Feeding the troops over the years.
Beginning about the time of the American Civil War, the United States Army and Navy have been the best fed military in the world. During World War Two no other army had a choice of meals while deployed in the field, even if it was only C-rations or K-rations, unless those meals were provided to it by the United States. America’s allies were more than satisfied with the rations provided them by the Americans, recognizing that they were much better than the rations provided by their own military. This led to many Allies referring to “pampered” Americans being overfed as well as overpaid.
The US Navy was one of the first to install metal tanks within the hulls of its ships to store drinking water, which stopped the growth of aquatic life and left the water potable for longer periods. This was in some ways bittersweet since it removed the need to carry alternative beverages which did not spoil, and by 1842 the US was no longer serving grog to its sailors. Sailors were allowed to keep personal stocks of beer and wine until 1899, when that too was outlawed. Today the US Navy is dry on all of its ships, except for medicinal purposes.
Mess halls on bases and mess decks on ships provide a wide variety of nutritious foods, and choices at nearly every meal. It has always been the sailor’s and soldier’s right to complain, and military food has always been and always will be the target of much grousing. But today’s military is fed, even in the field, better than any other, with an eye on physical fitness, morale, and above all the ability to complete the military’s mission. All the services have annual competitions between their messing facilities to determine which excels above all others in the quality of their service and their food.
Some of the larger US aircraft carriers serve over 14,000 meals each day. The “galley” at Naval Submarine Base New London, known as the Cross Hall Galley, has a staff of about eighty and serves 600,000 meals per year. At Fort Bragg, the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School operates a dining facility which is focused on the nutritional needs of special operations soldiers, designing menus and creating meals customized to produce maximum physical and mental performance. Other Army facilities include drive-thru windows for troops and dependents in a hurry.
Feeding the military has long been a thankless task, whether it was Continental troops huddled over a strip of venison cooked by the campfire, Union troops complaining about the size of their bacon ration, GIs opening their C-rations in December snows, or troops in the desert facing an MRE of spaghetti and meat sauce. The Continental soldier was lucky to get any food at all. Today’s soldier is lucky to have all that food.
Where do we get this stuff? Here are our sources:
“The Food That Fueled The American Revolution”, by Lisa Bramen, Smithsonian.com, July 5, 2011
“Feeding a Hungry Army”, National Museum of the United States Army, online
“Hardtack and Coffee or the Unwritten Story of Army Life”, by John D. Billings, 1887
“Pershing’s Crusaders: The American Soldier in World War I”, by Richard S. Faulkner, 2017
“Army Operational Rations – Historical Background”, US Quartermaster School, online
“Grub, Chow, and Mystery Meat”, by Peggy Milhelich, CNN, September 13, 2007