Question on chow hall charges

[SemperFiParent]

My daughter just arrived at Keesler AFB for her MOS training. <br />
She told me that she is being charged for eating in the chow hall. <br />
I figured she had herself turned around, she never mentioned...

[1stSgtMell]

My Grandson tells me they receive $230.00 per month in BAS. When they eat in the Mess hall, the meal price is deducted depending on which meal they consume. If they don't use the Mess hall they will receive the difference in their pay.

[GT6238]

Charged for eating in the mess hall...imagine!

[SlingerDun]

Thats a pretty good ration allowance, for a single person. I wonder if Marines with a family collect more?

[SlingerDun]

In fact it's $30.00 more per month than the maximum food stamp individual benefits in Oregon

[Skosh59]

I entered the Corps in 1959 and as far as I know there has always been a charge for those living off base aka BROWN BAGGERS &amp; others not having a chow pass. Can't remember all the rules, but charging...

[josephd]

Is she paying each time she goes to chow?...like out of pocket?...

If she is under student status I don't believe she should be paying on her own for chow. It should just be coming out of her pay each month.

[1stSgtMell]

Regarding the Mess Hall charges, your daughter receives this as a monthly stipend and only meals she eats for that month at the Mess hall is deducted from her allowance. She does not have to pay out...

[1stSgtMell]

Correction to my last post: The BAS allowance is now up to $323.87 per month as of January 2010 with no increase expected for the coming year. I googled this information and this allowance has been in effect since 2002. All members draw this regardless of marital status. Since I've been retired for 37 years this past 30 September, this is all new to me because I received $33.00 and was happy to get it.

[Old Marine]

Is this the same thing as Communted Rations, that we used to get. I don't remember how much it was, but any little thing helped. I would have been in hog heaven if I received 323.00 a month for communted rations. I am assuming that meals are much more than we had to pay back when I pulled mess duty at the Last Supper.

[1stSgtMell]

Comm Rats as, we called them back in ancient times, is one and the same as BAS. There is no pay lines as we knew them and everything is done by computer whereas each person has a debit card that keeps track of their bank balance,etc. Daily rations at the Mess hall average $1.85 for breakfast, $4.25 for lunch and $4.75 for dinner. They have their debit card swiped as they enter the Mess Hall for a particular meal and that amount is deducted from their account. BAS is based on food costs annually and are intended for feeding a member only and not his family.

[SemperFiParent]

Comm Rats as, we called them back in ancient times, is one and the same as BAS. There is no pay lines as we knew them and everything is done by computer whereas each person has a debit card that keeps track of their bank balance,etc. Daily rations at the Mess hall average $1.85 for breakfast, $4.25 for lunch and $4.75 for dinner. They have their debit card swiped as they enter the Mess Hall for a particular meal and that amount is deducted from their account. BAS is based on food costs annually and are intended for feeding a member only and not his family.

Thanks 1st Sgt, that clears it up for me.
Appreciate you taking the time to relay the info.

[Old Marine]

1stSgt. Looks like they are still serving very good meals at a very reasonable price. When I was in 2nd RTBn and took a break from the field and was the RTR S4 Chief one of my duties was making the Chow Schedule for all Recruits. Along with that I used to make the movement schedule for going/returning from Edson Range. That was really a lot of fun and sometimes turned into a regular Chinese Fire Drill

[gungygal48]

see the reference for info regarding Subsistance Allowance

http://www.usmc.mil/news/publications/Documents/MCO%2010110.47%20W%20CH%201.pdf

[SlingerDun]

... Daily rations at the Mess hall average $1.85 for breakfast, $4.25 for lunch and $4.75 for dinner...Well that about takes care of $323.87 per month.

Old Marine: Did you feed from the same chow trough as the recruits while you were a D.I.? What's the scuttle on the Saltpeter

[Old Marine]

Yep, the D.I.'s eat the same food the recruits do. Only difference is the D.I's do not eat it quite as fast as the recruits. The salt peter thing must be a mith. Our Mess Sgt. at the time was MSgt. LLoyd and I got to know him pretty well. I used to send unruly recruits to him after evening chow for extra activitys. After one time the unruly recruits did not want to go back. Those very large ovens must really be something to get clean.

[SemperFiParent]

Well that about takes care of $323.87 per month.

Old Marine: Did you feed from the same chow trough as the recruits while you were a D.I.? What's the scuttle on the Saltpeter

That's what I understand she will be getting for her BAS

[wildwoman73]

Correction to my last post: The BAS allowance is now up to $323.87 per month as of January 2010 with no increase expected for the coming year. I googled this information and this allowance has been in effect since 2002. All members draw this regardless of marital status. Since I've been retired for 37 years this past 30 September, this is all new to me because I received $33.00 and was happy to get it.

$323.87???!!! Do you know how many packages of ramen noodles that would buy????

