Trump: DO Something! Part 1

Love all the politicians who run for office like they are the best buds of everyone who has ever served. Veterans, privates, officers, Coasties, no matter: they love ’em all, until two nanoseconds after the winner is called. Then the entire military becomes the drunk fat chick they boinked on a dateless Friday after ‘way too many, and all they want to do now is forget we ever happened.

Why the rant? Because pols for years have been blowing us – paying us lip service, and then turning away when it matters. Barracks are falling apart. Chow halls have no, or poor chow, if indeed there are ANY chow halls/messes/whatever you other folks call them at all. We talked earlier many times about the piss-poor chow halls at Ft. Hood Cavazos.  Close to a year later, that should be fixed across all posts, right? Not from what I read. Here’s Ft. Carson:

Even getting access to those limited rations can be hard, given confusing dining hall schedules and seemingly random closures that make it difficult for many to access hot meals.

As Americans gather for Thanksgiving feasts, soldiers at Fort Carson, Colorado, are contending with a far less festive reality — months of insufficient meals, confusing schedules, and limited food options at the base’s dining facilities that have ignited widespread frustration among the rank and file.

That picture above of the toast and lima beans? That’s not Joe Porky’s limited diet, that was dinner one night at Carson.

Food runs out quickly, and portions often fall short of the macronutrient requirements needed to sustain soldiers’ demanding physical regimens, likely running afoul of service regulations on feeding requirements for troops. Some soldiers reported and shared photos of food that was undercooked or stored at dangerous temperatures.

The issue is twofold. Troops reported being served food that was either improperly prepared or unavailable by the time they reached the end of the line. Kiosks, intended to replace dining facilities in some circumstances with grab-and-go options, are frequently empty, particularly during peak times when soldiers finish their shifts.

“The people who deal with it the worst are the soldiers who live in the barracks and don’t have a car.”

In libspeak, they are the military’s “poorest and most vulnerable”. In my mind, they are the folks the NCO Corps should be raising the roof about, right? Joe Snuffy doesn’t get fed enough he is weaker and less lethal, in ANY MOS. NO BODY gives a damn about PT uniforms or whether their new Eisenhower makes them look like Paton when they are hungry. Senior NCOs, raise hell!

When kiosk shelves are stocked, they’re often filled with chips, sugary snacks and other items that soldiers say fall short of the nutritional standards required to maintain physical fitness as demanded by their jobs. Frustration over food issues has prompted some unit leaders to instruct troops to document the issue, capturing photos of the low-quality food or barren shelves to escalate concerns to higher-level leadership, though it’s unclear what official complaints have been filed. Military.com

Let’s call a spade a spade (or, “digging implement” if I am too triggering.) The privatization of military services has FAILED. Have we saved a few bucks? Maybe, but I would need to see the books to justify the millions they claim they spend or save. But if nothing else, no matter how shitty a day, a decent chow hall makes a HUGE difference in morale and readiness. Do we need to deprivatize military food and bring back mess sergeants and cooks services wide?

The old joke was that the military gave you three things: clothes, three meals a day, and a place to sleep. Might be ugly-ass uniform clothes, might not be sleeping inside, and the meals might not be great but they were there. Now we’re stiffing the ranks on even that, and we wonder why enlistment is in the dumps.

Hence the title.

Category: Congress sucks, Pentagon, Trump!