Doug M.
Member
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Ironic. I lived in CU from 78-93, then in Cheney most of the time from 93-2012. We would do joint ops with the USAF Security Forces for the Air Show/open house.
Mess halls
- Thread starter Rustyt1953
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Ironic. I lived in CU from 78-93, then in Cheney most of the time from 93-2012. We would do joint ops with the USAF Security Forces for the Air Show/open house.
I grew up about 25 miles from Chanute, but never ate there. I did stop there twice on payday to collect my Army pay. I was home from RVN and the clerk said he had never done combat pay before.
I bought by first pistol at the Western Auto in Rantoul after I got discharged. I gave briefings to airmen who were being discharged.
QUOTE=SMSgt;141639230]My favorite chow hall was the massive facility at Chanute AFB, IL. Man, could they serve a lot of GIs in a hurry. My school shift was the four to midnight class, and we ate going to class and pigged out on midnight chow afterwards. When I was first stationed at Fairchild AFB, WA, Friday was steak and crab legs day. Long lines on Friday.
I bought by first pistol at the Western Auto in Rantoul after I got discharged. I gave briefings to airmen who were being discharged.
QUOTE=SMSgt;141639230]My favorite chow hall was the massive facility at Chanute AFB, IL. Man, could they serve a lot of GIs in a hurry. My school shift was the four to midnight class, and we ate going to class and pigged out on midnight chow afterwards. When I was first stationed at Fairchild AFB, WA, Friday was steak and crab legs day. Long lines on Friday.
"working the flight line"
That is all I had to read.
The Air Forcse has the best food, of all the outfits.
Navy was ok but it still had a few items that could have been left on the dock.
That is all I had to read.
The Air Forcse has the best food, of all the outfits.
Navy was ok but it still had a few items that could have been left on the dock.
In Vietnam, I was stationed at Long Binh and had my choice of 2 mess halls. I can't remember a single meal. However, I don't remember the food being bad.
I often drove to Bien Hoa AFB, but never thought about eating there. Just went because the USAF had better stuff in their PX's.
I often drove to Bien Hoa AFB, but never thought about eating there. Just went because the USAF had better stuff in their PX's.
The dining facilities at Osan Air Base were great. Heck even the the food service at the MAC terminal was very good. Great burgers with fried eggs.
I am going out on limb here, but I bet the Air Force comes out way on top in this thread.
I am going out on limb here, but I bet the Air Force comes out way on top in this thread.
Having been in both the Air Force and the Army I can tell you the Air Force won hands down! However neither one was ever terrible.
Allow me to add one comment about AF food. While working 200 B-52s on Guam, we often did not get a chow break and had to rely on "flight meal" box lunches. There is something about green baloney that disturbs me to this day. To my long-distant recollection, that is the only AF food that was not worth eating.
BLACKHAWKNJ
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My experience with Army Mess Halls 1967-1971 was that they were like everything else Army-inconsistent. Ate in some that were fine, others-the people running them should have been flogged. A good reflection of the commanders. Biggest complaint about Army chow was that it was always "too much white bread and potatoes and too little everything else."
Hands down, the best Navy chow I ever had was over at the Sub Base mess hall at Pearl Harbor. We always tried to get over there a few times a month while we were in port. Shipboard chow wasn’t too bad. Fondest memory I have is we had a rather eccentric baker, MS2 Ivan Washburn. He would stay up all hours of the night baking bread and cinnamon rolls and stuff. If you were on mid watch in one of the machinery spaces, you could expect Ivan to show up a couple times a week bearing a couple hot, fresh loaves of bread, some butter and a few cinnamon rolls. He liked taking care of “his boys” and it sure made our night during a long watch. Nothing like hot fresh bread slathered in butter!
To add to the AF food quality stories. Even in basic training the food was good. So much so the guys on the “fat boy program” (boarder line over weight on arrival) had problems dropping the needed weight. I recall our DI walking behind them in the serving line telling everyone you can have all of that you want, pointing to meat and vegetables, then leaning into their ear and yelling “ you don’t need that” if anyone reached for a donut or slice of pie.
BLACKHAWKNJ
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The DI following the overweight recruit down the chow line-no bread or potatoes, no desserts -was probably the best healthy weight loss program ever devised.
Grayfox
US Veteran
Army: 1972-75.
The food was decent. Not great, but nothing to complain about either.