[wildwoman73]

Yep, the D.I.'s eat the same food the recruits do. Only difference is the D.I's do not eat it quite as fast as the recruits. The salt peter thing must be a mith. Our Mess Sgt. at the time was MSgt. LLoyd and I got to know him pretty well. I used to send unruly recruits to him after evening chow for extra activitys. After one time the unruly recruits did not want to go back. Those very large ovens must really be something to get clean.

The worst...especially if some clumsy goof ball spills the chicken grease!! UGH!!!

[Old Marine]

$323.87???!!! Do you know how many packages of ramen noodles that would buy????

Or how much sodium is in a package of those noodles. Talk about hardening of the arteries.:evilgrin:

[wildwoman73]

Or how much sodium is in a package of those noodles. Talk about hardening of the arteries.:evilgrin:

Hahaha, I'm sure!! Not much of a noodle freak but years ago I lived off of those things. I went to NCO school and we ran like dogs every day! 10 miles boots and utes at least every other day. My section sent me and five other guys. I was the only one who graduated....and I think it was because of the carbs in those ramen noodles!!!

[Beltayn]

Some additional information to add to that the 1stSgt relayed:

In practice, chow halls often substitute the swipe-card system 1stSgt described with meal cards and meal card numbers. When a Marine is issued a meal card, they essentially forfeit all their BAS into a central meal card pool for that unit. Then each time they go to the chow hall they sign in/swipe/punch-in that number and the chow hall is compensated the appropriate meal rate from that central pool.

In pipeline training such as boot camp and often MOS school, this process is automated above the recruits' knowledge. The DI "signs in" the whole platoon. As far as the platoon of recruits knows, they just show up and are given chow for free. This is why it may seem strange for your young Marine to suddenly be expected to pay at their new duty station. But in reality the same thing was happening the whole time. Assure them that they are receiving their government-allotted BAS amount as part of their basic pay each month to ensure they have enough money to eat.


From personal experience, it is almost always the better deal for the individual Marine to NOT have a meal card and to simply pay in cash. Few Marines eat every single meal, every single day at the chow hall, yet the meal card system assumes that you do, and deprives you of your full BAS allotment accordingly.

[1stSgtMell]

L/Cpl McCoy,AKA Beltayn,
Great information and very easy to understand. Being a part of the Mess hall system itself is a plus as far as what takes place and why. I don't think my Grandson really knew all the details himself and he spent 4 years and was a Sergeant when he got out. You set a lot of us old timers straight today. When I was a Drill Instructor '58-'60 San Diego we ate the same food only it was served by Recruits and it makes one wonder how much saliva was ingested by unloved Drill Instructors.

[thezero]

She's not being charged. it's how the air force run their chow halls, I was just at Little Rock AFB not to long ago. Unless she is handing them money or her card tell her to not worry about it...

[LarryStarr]

L/Cpl McCoy,AKA Beltayn,
Great information and very easy to understand. Being a part of the Mess hall system itself is a plus as far as what takes place and why. I don't think my Grandson really knew all the details himself and he spent 4 years and was a Sergeant when he got out. You set a lot of us old timers straight today. When I was a Drill Instructor '58-'60 San Diego we ate the same food only it was served by Recruits and it makes one wonder how much saliva was ingested by unloved Drill Instructors.

Unloved Drill Instructors? Come on Top, we were all loved weren't we? :evilgrin:
Semper FI

[SlingerDun]

I was "night cook" after the rifle range, didn't have time to spit. Learned how to fry up food real quick like

[SemperFiParent]

Some additional information to add to that the 1stSgt relayed:

In practice, chow halls often substitute the swipe-card system 1stSgt described with meal cards and meal card numbers. When a Marine is issued a meal card, they essentially forfeit all their BAS into a central meal card pool for that unit. Then each time they go to the chow hall they sign in/swipe/punch-in that number and the chow hall is compensated the appropriate meal rate from that central pool.

In pipeline training such as boot camp and often MOS school, this process is automated above the recruits' knowledge. The DI "signs in" the whole platoon. As far as the platoon of recruits knows, they just show up and are given chow for free. This is why it may seem strange for your young Marine to suddenly be expected to pay at their new duty station. But in reality the same thing was happening the whole time. Assure them that they are receiving their government-allotted BAS amount as part of their basic pay each month to ensure they have enough money to eat.


From personal experience, it is almost always the better deal for the individual Marine to NOT have a meal card and to simply pay in cash. Few Marines eat every single meal, every single day at the chow hall, yet the meal card system assumes that you do, and deprives you of your full BAS allotment accordingly.


Thanks to you and everyone else who has responded, you have all helped clear this up for me.

I may have jumped the gun a bit, but it threw me when PFC Holly called and told me she just had her first meal at Keesler AFB and had to pay for it.

Again, thanks to all for weighing in.

[tripledog]

In 61 we got 33 bucks a month to feed our families. If we ate at the base , it cost me 15 cents.