General Military Discussions

[RER]

The Worst Military Breakfast I Ever Had

Now, I have nothing against any of our branches of the military. I am not being prejudice here because I am a retired Air Force guy. The Armed Forces is a tightly netted “professional team effort,” with various mission objectives, all of which are important to accomplish the combined goals. I have worked with all branches and even foreign countries military during various stages of my military tenure.

I have eaten Navy, Army and Air Force “Chow” and I have to say that the fly-boys food seems to take the prize of quality and taste. My favorite meal in the chow halls normally would be the mid-night chow and the early morning chow. They seem to always have SOS with all the breakfast menu selections.

During the Cuban Crisis of October 1962 a group of us guys were stationed at the former Navy Air Base at Sanford, Florida. We stayed for about 45 days in old WW II barracks, that were open bays of rows of beds, that were double stacked. The Navy barbershop was overwhelmed by the influx of all branches during that crisis, so the guys mostly had to cut each other’s hair, until we found some Navy guys that did a better job.

The Navy chow hall was about a quarter mile from the barracks and a couple miles from our organized Air Force areas. Now, the first day I went to the Navy chow hall they served powdered eggs, greasy sausage and horrible SOS. The SOS had such a distasteful recipe that I couldn’t eat it, and too add in the terrible powdered eggs, didn’t help. As I sat there the first day I had to think of options if this” grease bowl” and powdered eggs continued. I tried it the next day and it wasn’t any better, so I slowing quit going to the Navy chow hall. Most, of us started buying junk food and eating C-rations to satisfy the hunger urge until departure. I have always wondered if the land base Navy food is not top notch, compared to their ship food, which seems to look better on films. Of course that was 1962 and I suspect they have improved by now.

So, the worst Military breakfast was at Sanford Naval Air Station, Sanford Florida during 1962. That station has been closed for many years through the Defense Base Closure and Realignment (BRAC) Commission decisions.

Cuban Crisis Overview:

The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation between the United States, the Soviet Union, and Cuba in October 1962, during the Cold War. When United States intelligence discovered the missile weapons, the U.S. government sought to do all it could to ensure the removal of the missiles. The crisis ranks with the Berlin Blockade as one of the major confrontations of the Cold War, and is generally regarded as the moment in which the Cold War came closest to a nuclear war.

The tensions were at their height from October 8th, 1962, which was known as "Black Saturday". On October 14th, United States reconnaissance observed missile bases being built in Cuba. The crisis ended two weeks later on October 28th, 1962, when the President John F. Kennedy and the United Nations Secretary-General U Thant reached an agreement with the Soviets to dismantle the missiles in exchange for a no-invasion agreement.

[Ricky_Berkey]

I wonder how many non-military types reading this know what the acronym actually stands for. I probably can't spell it out here without being censored but here it is with an asterisk thrown in :

SOS = "Sh*t on a Shingle" , the shingle being a piece of toast, the other being some type of mysterious gravylike substance usually with some dried/chipped beef mixed in. Civilians usually call it chipped beef on toast.

[a mother]

way to go ricky. with your spelling also (chit).I was always told by some that the best meals were Christmas and Thanksgiving.

[RER]

Sept 23, 2009 12:57:21 GMT -5 @a mother said:

way to go ricky. with your spelling also (chit).I was always told by some that the best meals were Christmas and Thanksgiving.

Well, Mother Guest you are right. Military dining halls (or formerly called chow halls) serve the best Christmas and Thanksgiving dinners you would ever lay you eyes on. When those days rolled around and my children were old enough, we would take the whole family to eat the super dinners. They served more than most folks could think of during those periods. My wife and children aways enjoyed those special times and we paid for each person, including myself.

When stationed in Germany the whole family ate at the dining hall each year.

The whole Armed forces worldwide are provided the meals of the year during those two holidays. Even in combat zones today, and during Vietnam on posts and bases. Navy, also receives the top meals on ships etc.

[Deleted]

Great, Ricky let the cat out of the bag ;D I had my first sos in boot camp at San Diego in 1952, and on four ships latter until 1957.
Another dish we had aboard ship every Saturday morning was navy baked beans to go along with breakfast, an old navy tradition for many years, I wonder if they still serve them?, they were very good.
Another food we had aboard ship was the largest pieces of fried chicken I had every seen, the crew members accused the cooks of shooting sea gull back on the fantail of the ship.

[Babs]

I was just thinking "when will some one actually tell what the SOS stands for"? and Ricky did. Good for you Ricky!

Regarding the hot sauce on the SOS, when Don worked in the Federal Building in downtown Orlando he would go to the Navy base and eat SOS every morning for his breakfast. They didn't use the best of meats, so he began using Tabisco sauce and to this day he still likes it with the hot sauce. I accuse him of comparing my homemade.....good SOS....with the junk he got at the Navy Exchange...but he just got so much in the habit that he prefers it with the hot sauce. So he eats his with Tabisco and I eat mine plain. :-)

Still think my preference is with the dried beef but hubby prefers good sausage so that is how I make it...usually for a Sunday brunch, and I serve some eggs along with it.

