The TARFU Times

Lunch at Ft. Carson, Colorado.

Perhaps proving that there’s no such thing as a free lunch, word’s out that the largest US Army bases in the United States aren’t having much of a problem taking a cut of the sustenance (meals) pay from the most junior of the enlisted soldiers.

But when it comes to pumping that same chow money back to the chow hall, that’s a very different story.

In a nutshell, servicemen across the board who were single and live in the barracks or aboard ship, had what we used to call “a chowhall pass” as long as you were in garrison. In essence, we got three hot square-meals per day, Monday through Sunday, always for free.

In what looks to me as a money laundering scheme, under Pres. Geo. W. Bush in 2002, the same single servicemembers who lived in the barracks or aboard ship, were entitled to draw extra pay ($465.77 per month) in the form of BAS (Basic Allowance for Subsistence).

But in a move that only a bureaucrat could love, the same single troops who lived in the barracks or aboard ship had the BAS amount ($465.77 per month) automatically deducted from their paychecks. Are you seeing the money-cycling so far?

Anyone with even a lick of common sense would be under the impression that all that collected BAS cash was going back to the chowhalls in the form of that same hot, three-squares a day I used to get back in the old days.

Well, maybe not. Tens of millions of dollars taken from the lowest ranking and lowest paid soldiers in the US Army is NOT making its way back to the chowhall.

As of this moment, the missing money is unaccounted for.

In a stunning report coming out from the civilian owned and operated Military.com (emphasis mine);

2024 financial records provided by the service from 11 of the Army’s largest bases show that more than $151 million of $225 million collected from soldiers was not spent on food. Given that the Army operates 104 garrisons, the true amount of unspent funds is likely far higher.

“It’s just returned to the big pool of Army funds, and it’s used someplace else,” one service official with direct knowledge of the situation said during an interview that was arranged by the Army public affairs office, referring to redirected BAS money collected from soldiers.

At Fort Stewart, Georgia, for example, soldiers contributed $17 million, but the base spent just $2.1 million — redirecting 87% of the funds. Schofield Barracks in Hawaii collected $14.5 million but used only $5.3 million, meaning 63% of the money was used elsewhere.

All but two bases left more than half of the money for food unspent. Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska and Fort Bliss, Texas, left 41% and 49% of funds on the table, respectively.

It’s unclear what specifically the additional funds taken from soldiers are being spent on, but they do not appear to be going toward feeding soldiers. Major expenses such as dining hall infrastructure and food service worker salaries come from separate funding sources and, when pressed repeatedly by Military.com, Army officials declined to provide additional financial data.

Now that you’re picking-up your jaw from the floor, here’s a few more stats from Military.com;

The following is data for the Army’s 2024 fiscal year, which ran from October 1 2023 to Sept. 30, 2024. The rounded data shows the total amount of money collected for food from soldiers stationed at each installation against the money ultimately spent on food:

Fort Stewart, Georgia:
Money collected from soldiers: $17 million
Money spent on food: $2.1 million

Fort Drum, New York:
Money collected from soldiers: $18.2 million
Money spent on food: $3.9 million

Fort Carson, Colorado:
Money collected from soldiers: $22 million
Money spent on food: $5 million

Fort Riley, Kansas:
Money collected from soldiers: $19.1 million
Money spent on food: $5.1 million

Fort Bliss, Texas:
Money collected from soldiers: $22 million
Money spent on food: $11 million

Fort Cavazos, Texas:
Money collected from soldiers: $42.5 million
Money spent on food: $11.7 million

Fort Bragg, North Carolina:
Money collected from soldiers: $34.6 million
Money spent on food: $16.6 million

Fort Campbell, Kentucky:
Money collected from soldiers: $18 million
Money spent on food: $5.1 million

Schofield Barracks, Hawaii:
Money collected from soldiers: $14.5 million
Money spent on food: $5.3 million

Fort Wainwright, Alaska:
Money collected from soldiers: $9 million
Money spent on food: $3 million

Fort Richardson, Alaska:
Money collected from soldiers: $7.5 million
Money spent on food: $4 million