How The Military’s Largest Cafeteria Feeds 4,500 Soldiers In 90 Minutes | Boot Camp
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- Опубликовано: 21 фев 2024
- Slagel Dining Facility is the largest dining facility in the Department of Defense. It serves 12,000 meals a day. Trainees at the Medical Education and Training Campus at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio are required to eat lunch at Slagel Dining Facility, where the staff serves 4,500 meals in just 90 minutes. Business Insider spent two days at the facility to see how the staff plans large-scale operations and prepares meals at scale.
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How The Military’s Largest Cafeteria Feeds 4,500 Soldiers In 90 Minutes | Boot Camp
What is my obsession with watching large amounts of food being cooked? I'm a sucker for videos like this.
We have a whole playlist dedicated to big batches on our other channel: ruclips.net/p/PLW1Mwtj8qAjlxwWy0Jyh0V0JOaZG-BbP3
@@BusinessInsider oh awesome binge time thanks!
@@BrodyYYCvery well organized and I get tired just thinking how much labor goes into this
@@BusinessInsider i love y'all. Please do more military big batch food being cooked, i can binge watch that stuff
@@BusinessInsiderlovin it!
I was in the United States Army for 4 years, 1989 to 1993. I never had a bad meal in the dining facility. Thank you to all those that feed the troops.
I rarely had a meal like this in the USAF. They are eating good. My first dinner after PCSing to Spangdahlem AB, West Germany was Chef Boy-AR-Dee!! :P
I was a 94B in the Army from 86 to 95. A Food Service Specialist as we were called back in the day! We served well and worked hard! I’m traumatized looking at this😂😂😂😂. Was a Mental Health Counselor for a few years. I’m retired!! And loving it!! Thanks to VA❤❤❤❤
@@joygraydon8830 Anyone stationed overseas from 1980 to the mid 1990s was exposed to Mad Cow disease. Don't believe me? Try donating blood!
Me too 85-91. Chili mac and hamburger and fries were staples
Thank you for your service.
I like how the soldiers talk to the staff “yes ma’am, that gravy will make my day”.
Some of that army culture instilled in you early in basic 😆
My father served 21 years in the Air Force. It was such a treat when he would take us to the chow hall. Thank you all for keeping our guys and gals well-fed!
Can you prove that
My father did 27yrs .
but why all cooks are obese
@@Hvghhgg939 He doesn't have to prove anything to you, you aren't important enough.
@@Mazeboxx I’m important to the important ones. You almost did it
They spend $14 million annually. $14 million / 4500 soldiers / 365 days = $8.5 per soldier per day. Definitely people are going for seconds as well. Pretty cost-effective!
So is prison food...
@@macethorns1168 Prison food is $2.40 a person per meal
@alextherealtor so is my kids school lunch… $2.50
This is the worst cost per canned food ingredient and nutritional value I could imagine. Knuckle, pizza sauce, frozen chicken leg quarters and factory made tortellini. $ must be in the cakes…
@@dustinr1146 Okay let me explain how capitalism in the US works. We profit incentivize everything, operate with the private sector as much as possible. In public education schools get their food from a handful of companies that work with the state and local schools. Often times this food quality is poor, but is upticked on the charge since it's on your tax dollar. So you end up with poor meals for expensive price. In prisons it's even worse because private prisons uptick the regular food and snacks we buy at the store, by like 10 fold. So you'll be paying say 5 dollars for a single instant roman, while you can get it for cents outside prison.
Don't like it? Stop voting for politicians who prioritize the profits of a handful of capitalists at your own expense and your childrens expense.
And they get probably most of the people who eat in that facilities bas pay, not sure how it works but the contractors are making money regardless of how much they spend. All that money adds up
This video brings a whole NEW meaning to the recognition of "Thank you for your service!".
The women and men feeding our soldiers deserve a SPECIAL "thank you" for doing this day in and day out! God bless them! ~
This is a high profile chow hall. It has to be good. Overseas you are eating either MREs or canned food from the States!
Thank you and I actually work at that facility as we speak. I’ve been there seven years and I love serving my soldiers.
@@richardaketchum26
They are civilians employed and paid for the job. Relax and stop licking a$$.
