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Government Corruption
Cook shortage at Army post shutters some mess halls, leaving hungry soldiers scrambling: report
2023-08-10
[FOX] An Army installation in Texas has been struggling to put food on the table for its soldiers for months as the base faces a shortage of cooks to staff its dining facilities.

Fort Cavazos, previously known as Fort Hood, has struggled to provide its junior enlisted troops with meals for months, with the base only opening two of its 10 major dining facilities for much of the summer and with limited times, according to a report Tuesday from Military.com.

According to the report, the base has faced a shortage of cooks to man the dining facilities around base, with many Army cooks either on deployment or away on field training. Soldiers who depend on the dining facilities to eat have also faced confusing and conflicting opening schedules for the facilities as base officials attempt to move personnel around to staff the food service buildings.

Some of the dining facilities have only been opened during limited times, forcing some soldiers to drive a long distance across one of the military's largest installations in attempts to get food.

"For months, one [dining facility] was open and was a more than 30-minute drive for my soldiers," a noncommissioned officer who anonymously spoke to Military.com said. "All the soldiers were going to that one. It's unmanageable during the workday."

Many Army cooks have been pulled off the base for a rotation at the National Training Center and for support of a cadet exercise at Fort Knox, Kentucky, further straining the Fort Cavazos facilities, according to the report.
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Posted by:Besoeker

#10  Re #9: Mike, that's an AIR FORCE base. I'm surprised there weren't several 5 star restaurants both on and off base. Fort Hood Cavazos is an ARMY base. :)
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia   2023-08-10 17:33  

#9  ...When I got to Wurtsmith AFB MI ('If there's a bright center to the Universe...this is the spot farthest from it') in '78, we were five miles outside of Oscoda, MI, a literal 1-stoplight town. The nearest city was Alpena, fifty miles north, and the nearest big city was Saginaw, 120 miles south...and even with that, there were places to eat within a couple minutes drive off base. Party and Food Center (still there, by the way), Wiltse's Restaurant, (ditto) Big Dave's Pizza, a couple taco places, the Au Sable Inn, the Pack House, McDonald's of course, and a A&W and Big Boy just south of town. And hell, ON base we had a killer chow hall, the NCO/Airmen's Club, a bowling alley that made some of the best burgers and sandwiches I've ever had, and a very good snack bar at the BX.

The point to all that is that if you can't make a go of a restaurant right outside of a military base - and Wurtsmith had fewer than 2500 people - the base ain't the problem. Honestly, the Army needs to man up and give these guys BAS until further notice, and make up some of that by flatly closing a couple of those chow halls and consolidating the teams of the others so you have more than a couple places to eat.

Mike
Posted by: MikeKozlowski   2023-08-10 14:55  

#8  Copperas Cove is indeed about 45 mins from the base. Killeen is even closer. (This is assuming that they ever finish the highway construction.)
But a fresh prive shouldn't have to leave the base and drive 30 minutes to track down something to eat. Last time I was at Benning Moore, there were Subways and Burger Kings right at the barracks areas. Ditto Sill.
Posted by: ed in texas   2023-08-10 13:54  

#7  /\ Over 30 years ago, the services were switching to contractor personnel providing 'messing' operations on permanent installations. The same with fatigue duties (i.e. grass cutting, trash collection, et al). Is it the contractor that is having problems getting employees?

Never know where those skills might come into play and contributions to society might be made at some future date. The late Truett Kathy started his career as a mess cook at Fort Gillem, GA. during WWII
Posted by: Besoeker   2023-08-10 10:47  

#6  Just recently the VA didn't give my wife a thyroid med she had been taking for 25 years. Caused her some liver issues. They are shit, couldn't take the time to look at the med records, pretty sure it was an affirmative action hire.
Posted by: Chris   2023-08-10 10:01  

#5  Copperas Cove, Texas?
Posted by: Procopius2k   2023-08-10 09:30  

#4  The thing you have to understand about Hood Cavazos: nothing is near anything else. And it's freaking huge.
Posted by: ed in texas   2023-08-10 09:10  

#3  
Posted by: M. Murcek   2023-08-10 08:19  

#2  Over 30 years ago, the services were switching to contractor personnel providing 'messing' operations on permanent installations. The same with fatigue duties (i.e. grass cutting, trash collection, et al). Is it the contractor that is having problems getting employees?

As for medical. Retiree support as always been on a standby category, depending upon the availability of manpower. Lot of retirees are not near facilities and have to rely upon facilities and providers who take Tricare. This includes the VA services for service connected afflictions. Upon reaching age 65, retirees move from Tricare to Medicare with Tricare picking up the some of the difference.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2023-08-10 08:05  

#1  Not the only DOD related shortages.

Retired Family members are frequently telling us the Medical services are now minimalist at best.

In the last 30 days
We have had a Retired US-ARMY family member, who had physical checkups about seen every 6 months at the Fort hospital. That would not have known he had stage 3 Lymphoma. If he hadn't seen an outside Doc, at the wife's insistence, for a 2nd opinion and to get a correct diagnosed.

Have a US-ARMY extended family member, in Colorado Springs, who was sick, finally, got to see a Fort Hospital Doc. The Doc did a C-19 / Flu Test, and it took 3 days for results? Yep the same test that could have had done at CVS or Walgreens for free and get immediate results. She is now home on med's with Covid-19, delayed treatment and facing lung damage issues.

Insult to injury ....She got all the Clot shots and booster shots also.

Plus the Base Commissaries in their areas are running short on certain food items.



Posted by: NN2N1   2023-08-10 06:41  

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