I love all this talk about military chow halls etc, but will have to admit the one time I did eat in a chow hall was when we were stationed in England. It was okay but I still like to cook and have the all good leftovers from a holiday meal so that one Thanksgiving is the only time I have eaten in a military mess hall. I missed the cold turkey sandwich that I like to have on Thanksgiving night and/or the next day, which is my favorite way to eat turkey!

[RER]

Sept 23, 2009 14:01:24 GMT -5 george said:

Great, Ricky let the cat out of the bag ;D I had my first sos in boot camp at San Diego in 1952, and on four ships latter until 1957.
Another dish we had aboard ship every Saturday morning was navy baked beans to go along with breakfast, an old navy tradition for many years, I wonder if they still serve them?, they were very good.
Another food we had aboard ship was the largest pieces of fried chicken I had every seen, the crew members accused the cooks of shooting sea gull back on the fantail of the ship.

Ha, ha, ha, that is funny George about the cooks shooting sea gulls to sub for the large chicken. Thanks for the humor too and that fine SOS trip.

Babs, Nanc and few talk about hot sauce, but I can't do that routine. Not, a great fan of the hot stuff. George that might be good on sea gulls. I could catch you one at Myrtle Beach and FedEx it to you for your memories of the past. LOL

Congrats, to Ricky for becoming the "distress caller" (real definition) of SOS. LOL

[Margo CHS Class of 55]

I just had to jump in on this discussion.

When Bill and I were first married in 1957, the only meal I knew how to fix was SOS !!! My NAVY brother, Jim, taught me this while Mom was in the hospital, one time. He was home on leave, and fixed SOS for supper for three days !
Yes, he made it with dried beef in a jar, but he always put
a LOT of pepper in it.
He called it the "NAVY Way "
Guess that's why to this day,I don't care for pepper.

Mother never allowed us kids in the kitchen as we were growing up . She did allow us to pluck chickens. I will never get that smell of wet chicken feathers,out of my memory.

So, Bill was in for some very unpleasant meals, as I learned from a cookbook, and a very meager pantry. Cereal was easy for breakfast, and we ate our lunch at The Greeks, mostly.

He actually looked forward to the night I would serve SOS !!

[RER]

My Simple Military SOS Concoction Recipe



I have read all those old Army and Navy recipes and 99% of them don’t fit my taste buds.

I do this simple recipe once a month with mostly hamburger meat, and here is the mix:

-fry a quarter or even a half pound of hamburger meat, salt and pepper added as desired,

-turn the heat setting down to a lower setting, after the hamburger is finished cooking,

-pour off most of the grease, and leave the hamburger with some amount of natural grease,

-sprinkle non-rising flour over all of the hamburger, including the bottom of the pan showing,

-keep turning the hamburger and flour mixture (quickly) over and over until the flour forms a very light brown view (don’t burn the flour)

-after the meat and flour looks browned, but not burned, pour 2 percent milk into the pan with the mix, until it covers the hamburger top,

-turn up the heat somewhat, as the solution begins to thicken, it forms a nice white mix and starts to show thick bubbles,

-after the desired thickness and gravy like, turn off the burner, then move to a cold burner,

-prepare toast half way through the process, then use a large spoon to dip and put on top of the toast,

-test if you need more salt or pepper, add as you like,

-in a separate pan you can (if desired) add eggs on top of the SOS (my choice is 2 eggs over easy on top)

Now, you other folks have your own recipe and desires, but this is my concoction. If you prepare this I don’t guarantee you will like it, but that is understandable. The best is with dried beef in a jar, but hamburger isn't that bad.

Note: If you burn the flour throw it out, it is horrible. Start over.

[Ricky_Berkey]

The topic of military food is a little far flung from our usual Columbus discussion topics but anyone that was ever involved with the armed forces has memories (good and bad) about the chow.

We would always have seagulls following our ship since they dumped garbage off the fantail after every meal service. It was amazing how far out to sea we would get and still see them. When we started running low on supplies, they began to look very tempting! Food service on small Navy ships was always variable depending on what kind of supplies they had on board and how dedicated the cooks were. The longer we were out to sea, the more creative they had to get.

"Mystery Meat" would have to join SOS as another legendary military staple. You would often see something show up on the chow line that was suspiciously in the meat section, usually gray and pehaps swimming in a murky liquid. Those were the days that the cans of Vienna Sausages you had squirrled away came in handy.

Along with the constant supply of coffee was usually had an endless supply of military kool-aid that we always called "Bug Juice" as it sometimes seemed to be a little on the toxic side.

Sept 23, 2009 14:48:26 GMT -5 RER said:

Sept 23, 2009 14:01:24 GMT -5 george said:

Ha, ha, ha, that is funny George about the cooks shooting sea gulls to sub for the large chicken. Thanks for the humor too and that fine SOS trip.

