This is not a story about fraud and abuse that was uncovered by DOGE. So many US Army soldiers complained about the quality of their food that Military.com conducted its own investigation and published the findings this week.
The Army has been taking hundreds of millions of dollars from the paychecks of soldiers to pay for their food. Instead of spending the money on food, however, the Army has been spending it on… well, no one knows what they’ve spent it on. Which seems to be a recurring pattern with the federal government.
Junior enlisted troops are paid around $30,000 per year. But each month, the Army takes $460 out of their paychecks, or about $5,500 a year. The money is supposed to go into a fund that pays for food in the mess halls, where the troops who live in the barracks are supposed to eat.
Military.com checked the records from 11 of the Army’s largest bases. They found that $225 million was collected from the troops’ paychecks at those bases. But the bases only spent $74 million on food. The other $151 million went into the Army’s general fund and was spent on “something else.”
That was just at the 11 bases that Military.com examined. The Army operates 104 garrisons worldwide, so the actual amount of funds spent on “something else” is likely in the $400 to $600 million range.
At Fort Stewart, Georgia, the Army took $17 million from the paychecks of the soldiers to pay for food. Only $2.1 million was actually spent on food. 87% of the funds were redirected and spent on “something else.”
Schofield Barracks in Hawaii took $14.5 million from the soldiers but only spent $5.3 million on food. The other 63% was redirected to “something else.”
If we want America’s fighting forces to be in peak condition, we ought to be feeding them the same way that professional athletes are fed. They should be getting tons of healthy food, protein shakes, and really good stuff. Instead, the meals provided in the mess halls are total crap. Michelle Obama’s terrible public school lunches are of higher quality than what the troops are being fed.
They’re even having food shortages at some of the bases. One soldier at Fort Carson in Colorado took a picture of his “meal” one night in the mess hall. It was some lima beans, half a slice of toast, and a glass of milk. Many people feed their dogs better than that.
I mean, seriously. Look at this crap:
THANKSGIVING? For Soldiers at Fort Carson, Food Is Scarce. They are contending with months of insufficient meals and limited food options at the base's dining facilities that have ignited widespread frustration among the rank and file. Might need some help here @PeteHegseth.… pic.twitter.com/kvcoXbx4e6
— @amuse (@amuse) November 27, 2024
Eat your lima beans so you can go fight the drug cartels, Johnny!
The Army has a nutrition policy that it’s supposed to follow when it comes to feeding the troops, but it’s almost never followed.
The Army has also added “kiosks” to the bases, where soldiers are able to buy cheap alternatives to what’s in the mess halls. It’s impossible to get a nutritious meal at the kiosks, though. It’s all high in sugar and low in protein and nutrition. Most of the food is equivalent to the prepackaged sandwiches they sell at the gas station, which you wouldn’t feed to a homeless person unless you were trying to be an A-hole.
Former Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Grinston, who was the highest enlisted soldier in the service, tried to get the Army to expand its nutritious food offerings. That plan died under a mountain of bureaucracy during the Biden regime’s years of military demoralization.
During the first Gulf War, there were entire platoons of Saddam Hussein’s military who surrendered for some candy bars because they were so hungry. Being able to feed your troops is one of the most basic functions a military should be carrying out to maintain morale. If you want an effective fighting force, you have to pay them and feed them. It’s really that simple.
We have no doubt that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is going to sort this out in short order and fire some people. But how did this happen in the first place? It’s not a problem that started when Joe Biden was in office. The troops had been complaining about the crappy food for years prior to that. The Army brass has refused to answer any questions about why they redirected grocery money or what they spent it on.