These are civilian cooks.
When I went through Army training in the early’90’s, I ate whatever they put on my plate! I’ve never been so hungry in my life. Military cooks are extremely under appreciated, but I extend my deepest appreciation! Army retired after 22 years!
I manage a commissary. I RESPECT the work these ppl do. It's no joke!
Most people have no idea how pro of a crew it takes to consistently pull this off. Amazing Video! Hats off to everyone who plays a part in making this happen.
Amazing indeed
amazing how you spend 20 years and trillions of dollars in Afghanistan and come out with nothing and the taliban still rule there.
but i guess the food made it worth it huh
@@bck187 I get what you're saying. And hell, I agree with you. But I think your words are wasted here. No, misplaced.
@@bck187 The US government has cut costs all throughout the military for decades, which sadly includes the food our own soldiers consume. We could spend way, way more on better quality food, better quality everything in regards to the food our men and women eat. But yes, we spend all that money to make sure our weapons can kill people more effectively, make better and deadlier weapons in general, send money overseas to other countries to help them (which I don't have much of a problem with to be clear) and a small amount of it is used to modernize some of our military. Some. Not all (like the nuclear silos, still using computers from the 80s should scare the shit out of everyone) of course.
So you aren't wrong, but you are as mentioned below, misplacing your words a bit. I wouldn't say wasted, because it's important to hold our military spending accountable etc. But misplaced yes, our boys and girls in training have nothing to do with the highest-level decisions made years ago, or currently. And lest we forget, our military has been completely volunteer based since the 70s. If there was still a draft or compulsory service, I can almost guarantee the quality of food/everything used to make the food would be better by this point.
My dad is one of those people
The Slagel Steakhouse; providing the finest food you’re required to eat. That place still owes me a gallbladder.
😂
Did you miss gallbladder in a white wine sauce day?
@@FarTooFar, sadly no. I don’t know what BI showed here, but in my time, as in old school Army, everything was fried and what wasn’t was swimming in so much oil you’d wonder if they cut a deal with Exxon.
What do they do with the left overs if there are any? Staff that cooks probably gets some, but probably not all.
@xenophobiac4570 I can commiserate. See my other comment about kitchen duty way back when. 😬
I give all those cooks a ton of credit for their service of feeding our military men and woman. Their real American hero's in our military.
Thank you to the men and women who prepare and cook food for our American military personnel. Your service is appreciated.
I’ve cooked in those large kitchens . In jail tho lmaoo
Yeah that’s why you’re on here and not at work 😂
i wonder if there is less care or budget in those kitchens for a prisoner individual in comparison to soldier one
was it tiring with all those big industrial cooking machinery and stuff?
Lol
@@sickomode420phat poosy
In case anyone is wondering, yes, they still use army cooks but many army cooks still work with civilian employees like the ones here. In this case, army cooks are most likely prepping breakfast and dinner and leaving the “big” meal for those civilians who has the most experience operating in that environment. This can vary widely based on the unit and installation. Either way, everyone working in a dining facility (not cafeteria!) works long and hard hours. Props to everyone working there.
The worst "dining facility" I ever had was on an air force base where only army cooks ran the facility. I just ate a canned tuna instead it was that bad. Excluding basic training in which the food wasn't edible except for SOS, the best dining facilities were always at training bases.
No one was wondering stfu
The cooks make breakfast, lunch and dinner
A lot of people might believe this food to be relatively subpar, but I'll be quite honest, the dining facilities on JBSA Lackland, Fort Sam Houston, Camp Bullis, etc, are all amazing. On my days off, during Tech School at Lackland, I always enjoyed going out and indulging in the wonderful food these cooks prepared for us. People might believe the military might not eat good, but one of the things that really set us apart in times of war (at least in the past), was that we always found a way to bring good food to our troops, and they certainly do that in Texas for our trainees. To the cooks at JBSA, thank you... Brings back wonderful memories!
