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| Government Corruption |
| $151 Million Taken from Soldiers' Paychecks for Food Costs Spent Elsewhere |
| 2025-02-15 |
| [Military.com h/t Red State] The Army is repurposing more than half of the money it collects from junior enlisted soldiers for food, according to data reviewed by Military.com. The numbers suggest that a large portion of those funds are not going toward feeding soldiers, a diversion of resources coming at a time when troops increasingly struggle to find nutritious food on base. The money is collected in what amounts to a tax on troops -- taken from their Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS) payments, roughly $460 per month that is automatically deducted from the paychecks of service members who live in barracks and is intended to help cover food costs. At Fort Stewart, Georgia, for example, soldiers contributed $17 million, but the base spent just $2.1 million -- redirecting 87% of the funds. Schofield Barracks in Hawaii collected $14.5 million but used only $5.3 million, meaning 63% of the money was used elsewhere. |
| Posted by:Bobby |
| #11 One of the last acts of any regime is to embezzle the soldier's food supply. one of 2 possible ends: 1) Invasion, as the army is too busy surviving. 2) Coup. |
| Posted by: Nguard 2025-02-15 19:43 |
| #10 "You woulda just misspent it on things you want, instead of what we determine you need" |
| Posted by: Frank G 2025-02-15 17:22 |
| #9 How... communist |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2025-02-15 17:06 |
| #8 Slippery Slope was what they were serving in the mess halls. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2025-02-15 15:04 |
| #7 Ref #5: Closing the mess halls was a slippery slope. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2025-02-15 14:57 |
| #6 To #3 - I thought the original Red State article had more details than what I posted from the Miltary.com article. But what I scanned there went over my head. Maybe it should be a target for DOGE. |
| Posted by: Bobby 2025-02-15 14:53 |
| #5 BTW, back in the 80s-90s, the number crunchers wanted more teeth less tail in force structure. So they cut the old mess hall personnel (cooks, etc), and contracted it out. Well contractors try to pay the minimum, so if you leave the house for any reason, you see all the fast food outlets with "Now Hiring" signs out front. Add in that most military installations are not adjacent to major metro areas (the boonies for things that go bang and boom a lot), and your pool of available manpower is in the micro level. Those people have to have a place to stay and get their class 1 supply too. Contracting personnel play the lowest bidder game rather than best bidder and consider the additional costs of getting local civilian labor that can sustain operations. Hint - its obviously not what the local fast food establishments offer. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2025-02-15 12:18 |
| #4 This makes no sense to me. When a soldier gets BAS he is expected to pay for his meals. Soldiers that live in the barracks do not get BAS, so how is it now deducted from their pay? Either this is fake, or they are really bad at explaining how funds are allocated for dining facilities. |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2025-02-15 11:41 |
| #3 If they simply calculated number of personnel x BAS per installation, it is bogus. Married enlisted and officers get their BAS directly in their pay check. Single junior enlisted who live in the barracks get a meal card for the consolidated dining facilities and don't even see BAS. BAS and quarters allowance are not part of basic pay. GAO for generations has argued that it should be, but Congress bulks because it would then be calculated into the pay and subsequently in to the retirement pay. Same goes for special pay for qualifications. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2025-02-15 10:19 |
| #2 This happened in boot camp and later. The money was to,pay for food and uniforms. (1962…..) |
| Posted by: Old Salty 2025-02-15 10:13 |
| #1 Someone needs to be court-martialed and jailed for that. |
| Posted by: Silentbrick 2025-02-15 09:39 |