Just a Basic Day - Mess

I am not sure why the serving of food in the military is called Mess.  I suspect it comes from some British Term and not the way the food is prepared or served.  The food we were served while in Basic was good and I can say I never had a terrible meal while in uniform. 

The food was always plentiful and not bad tasting and the degree to which it was not bad tasting was due to the pride the head cook took in his profession.  I cannot remember any specific meal but the food was served on a two week rotation.  That meant that every two weeks you got the same thing.  Like if you got spaghetti on Sunday, two weeks later you would have spaghetti unless that particular Sunday fell on a holiday and then you had the holiday menu.  It varied from roast beef to ham to turkey.

When at all possible we were provided hot meals in the field.  Instead of trays we used our mess kits, a silver looking metal device that could be folded up and carried on your side along with a knife fork and spoon.  We drank out of our canteen cups, which was the metal device that our canteen was held in taht we wore connected to our ammo belts.  The food served in the field really wasn't bad at all. 

C rations were another matter.  They came in tan boxes and contained all sorts of stuff stuffed in a OD green can which was impossible to open almost. They were supposed to come with an opener called a P38 but more often than not they were no where to be found.  Once you came across one you kept hold of it.  Seemed like there was a mix of fruit, a meat can, peanut butter, jelly, cheese spread, crackers, eggs and cigarettes depending on which box you drew.  Kool, Winston's, Chesterfields, Lucky Strikes, Camels, and Marborals.  They were good trading items. The highest trading item was ham slices. It is said that one would kill for ham slices.  That is putting it a little strong but they were tasty.