I spent years in the Army. And I’m proud to say the mess hall staff are some of the most dedicated patriotic professionals in the armed services. There’s a real sense of pride with them. 🇺🇸❤️
When I was in Navy boot camp (Nov. 72-Jan 73) we all had to do what was called Service Week. As it turned out ours was 2 weeks as we were doing it over the Christmas holiday. I spent those two weeks making jello and salads. One time we cut/ minced 200 pounds of onions. The place was so toxic that you literally couldn't get near it. And forget about not crying. Thanks for the video. Kudos to these folks for the work that they do. It's non-stop and very fast paced.
My boot at Great Lakes ('69-'73) was easy, a buddy told me before I left that when they were setting up barracks assignments to volunteer for morning work detail, nobody else did because who in their right mind volunteers in the military - right? The guy gave me the straight skinny though, I avoided P.T. and mess duty and simply swept the barracks and emptied the butt kits in the breakroom and skylarked until my company came back from whatever.
We have food processors now who can mince onions quickly. You just need to peel the onions.
I had to pull KP when I was in Boot camp as did every recruit….
@@042452Not anymore. Kp duty takes time away from training.
I was in the Navy from 1990-2016, before I retired. I went to RTC San Diego for boot camp and did service week at the chow hall as well. I was placed outside a cooler for the week and had to record everything that went in and went out of that cooler (had a log book to write every entry down in). Seems easy, but I kid you now, we kept records down to every stick of butter that made its way in an out 🙂
Large kitchens, I do admire those cooks over there
Notice everyone you see in the video was a minority of some sort. I didn't see one white person. Good video to show minorities work ethic. Those jobs aren't easy.
I rarely had a meal like this in the USAF. They are eating good. My first dinner after PCSing to Spangdahlem AB, West Germany was Chef Boy-AR-Dee!! By the way, anyone stationed in Europe from 1980 to early 1990s was exposed to Mad Cow disease and you cannot give blood!! All do to the hamburger served in the chow halls.
They're doing their job what they were paid to do.
@@disguiseddv8ant486 yes! You’re totally right! But I’m not sure I could make that quantity of hard job in a big kitchen
@@iamgermane It’s always you Chair Force who complain about everything. You’re pathetic.
This was really fun to watch. It takes so many people working hard behind the scenes to serve our service men and women. THANK YOU to them all!
Almost 30 years ago---I was poor as hell and joined up!!!! Even when we were in some of the most shittiest environments on the planet-- still managed to have food-- thank you so very much for every meal!!!!!! Ain’t nobody a bad ass on an empty stomach-- and every meal that you get to spend with your friends-- you cherish that moment-- shut your world off and talk and socialize and enjoy that time whether you are down range or at home station…. That’s the time you should be relaxing and enjoying each other’s company-- because there will come a day-- where you will not be enjoying a meal with your teammate and there will be another day where you don’t enjoy a meal at all…..
To the amazing staff that cooks all of this food!!!!
Thank you for everything!!!!
❤️🫡😢❤️🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
🌸 Thank you for sharing such beautiful past memories & experiences
I am so pleased you had a fabulous team back then to socialise with
Also to help you, I hope you are well 😊
These Business Insider behind the scenes view of the military are *always* so interesting! I love them.
Thanks for watching!
Wdym by these ? 🤨 Have some respect when you talk about channel like this .
@@BusinessInsider MY PLEASURE!!
its psyop lol
I rarely had a meal like this in the USAF. They are eating good. My first dinner after PCSing to Spangdahlem AB, West Germany was Chef Boy-AR-Dee!! By the way, anyone stationed in Europe from 1980 to early 1990s was exposed to Mad Cow disease and you cannot give blood!! All do to the hamburger served in the chow halls.
These people are absolute heroes! Day in and day out, feeding the finest food they can prepare with such positive attitudes. I was on a carrier during my Navy career and I was amazed by the food and the quality and the consistency. We had around 6k people at the high mark but it didn't all happen in 90 mins! These guys rock.
hard to have enough people on a carrier or space at one time. Notice none of these folks are seaman from deck or Military at all. Food was good, TAD in the scullery not so much.
I eat here 5 times a week because our drills make us, it is not verry good. You are better off getting some protein and filling your plate (and pockets/kit) at the salad bar so you don't feel hungry later in class or outside doing CCAs. The cake is good and all, but it dose not hold in the stomach well if we get dropped out side for people doing dumb stuff in the dfac.