Babs, Nanc and few talk about hot sauce, but I can't do that routine. Not, a great fan of the hot stuff. George that might be good on sea gulls. I could catch you one at Myrtle Beach and FedEx it to you for your memories of the past. LOL

Congrats, to Ricky for becoming the "distress caller" (real definition) of SOS. LOL

[docwendy]

My husband talks about something called "Ranger pudding" which as I recall is made by taking the packet of hot chocolate that comes in some MRE's and mixing it with a little water and who knows what else. He says it actually is pretty good. I haven't seen anything yet that comes out of an MRE that I would call "good"! But I guess it's all in your perspective!

[Babs]

Bob,
You use ground chuck and I use sausage but otherwise my recipe is pretty much the same as yours. I do, however, use a little Worchestershire sauce and a generous sprinkle of garlic salt to my mixture as it is browning. Try these two additions sometime and I also add in a little Kitchen Bouquet; these items make the gravy a little more appealing to look at and not quite so white.

[RER]

Babs,

I will have to try your added spices, because I like the first two, but I am not familiar with Kitchen Bouquet. I will have to find that because my wife didn't have that item. Thanks.........sounds different and good.

[Babs]

If Carol doesn't keep Kitchen Bouquet (which is simply a browning liquid) just try the other two. We like our gravy a richer browner color rather than just pale white. Also since I always use sausage (Jimmy Dean or Bob Evans) I most often add a bit of sage to our gravy. Both the K.B. and the Worchestershire sauce just give it a little different flavor and a pinch of the garlic powder or salt also helps I think. Let me know how you like it, Bob. :-)

Gosh all this talk about food is making my tummy growl!

[RER]

Military Meals Ready To Eat (MREs) Since 1981

The Meal, Ready-to-Eat — commonly known as the MRE — is a self-contained, individual field ration in lightweight packaging bought by the United States military for its service members for use in combat or other field conditions where organized food facilities (chow halls or dining halls) are not available. The MRE replaced the canned (C-rations)or Meal, Combat, Individual rations in 1981 and is the intended successor to the lighter LRP ration developed by the U.S. Army for Special Forces and U.S. Army Ranger patrol units in Vietnam.

The MREs came on line right before I departed the services. My son brought these back to me from Saudi Arabia prior to the first Gulf War. He said they weren't that bad in taste and easy to pop open and eat. There is no written self life I can find on the vacuum packages. The outer brown of the package is a heavy duty plastic material. They are sold to military and retirees in military commissaries throughout the nation.



There are various companies throughout the United States that maintain contracts with the government to provide these MREs. The above pictures show McAllen, Texas and Evansville, Indiana companies. There is also a company in Mullins South Carolina that produces MREs.

Now, if you have a family member in the services and they write home about MREs, then now you know what the package looks like.

[RER]

A Tribute & Salute To All Our Former and Present Military Veterans Worldwide
Veterans Day November, 11 2009



"Sacrifices Never To Be Forgotten"

"We Thank the men & women throughout history that have served and are still serving today to protect our Freedoms and the United States of American"

[RER]

Eleven, Eleven, Eleven Salute to All Veterans



On this day of November 11, 2011 we want to thank all active, reserves and retired military members for their service and dedication to our country, and its freedom. Also, a special thanks and salute to all that severed in our armed forces.

Thank you for serving and dedicating your lives; and we appreciate all you do that many people don’t truly understand. You have placed in your lives a proud time period that you will never forget and remember in the most positive way.

As we know “Freedom Is Not Free.”God Bless, all of you that serve and served.

A Special Prayer

“Almighty God, our heavenly Father, in whose hands are the living and the dead; we give thee thanks for all those thy servants who have laid down their lives in the service of our country. Grant to them thy mercy and the light of thy presence, that the good work which thou hast begun in them may be perfected; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord. Amen.”

[jdhinkle]

I HAVE ANOTHER ITEM TO ADD TO THIS CATEGORY BILL SPICER IS IN THE PROCESS OF WRITING A SERIES OF BOOKS ABOUT HIS CAREER AS A U. S. MARINE



BILL JOINED IN 1962 AND WAS IN VIET NAM IN 65 AS A 'GRUNT' AND THEN HE ATTENDED OCS AND WENT TO FLIGHT SCHOOL AND RETURNED TO VIET NAM IN 68 AS A HELICOPTER COMMANDER (HAC).

I AM PROUD TO KNOW BILL AND SPENT A LOT OF TIME WITH HIM IN HIGH SCHOOL AND A TEAMMATE ON THE FOOTBALL TEAM
I THINK YOU WILL FIND HIS BOOKS QUITE INTERESTING AND FOR SOME OF US WHO WERE NOT ABLE TO SERVE IT GIVES YOU A GOOD FEELING TO KNOW THE MANY PEOPLE WHO DID AND APPRECIATE THEIR EFFORTS

[RER]

Memorial Day Salute & Prayer To Our Armed Forces

"My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."

  President John F. Kennedy

"And I’m proud to be an American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I won’t forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me."

~Lee Greenwood


"I have long believed that sacrifice is the pinnacle of patriotism.The dead soldier’s silence sings our national anthem."

-Rev. Aaron Kilbourn



"We show our thankfulness in prayer
This honor you deserve
Giving all for freedom's call
That we may live without reserve."

Susan Helene Kramer