When I was at Ft.Hood, our battalion mess sergeant would cut a few corners here and there so that once a month we could have steak night. A nice rib eye cooked any way you wanted. We all enjoyed that.
When I went to Germany I got assigned to a little bitty post located out in the suburbs. Only two units on the whole place. When I got there the building with the mess hall was undergoing major renovations. All meals were being served out of the small PX Snack Bar. Needless to say, scheduling was all over the place so to avoid overcrowding. My company had two meal times for each meal. Half at one time and half at another.
Believe it or not, they actually did a very good job. The food was actually quite good.
I few month later when the real mess hall opened back up, many of us wanted the Snack Bar back.
The food was decent. Not great, but nothing to complain about either.
When I was at Ft.Hood, our battalion mess sergeant would cut a few corners here and there so that once a month we could have steak night. A nice rib eye cooked any way you wanted. We all enjoyed that.
When I went to Germany I got assigned to a little bitty post located out in the suburbs. Only two units on the whole place. When I got there the building with the mess hall was undergoing major renovations. All meals were being served out of the small PX Snack Bar. Needless to say, scheduling was all over the place so to avoid overcrowding. My company had two meal times for each meal. Half at one time and half at another.
Believe it or not, they actually did a very good job. The food was actually quite good. I few month later when the real mess hall opened back up, many of us wanted the Snack Bar back.
I was in the army in the Dominican Republic in 1966. We were in a tent city with food kept in ice boxes and ice hauled in from a place where army had water treatment facility and ice plant and food was prepared on field ranges in a tent. The food was actually good and the mess sergeant got a lot of credit but the cooks deserved a lot of credit also. I had occasion one morning to have breakfast at the Air Force mess at San Isedro where all supplies came in daily from Pope AFB and the point of all this is how shocked I was when I started thru the line and the cook said “how do you want your eggs” that was when I learned that the Air Force ate a lot better than we did..
AJ
US Veteran
Ate in some good chow halls and some not as good.
The Air Force chow hall in Da Nang at Gunfighter Village was like eating in a Morrision Cafeteria. Much better than the chow hall at MAG-11 Compound across the runways. That said MAG-11's chow hall put on a Sunday meal every Sunday that consisted of steak and lobster.
The First Class Mess at NAS Cubi Point, P.I. was great and complete with waitresses.
Kadena AFB had a very good chow hall. The SNCO Chow Hall at MCAS Iwakuni, Japan had omelets on Sunday morning that were to die for.
The Chief's Mess on USS Saratoga was fabulous.
Overall in 24 years of service, the chow halls that I ate in kept me fed. Some better than others. Some due to the provisions that were provided left a bit to be desired. Some we only got one hot meal a day and the rest were C-Rats. But I never starved!
The Air Force chow hall in Da Nang at Gunfighter Village was like eating in a Morrision Cafeteria. Much better than the chow hall at MAG-11 Compound across the runways. That said MAG-11's chow hall put on a Sunday meal every Sunday that consisted of steak and lobster.
The First Class Mess at NAS Cubi Point, P.I. was great and complete with waitresses.
Kadena AFB had a very good chow hall. The SNCO Chow Hall at MCAS Iwakuni, Japan had omelets on Sunday morning that were to die for.
The Chief's Mess on USS Saratoga was fabulous.
Overall in 24 years of service, the chow halls that I ate in kept me fed. Some better than others. Some due to the provisions that were provided left a bit to be desired. Some we only got one hot meal a day and the rest were C-Rats. But I never starved!
My wife try’s that when I open the refrigerator after dinner. Somehow it doesn’t have the same effect. I think it’s all in the delivery. But I do appreciate the effort.
The USAF is known for two things, one is our great chow halls.
I've recently spent a few years working in some odd places around the world, but had really good meals at every DFAC in every camp - Zamboango City, PI; Basilan, PI; Baghdad (both the Embassy and Union III). I also always obeyed handwashing Nazis at each facility and found I seldom even got the sniffles!
Breakfast, dinner, and midrats were excellent, always, with lunch just fine. We even had King Cake on Fat Tuesday in one undisclosed location!
Breakfast, dinner, and midrats were excellent, always, with lunch just fine. We even had King Cake on Fat Tuesday in one undisclosed location!
bigwheelzip
Absent Comrade
No kidding. Was invited to an air show at Offutt by a friend who was a AF colonel there. The staff officers and guests had a separate fenced viewing area with seats on the flight line, which included a really nice dining tent.The USAF is known for two things, one is our great chow halls.
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