As it is normal working in kitchen with negative attitudes and being paid for work. Or you work or quite the job if you dont life it.
How does this make them 'heroes'?
It was more of a silly but meaningful affirmation of the fact that they never fail to do their jobs in the face of a long line of often disgruntled and starving military personnel. No they don't stop bullets from hitting nuns and orphans, nor do they walk into nuclear reactors to turn that one red valve handle to save humanity. But there is a saying "The military runs on its stomach!" and there are times when that is all the service member has that is positive, when their buddies are dead, or they have been injured, or situations are harsh... they can count on being fed well and given the nourishment they require to heal, mentally and physically. A slice of mom's apple pie can lift spirits. You obviously have never been in the military, and have no sense of humor. Maybe some apple pie would help?@@ryleighloughty3307
Nice to such such dedicated people caring for our most dedicated soldiers. Don't ever forget how important these folks are
No more important than civilians.
@@cheryldahl9192 Far more important than civilians.
@@lostinthedesert-hp4bw That's what they brainwash Americans with, and most sheep believe this. But we're all equal.
As an Army Combat Veteran with an MOS in being a medic-cook -rations supervisor and then reclassify to a Health Inspector. So very proud of the work I did. With 10 yrs in Service & 10 yrs out in the same industry. You don’t know how much it means to receive at least 1 hot meal a day as a soldier. My later years I was a Cook 1 (First Cook) and Asst. Manager at Ft. Benning/Moore, Ga. That was my last time preparing food for my fellow Battle Buddies in uniform at the 4th RTB. 🪖👩🏾🍳
Ft. Sam was where I was the Class Ldr. when I became a Hlth Inspector. In 2007 and I fell in love with the place. Even then I was amazed at how large the dining facility was. 🇺🇸👩🏾⚕️
Old Soldiers Never Die…they just Fade Away! From 49 Rounds to I say “Hooah”. Thank you to the military & civilian cooks and Supply(my 3rd MOS) you always treat those who provide for you right🫡
I was here in summer of 2021. It had a bad reputation but every time I went it was good choices & plenty of snacks for you to take with you. I only went on weekends.
In my 23 years of army Infantry service (1986-2010). I’ve learned that a lot of people like to complain about food in the military. It always filled me up, never made me sick and was usually very tasty. I can count on 2 fingers the number of truly “bad” meals I’ve had in 23 years. 😊
@@lostinthedesert-hp4bw I’m 20 years short of you lmao but so far the only terrible meals I’ve had was the fettuccine MRE. Absolutely awful! As far as hot meal options from the dfac there’s always something I’d eat or enjoy. I think some people just expect their grandmas cooking but also don’t realize these guys are cooking for hundreds & thousands of people over cooking for one family.
@@Quon6810 I was a grunt, not a cook, but I was smart enough early on in my career to know to ALWAYS openly compliment the cooks 👍🏻😃!! They’ll appreciate it, and they’ll remember you when they have “a little extra” to put on someone’s tray 😉!! What goes around, comes around 😁.
It’s amazing how the food in basic training helps a person with either losing weight or gaining it.
100% my son just went thru 14-16 hour days and gain 10 lbs over 2 weeks. They fed them fat beef and sugared up terrible yogurts
Absolutely sinful what’s done to those we should value .
@@user-ts7ns7bt2v You don't gain 10 lbs of fat in 2 weeks in any branch of the military. Most likely they were gaining muscle mass.
@@jaimemartinez9792 ain’t gaining that either.
He was clean and lean. 2 weeks of seed oils plus sugar plus crap food plus salt will retain water and wreck a body. Stress too. Prolly closer to 7 pounds but entered cut and 2 weeks later has the look of a bloated tick baked in Fake meat Seed Oil and Margarine imo
@@user-ts7ns7bt2vmust not be going through basic… cuz the meat isn’t fat
@@user-ts7ns7bt2v thanks to that diet i gained roughly 20 pounds within a month, but not an ounce of fat. I went from underweight to athlethic in such a short time, i'm still amazed how the army diet and physical exercise can transform a human within such a short time. After a single month i was able to run 15 miles, opposed to the 2 i started with, 40 instead of 12 pushups
Kudos to all those workers! That is a major undertaking each day that nobody will realize. Thanks for your service
IN MY VIEW
I have always loved watching how kitchen staff feed groups of people. Watching the client faces as they get their food is wonderful.
