbor, and I was in the Army at the time.

 

[Bull Barrel]

My son said chow onboard aircraft carriers was plentiful and filling but not that good. I used to send him a supply of a locally made hot sauce that became in high demand by even the Hispanic sailors who had their own brand.
He said chow had the same result as feeding a dog Ol' Roy dry dog food.

 

[Fox Mike]

The best I ever enjoyed was the Air Force facilities at Ladjes in the Azores, the worst was Mayport naval Station Mayport Fla.

I completely forgot about that one. While a Cadet in the Civil Air Patrol in 1954 I was selected as the International Exchange Cadet from the Maryland Wing. On the way to London we landed on the Azores and had a meal at the AF mess. Good stuff.

 

[Wyandot Jim]

The Chow at the Enlisted Chow Hall on Forbes AFB in 1960 was very good. Since we worked 24 hours they always had 4 meals a day. I loved the SOS at the midnight meal. Wife still fixes it.
While on a Tiger Cruse aboard the USS Nimitz I ate in the Officers Mess with Air Boss Son. WOW just outstanding food (think Steak and Lobster) along with the service.

 

[WAYNO]

Basic Training mess at Ft. Ord was the worst. I imagine that's by design.

Immediately after, at Aberdeen Proving Ground, that was the best.

Everything after that must've been mediocre, as I don't remember much. At our mess hall in the Cav, all I remember is eating SOS, which is great everywhere, and hamburgers for lunch. Often we'd go to McChord Air Force Base for lunch, as it was considered better than Army chow.

Further, we found ourselves at the NCO Club with increasing frequency for lunch, so maybe we discovered it was the best escape.

 

[Heliman]

Best: NAS Atsugi in 1971. Premium steaks cooked to order, standing rib roast, roast turkey and trimmings. Deserts, home made delicious.

Worst: USS Midway after a week or so at sea. All the fresh milk gone. Powdered milk and kool aid were the choices. Very unremarkable until the next unrep.

NAF China Lake was good, especially breakfasts...

 

[Fox Mike]

Watched a soldier stick an M-80 in the lumpy mashed potatoes at Hunter-Stewart. A scene to behold when it went off. :shock:

 

[Rancher Will]

All of the USAF Mess Halls where I had a chance to eat in the U.S. were good. In fact as good or better than much of the food available to me before I enlisted. All of the food in the NCO Club at Fairchild AFB was excellent.

However, when I was stationed at Tyndall Field, Florida, 1949-1951, we often made jokes about the fried chicken that tasted like fish, calling it Seagulls.

 

[eric conrad]

The best was in Oakland upon return from Nam. That was the Best meal I had in the Army. The rest was from OK to what is that Sh#t :shock: I did eat at a AF mess in Nam and it was better than we had in the states. They lived better than we did in the states also.
In basic training a Col. told us the military has the best food in the world until the cooks get a hold of it.
Eric

 

[sgtjimh]

Best was Kadena AFB in Okinawa, worst was the chow hall at Courthouse bay on camp Lejune, That one was also the cook school.

 

[loaded round]

The worst food I ever had was in Con Mess Hall 5 at Fort Devens, Ma where I vowed never to eat chicken, liver, and hot dogs ever again. The best food I was ever served was at a small post outside of Ankara, Turkey called Manzarli Station (Det 27). The mess hall was contracted out to a German civilian company that employed German cooks, Italian bakers, and Turks for KP and servers. This post had it's own bakery and we had fresh bread, rolls, cakes and pies every day. Only grip we had there was we had to drink reconstituted milk flown in from Germany in half pint containers. It tasted just like skim milk from a can. Second best chow was at Two Rock Ranch Station in Petaluma, Ca. Post only had 250 personnel stationed there.

 

[pete44ru]

I loved the SOS at the midnight meal.

+1 ! !

When I was in the USAF in the early 60's, I worked the 12:00AM to 8:00AM shift on a flight line that, in Winter, got very cold out there, working on an aircraft.

I ALWAYS hit midnight chow for SOS with a couple of fried eggs on top - which kept my belly warm & full until breakfast.

.

 

[Colonialgirl]

Okay; Now another story:
I had a boss (and friend) who had served in the Army during the Korean War; He told about the time he and a friend were assigned to KP and were sent out to unload a truck of frozen meat at the back of the mess hall.
As they were unloading the frozen cartons, they noted that some were marked (Are YOU ready for THIS??? :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: ) HORSE MEAT . He said they decided those were intended for the Canine Kennels and were stacking it off to one side when one of the cooks came out and raised hades with them; Telling them "HEY BRING that meat in here!!"

NOW you KNOW what that Mystery Meat was that you got served now and then; Probably ground up to make SOS. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
:roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :wink: :wink: :mrgreen:

 

[Wyandot Jim]

I loved the SOS at the midnight meal.

+1 ! !

When I was in the USAF in the early 60's, I worked the 12:00AM to 8:00AM shift on a flight line that, in Winter, got very cold out there, working on an aircraft.

I ALWAYS hit midnight chow for SOS with a couple of fried eggs on top - which kept my belly warm & full until breakfast.

.

Yep same here. Working on B-47s on the flight line in a Kansas winter was NO Fun. I asked a local. Does the wind always blow like this??? His answer. Naaaaa sometimes it blows from the other direction!!!!!!!!
A flight line always seems to be either to hot or to cold and windy. Oh it is also a weeeeeeeeee bit loud with J-47 engines running and we had no ear protection at the time. Ahhhhhhhhhh what did you say????