$600,000+ Spent on Eating Out

[erpowers]

The Army spends at least $664,545 on eating out. I am not against the Army eating good meals. However, if they want to eat out I contend they should pay for it with their own money.

[nosmokes]

1. ummm? care to tell us what you're talking about? n/t

[Rabrrrrrr]

2. Who's money? How many people are racking up this bill? How long a period?

The stat you offer is utterly worthless on its own.

[SofaKingLiberal]

3. source?

need more details

[beetbox]

5. Go Here for more details

Patriotic Pork
The Army Eats Out
By Nick Turse

Army stomachs also couldn't seem to get enough of the fine food Arkansas has to offer and so significant sums were dropped at such "Natural State" restaurants as: Rodeo Cafe ($3,485); Molly's Diner ($5,400); Annie's Family Restaurant ($8,996); and the Crispy Taco Mexican Grill ($19,283), among other establishments.

But Arkansas was only a drop in the proverbial bucket (of fried chicken, no doubt). Army folks also sampled the fare at numerous other eateries across the country, including:

Copper Mill Restaurant (Logan, UT)        $10,878
Bristol Bar & Grille (Louisville, KY)        $5,026
Englewood Cafe (Independence, MO)        $5,026
Pericos Mexican Restaurant (Covington, TN)      $4,050
Big Mama's Kitchen (Fayette, AL)        $3,705
Timber Lodge Steakhouse (Sioux Falls, SD)      $2,544

<>

In the July 2005 issue of Harper's Magazine, journalist Ken Silverstein decried "The Great American Pork Barrel" and noted that, through the magic of "earmarks" (local pork projects tucked inside federal budgets), some $100,000 was allocated in November 2004 for "goat-meat research in Texas." With a logic that might escape all but those best versed in the government's hide-the-pork hijinks, the goat-meat project was slipped into the Foreign Operations bill. But the Pentagon has that kind of pork barrel beaten by a country(-fried) mile. After all, it's got honest-to-goodness pork, miles of it slathered in barbeque sauce, clogging the military budget like so many arteries. $82,000 at Shoneys. $165,000 to various barbeque restaurants nationwide. And over $154,000 handed to the Secret Garden Café in Loma Linda, California!

http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?pid=18119

[Rabrrrrrr]

6. I read stuff like this and say "Who gives a flying fuck?!"

Who cares?

So the military takes it's people out to eat once in a while. Big fucking whoopty doo.

I've never worked anywhere, from a restaurant to a drug store to the world's leading consulting firm, that didn't occasionally take employees out to eat or at least bring in pizzas.

And the reporter who did this article is utterly negligent. He never said what the dining out was for, and by whom it was being done, and under what conditions. He never compared it to what the military would spend feeding the guys at their own cafeterias.

And considering there's, what, one or two million people in the military, if the military's yearly eat-out budget only amounts to $650K, then it's a total whoopty fucking doo.

[nookiemonster]

8. No shit!

$650k????? That's a damn drop in the bucket.

How much do you think it costs to fly Air Force One, a 747-400, for a staged photo op?

[Rabrrrrrr]

9. When I worked at the consulting firm, it was typical for a team dinner

(about 8-10 people) to hit the $1500 mark. That's how business go.

And for the military, I bet they burn up far more than $650K every month just in stolen, lost, and accidentally broken items.

But, since no one has yet to tell us just what the time span of this mysterious $650K on restaurants covers, we still don't know whether we should be appalled, or laugh at the people thinking it's a problem.

[lpbk2713]

11. Throw in a couple of C-130's for the groupies and a couple of Blackhawks

And don't forget the advance team of Secret Service and medics. And the manhours used by local law enforcement.


I know every little photo-op racks up a bill equal to more taxes than I will pay in my lifetime.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

4. There are at least 664,545 people in the army.

Most corporations and agencies spend more than 1 dollar per person on restaurant or catered or takeout meals. Ever had the company buy you a pizza at work?

[Darkhawk32]

7. With all the bullshit going on in this country, THIS is what....

you're worried about?

[jmowreader]

10. The Army feeds its people. Big fucking deal.

This is something they've always done. But for the benefit of civilians, I'll briefly discuss the Army messing system.

First, Rations in Kind. This happens in field environments and when you're not in the field (called "in garrison") and you live in the barracks. Basically, you go somewhere and there's food there for you. In garrison you'll have a meal card and sign in at the headcount station; in the field, you go to the chow line and get fed. (There's a really great story about Aaron Bank, Father of Special Forces, sneaking a wounded OSS trooper back to friendly lines during World War II. They moved at night and ate Nazi field rations, which Bank got by just going up to the Nazis' chow lines dressed as a Nazi soldier carrying a Nazi mess kit and asking for food. Worked every time.)

Next, Separate Rations. Generally, married soldiers and officers are the ones who draw this. If you are authorized to eat away from the mess hall, they pay you what it would cost to eat three meals a day in the mess hall.

The subject of this discussion is Rations Not Available. If you're going somewhere that doesn't have government messing facilities, which is pretty much everywhere that doesn't have a military base next to it (people who go temporary duty (TDY) to another military base receive enough money to eat at the mess hall on post and are expected by the government to do so), they have a chart that says how much it costs to eat three decent--not fine-dining, but not skid row either--meals a day at that location. In the old days they used to give you that much money, and of course everyone knew that with a little legwork (like buying a box of donuts and a pound of coffee at a supermarket instead of going out for breakfast) you could find places that were much cheaper than the ones the Army was using for their numbers. The best part was, because there was nowhere to report how much you actually spent on your meals, you were allowed to keep the difference.

I figure now they're using Defined Benefits Cards--preloaded credit cards--which completely ends the TDY gravy train. Plus, you get to see where the troops are actually eating--when it was all cash, you'd never know that.

[Rabrrrrrr]

12. I always find it interesting (and rude) when someone starts a thread,

but never bothers to come back and check on it.

erpowers, where are you? When will you answer our questions?