This was wonderful. They seem to really take pride in their work. Great job and thank you too for your service.
That chocolate cake never disappoints, those who’ve been there know
👀
Hell yeah thats definitely the truth.
Nah bro the mochi was the highlight for me
@@lucabarbagallo7313they have mochi too??? New enlist here, hopefully slagels on the docket for me. Me and my brother used to ask my dad to go to the DFAK for our birthday dinners.
we used to mix soft serve with the coffee during lunch so we didn’t fall asleep during death by powerpoint but end up falling asleep anyways lmao
I ate like a champ on AF, Navy, Army bases....89-2010.....thanks too all the hard working men/women who cooked delicious meals~~
you bumm.
I served in the Army from 2005 to 2013. I always enjoyed the food served to us by the civilian contractors. The food was always good and the staff were always friendly. These individuals do a great service to our country and should get more recognition. As you can see from this video they all take great pride in their work and it shows .
It was a great opportunity being apart of this! Without all the hard work and dedication of these personnel it wouldn’t be possible for any of this to happen! Great job!
Awesome personnel! Great job on your interview, Brewer!!👏👏👏
My favorite red rope - Q
These people are also serving our country. Respect.
I rarely had a meal like this in the USAF. They are eating good. My first dinner after PCSing to Spangdahlem AB, West Germany was Chef Boy-AR-Dee!! By the way, anyone stationed in Europe from 1980 to early 1990s was exposed to Mad Cow disease and you cannot give blood!! All do to the hamburger served in the chow halls.
Also nearly every people in the world are hating your country, and its citizens, I won't even mention your army, or your puppets politicians...
@@iamgermane I was in the USAF 1968-73 and 95% of the food was pretty good. At one (large unnamed stateside) installation however, I thought it was terrible. I was on separate rations at the time and finally wouldn't eat in the chow hall anymore, it was that bad. I would instead go off-base to a fast-food place (luckily numerous ones were in the area) and ate there. Hopefully, the situation has straightened itself out by now.
@@joeyjamison5772 I hate to complain but they usually served burgers and fries overseas, along with Chef Boy-ar-dee.
@@iamgermane I was also at Robins AFB in Georgia and they had a food service company manage all the mess activities, to the point that we didn't even pull KP. The food there was pretty good. Then at a remote AC&W site in central Alaska where we had all the food we wanted and it was also good. The 'unnamed' base was actually Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio and the only way I'd eat there was right before payday when I was virtually out of money. The best one ever was Ascension Island in the south Atlantic where Pan Am had a catering service contract with the British military. I've been in restaurants which weren't that good.
Im 42 now.......but I've heard of the military's abilities to give their soldiers just top notch food. Ive studied extensively all the wars from my college years of the civil war....then my personal studies of ww1, ww2, the korean war, vietnam, the gulf wars......when the military decided to provide the best food money can buy for ist soldiers just recently.....it was a very wise choice. Giving a soldier a solid meal like that.......They will do their duty and wont cry about it. Giving a soldier quality food really makes the soul work. 50 years ago soldiers lived off of prepackaged garbage. I respect what they had to go through but I'm glad it has gotten so better.
Every time I remember that Hospital Corpsman don't have their own school in Great Lakes, IL, it makes me sad.
This is the best military recruitment video I've ever seen.
If the idea of having a hot meal is a recruitment drive then that's quite sad :(
I agree. A very positive video.
@@voidaccount12345this is absolutely not true!
I love how it is diametrically opposite to prison food. 😂🤣😂 If nothing else, prison food is deterrent enough for me to behave appropriately 😂🤣😂 Except on RUclips🤣😂🤣
imagine wanting to join the zio army, especially as a whte man... it's good if none-whtes join tho
Good people working together and for each other.
Best pot roast ever ate was at the hall at FT. HOOD! BIG Thank You To All Those that feed and support our troops!
The DFAC at my deployed locations were the most important facilities on base. After a mission, usually a 14 hour day, all we could think about was eating, talking a shower and sleep. The DFAC did a great job. I would tell them thank you everytime I went in.
Thanks for sharing the video. Thanks to all who have served.
May God bless these hardworking people!
You don’t mean that
I'm tired just watching them work. Thank you for helping our soldiers
Big shout outs to the men and women working day and night in these dining halls preparing meals for our soldiers!!! GOD BLESS YOU ALL!!!
from 12:28 when the sustainment services chief said all those words, I felt it the man loves his country
I rarely had a meal like this in the USAF. They are eating good. My first dinner after PCSing to Spangdahlem AB, West Germany was Chef Boy-AR-Dee!! By the way, anyone stationed in Europe from 1980 to early 1990s was exposed to Mad Cow disease and you cannot give blood!! All do to the hamburger served in the chow halls.
100% He gets the big picture!
the color system is legit genius. sometimes you are tired and just need something simple so you can tune out and get your meal.
If it's so genius, why isn't it standard on all products in supermarkets?
It is in Australia btw, or rather a 5 star system has been adopted, cause it's clearer on mixed colour packages than any colour system can be. All products are required to show the star rating & when purchasing online, on the low star product pages, the supermarket gives recommendations below the rating of similar products with higher star ratings, so as to make it easy for people to switch if they want to eat more healthily. Lots of measures like this have been used in the last decade or so to stabilise what was a growing obesity & diabetes problem, it's pretty easy to do if a country cares about their people's health
@@mehere8038 Are you circumcised or not?
@@HowieHoward-ti3dx no, it's considered "mutilation" where I live & illegal
@@mehere8038 Lucky you. Where do you live?
@@HowieHoward-ti3dx Yup, I live in the place known as "the lucky country", Australia :)
You are all amazing!! Like she said, they all have been there for over 10 years, so all are experienced ❤. I admire all these soldiers that decided to serve their country. Thank you BI for a great video. I dont know why I enjoy this. So I see you have a whole list 👍👍
Hats off to the kitchen staff.
Thank you to the cooks for all you do. Food is the engine of the military!
I stayed in Ft Sam, and always went to Slagel. The people on the screen were my wingmen either, good guys and lots of people complained, including our branch airforce, because the food was not great, and sometimes it was worse, but I understand the more than 4500 soldiers to feed for every 3 times a day might be very demanding for those workers. Thanks for the video. the airforce once tried to figure out the issues regarding the quality of DFAC, especially Slagel; it was not the best place to eat, but it was more terrible than we expected. Every person in Slagel was a hardworking person, and the manager from this company and I have known each other as well. Once again, thanks for the great videos. This video makes me so nostalgic.
I was Infantry 1976-1981. The best chow was always at the hospital DFAC
Thank you to these cooks for feeding the troops!
hell yea!! this was totally one of my favorite go to spots when i went to Fort Sam Houston for tech school for medical logistics!!! i love the salad bar and the very friendly staff but the worst part was the bad stench at the front of the main building near the Air Force Acton dorms where i stayed at two years ago and that’s why i always come in to the back of the building 👍🏽
Good 👍 country that takes proper care and the well-being of his citizens.America ❤🎉
Great video. I served an Army tour in the early 1970s. I respected the mess hall staff then, and I love seeing that things are still running right. Well done!
I honestly never had a bad meal from this place in 2017. It was honestly a good place
The cooks take pride in what they do and who they do it for….. no soldier, sailor, marine or airman can do their jobs without a long line of civilian support personnel…. I salute each and everyone of them,
I'm German. The food in the Bundeswehr is rather, well, modest.
I worked for the US Millitaer for 5 years and the training center in Zweibruecken also has a large US canteen. And the food there was first class.
What stands out in this video is that predominantly black and Hispanic people work in the kitchen. Why ?
For a soldier the most important thing is to have good food.
I hope they show the same respect to the cafeteria workers as they do to their own team members.
For me, a US canteen is like a land of milk and honey
@@ghostladydarkling3250 I understand. But I brought this up because non-white Americans do most of the less respected work. Although I know for a fact that it is precisely these people, precisely these workers who do less paid work, who keep a social structure running. Not just in America but everywhere in the world. Garbage workers, road workers, field workers, factory workers, nurses, teachers and so on. These people are not noticed in public.
And I thought it appropriate to raise the question of race when looking at political developments under Trump and MAGA influence in the USA. This movement that is in the process of labeling unseen ordinary workers as inferior people.
Your two best friends in the military are the chefs and the medics. The RAF chefs are amazing, never ate so well in my life!
the good old slop factory. One place I won’t miss
Years ago I worked for a catering company out of Indianapolis called Cibus. We fed the troops at the largest mob and demob in the Midwest called camp Atterbury in Edinburgh Indiana. Our count during the busiest time of the season would hit 5000 troops. Feeding the three defacs, barracks and perssonel out in the field. I was paid very well. It was the hardest job I ever loved. But the day came when Barrack O decided to eliminate the civilian work force from the military. 800 thousand people lost their jobs. It was a sad day for us that had years giving our best to the men and women who serve our country. No one outside will even come close to paying me anything decent as far as working in a restaurant in Texas or anywhere. Want me to start at the bottom. I just happen to bump into this video and remembered the experience and the soldiers. I've got a hundred stories! I just thank God for allowing me to have done that.
The best part of Combat Medic training, haha. The other guys would always complain about it but the chow here was leagues better than what we got at Fort Sill for BCT. Honestly, the worst part was being paraded in full kit in the Texas summer heat past the Navy and Air Force barracks and seeing them treat their junior enlisted like actual adults. Still wouldn't trade that summer for anything, though.
Delta Company Class 70-20 July 3 - October 24
My father was a cook on Fort Sam Houston in the 80s I was little not sure what it was called then! And this is a new facility and it amazes me to think how they did it all back then with such a smaller setup and no big machines to help ! But he would always tell me he was grateful to feed these soldiers and prayed daily for them knowing at any given point they may not come home ! So thank you to all who serve my country !
I am crying in wonder at the coordinated effort of so many to do this every day! How are there -God bless you all!
As a retired Navy Senior Chief who served onboard an aircraft carrier - it is simply amazing what our cook staffs can pull off, not only at sea, but at shore commands as well. Their work is certainly underappreciated but critically vital to the success of our missions. BTW - every service member will tell you - breakfast is without question the best meal our cooks prepare. 🙂
Army shit on a shingle, yum 😋!!
I find it interesting working in such kitchens as i love eating, my stomach will always be happy
Hats off to those hard working people.
Thank you for your service!
5:37 Smoke detector beeping. 🤣
I supervised a little mess hall at Lakehurst NJ. The folks there loved their jobs. A few guys would take their break time and make a special lunch for the staff. Then they had to clean up. I learned to carve apple birds. It was a great job!
I was an MP out at lakehurst, it's a quiet place compared to Dix/Mcguire. But creepy at night lol
@@General_Eisenhower1945 Yeah. Some places that are appealing during broad daylight hours 🙂 become scary/creepy places you'd hate to be alone at during nighttime hours 😨.
I hated that shit. Mass Cooking (if you wanna call it that) like this sucks.
The contract staff are the heroes of this video. This is a super underpaid position to be in, and if not contract, super underpaid with benefits. Thank you for THEIR service.
Thank you to anyone who ever worked in this field, I remember like it was yesterday passing by those lines and having that steaks! You guys dont get the credit y'all deserve
I was an Army draftee. The best food was at Fort Benjamin in Indianapolis Indiana. The Army’s finance capital. All ranks ate together therefore, your breakfast was made to order. As a draftee during the war, I was in heaven
2.1mil meals served against a 14.2 mil spent is like 6 bucks and some change on average. I am guessing overhead from staff, electricity, water, etc etc probably doubles it.
You could say, its 3 meals a day with overhead, and its around 24-28 bucks per day per soldier. Not bad when feeding mass scale, that is healthy, varied, and time restricted to 90 mins.
Professional atheletes IIRC have their meals double, triple or upto 10x that price match. Now pro atheletes are probably more fit, but soldiers are still pretty active people.
If you wanted to compare this to civilian pricing. A restaurant wants 50-75% profit margin to cover overhead and staff, so permeal at avg 6.5 spent producing meal, you would probably pay around 20ish bucks per meal, and around 60ish per day. Since the volume of customers would be high, you could lower the price down to around 10-12 bucks, but it would still cost around 30-40 bucks a day for 3 meals.
Edit: My math for civilians were wrong.
I don't know the budget for food per soldier per day in the US, but in the Swiss army it's an equivalent of 14$ per solider per day regardless of branch. In addition to that the meat has to be Swiss and the vegetables if possible from the area and in season and not imported. I have to say you usually eat very well in the Swiss army.
I assume in the US the pure food budget is more like 8-10$ per soldier per day, because food is cheaper.
Only dumb people eat out, you just cook your own food and save the money.
As a retired soldier I've always love the army mess hall. Hats off to all those cooks.
Me too! 👍🏻😃🪖🇺🇸
The kitchen crew has my respect, it is them alone that is keeping soldiers alive and healthy to fight in case anything goes south. I hope they're being treated with respect there.
There is no love like an older black woman calling you "Baby" or "Handsome" when you go through the basic training chow hall.
14 million per year is not astronomical for 4500 people. Its actually very very cost efficient, in fact I'd even argue if that is even enough
What an awesome "machine" of prepping great looking meals for our men and women in our Aimed Forces. Sure beats the old mess means that I experienced in my time in the U.S. Army.
Very glad to see civilians be the main workforce at Ft. Sam Houston in feeding all the permanent parties and trainees.
I was in Ft sam houston last year. There are cockroaches 🪳 roaming around freely at slagels. It was one of the least preferred dining facilities at the base.
- Drinks always out EVEN WATER
- Cockroaches
- Poor quality food
- Dirty bathrooms
- Staff not so pleasant
- Sewerage line was broken for all FOUR months while i was there. (Pretty sure its still isnt fixed)
Would only go there when Roccos Dining facility was closed (on weekends)
This sounds way more like the Slagels I remember from 2010-ish
I'm currently here and yup, all still checks aside from the sewerage i think they fixed it, probably.
Cockroaches make my flesh crawl. I don't do bugs. I would have screamed.
The food there is really good. Especially if you came from a poor family.
I retired from the Navy (began in 1974) and I always had good chow in the dining facilities! The best was when I was traveling and had a layover at an Air Force Base... WOW! Their grub was fantastic! Navy was good but that Air Force fare was out of this world! My late hubby retired from the Air Force and he agreed that the USAF had the best food.
Thank y’all for your service 🙏🏽❤️
04:04 beep
They're immune. Imagine their homes
stop noticing!
haha I was looking to see if anyone caught the ceiling bird
Really interesting. The staff know their jobs and appear happy. The food looked pretty good and the Trainees obviously enjoy the meals. Thank-you for showing this. Fascinating.
Really appreciate the hard work and dedication to all of the kitchen personnel. God bless you folks
That kitchen has some incredible equipment. Love the pasta floor drains.
Hats off to the team in the Slagel kitchen - what an amazing job they do!
As a vet with some good memories from the time I spent at the chow hall with friends and co workers thank you to all the food service workers that make these meals.
Yo shout out to that DFAC and Rockos on Fort Sam. The staff is very much appreciated. Y’all the real heroes.
My heartfelt gratitude to you guys ❤❤❤
This cooking brigade is some one helluva job. Great work!
i got out the army us army in 2005 i was stationed in Germany and ive been out for about 20yrs,yet watching this video its the same exact food they would cook for us at our DEFAC i guess military food doesn't change much lol i can still taste everything i see and its the same foods its unbelievable !!
I been out since 2003. And yeah, You’ll also find the same type/quality of foods in social
Institutions like prisons, hospitals and schools.
The logistics behind this is and the hard work from everyone is amazing. Thank yall for fueling our defenders!
Amazing video Amazing Crew! Hope they're paid well for the hard work they put into preparing the Soldiers food.
Beautiful Healthy Food.
God Bless the Cooks and Janitors
Respect for the whole cooking and prep team!!!!👏👏👏
My Dad managed DFACs my whole childhood for US Army! These are so satisfying to watch and remember life during that time!
And to these amazing chef heroes thank you for your service too !
Thanks for sharing and Thanks for serving the soldiers and our country too!❤