at my unit we have to pay the galley no matter if we eat or not. when i was active we paid if we ate. my only beef is that the fs are on weekend mind set which means we pay for government bread and cold cuts, maybe even loaded nacho's. we do get a healthy option tho chicken breast and salad everyday 7 days a week 24 hours a day, if w are cracking down on weight standards then food standards defiently need to change, a female coastie or guardian gets the same amount a 6'2" male gets. at my unit its wishfull thinking if your getting seconds. now i am a workout kind of guy, i like to bring a cooler with my own food prepped for the weekend, why should i pay for something thats 1000% more unhealthy even if i dont eat it??? heres a story: awhile back our fsc got masted for money issues, the reserves who never eat at the unit were at the root of the blame for the money issues. we never ate at the station and never requested food and when we did go to eat we were told to go to the back off the line and we may have some food for you. i am mad, thi isnt fare and we get shafted food wise if we do pay. i am mad because i am thinking about my next drill weekend and i have to remember to pack a blank check to pay the cook. i talked to the active guys at the sta, they have to pay for lunch and dinner whenever they are at the station whether they bring there food or not, and alot of them bring their own food.... help any ideas??? what are you doing at your units???
Is this a CO or OINC policy? With direct access, members can schedule their drills and comment if they will be eating meals so the galley can have a head count of Reservist coming in.
a female coastie or guardian gets the same amount a 6'2" male gets.
...and then the Gunners Mate or MAA stands behind them both with a loaded gun to their head until both finish their plate, right?
Look, this is the norm for a lot of galleys. The CG is required to either first feed you or in absent of that, give you money to eat. I would say that for almost half of my career, I was required to pay for 3 meals a day, every single day, even if I wasn't aboard the unit that day. Only time that ddidn't happen was when I was on leave.
I don't get that. To me it seems simple. The fact that we get BAS (or the reserve equivilent) instead of free meals gives us choice. What is the rationale behind forcing a member to pay out of pocket when they are not eating other than "Its been done that way before". I mean I can't think of a single administrative or logistical advantage to paying a member for food and then forcing them to pay cash out of pocket at the galley.
If on the other hand you are not given BAS but instead free meals at the galley then I understand.
This sounds like an issue that you need to discuss with your reserve Chief/Supervisor so they can discuss it with the command. Someone should be communicating with the FS's so they can determine the correct amount of food to prepare. You did state that you don't eat during drill, but do you use the the coffee mess and beverage machines? Just things to consider...
At my Sta the AD guys have to pay whether they eat or not, but we reservists have the option of paying to eat in the galley or eating elsewhere.... My suggestion. Run it up your chain and see what happens. If that doesn't work, talk to you reserve silver badge while using your chain of course. Hope this helps. Good luck.
when we go we bring our own food or go out and eat. i have heard its a song and dance meaning, yes the give the money for food but you have to turn around and give it back, this way a budget can be justified. just like a school, your unit pays money to the coast guard when you go to school,if the food on the weekends were good not great but just good i would eat there in a heart beat, at my old unit it was night and day difference to what you get here, sunday is always the same, they set out wheat or white bread with lettuce tomatoe cheese and cold cuts, come on???? i am not picky for food but that is a demonstration of laziness on behalf of the fs's, i would get in so much trouble if i was that lazy doing my rate/job work...also why i am here, does hours underway on 41 , 33 count as crewmember hours even though we are only 25 qualed?i heard yes but drills dont count and no they dont count, i wish i knew because often i get underway whenever i can but i dont want to think my hours are good if they dont count.its i am not a complainer, i enjoy the reserves, i am at the sta even on weekends i dont drill, but this its always been this way thought process is old school, morale is highly improved with little tiny things like this. i dont know i know theres guys being shot at and blown up overseas everyday, guess things could be worst
I required reservists to pay for meals at my last unit where I was the FSO. You are given an allowance to eat at my dining facility, not order out or to supplement your grocery bill.
Solar, I'm trying to understand what you are writing but your thoughts are all over the place with no paragraph breaks.
What is the underlying issue? Not enough food, bad quality or that the FSC placed blame on reservists?
...they set out wheat or white bread with lettuce tomatoe cheese and cold cuts, come on????
Sounds like the lunches I eat 90% of the time. How often do you eat at the station? Every weekend? One weekend a month? Doesn't sound like having sandwiches for lunch the few days that you are there constitutes that much of a hardship.
Could be worse, you could be eating MRE's three times a day.
I agree with the sentiments of others on this thread, it sounds like a communication issue to me. You should definitely talk to the senior reserve enlisted member at you unit so that he/she can run concerns up the chain of command.
When performing paid IDT drills, enlisted reserve members are normally authorized and receive commuted rations (COMMRATS). So, you have a choice to purchase your meals at a CG dining facility or use a commercial source; if anyone says otherwise, tell them to read the Reserve Policy Manual (2.B.7).
Keep in mind that operating a CG dining facility, even at a small shore side unit, is not an easy task. In order to be successful and keep the logistical and administrative process simple OICs/COs may implement standing orders that require crew members to purchase a minimum number of meals each month. This can go a long way toward keeping the operation running smoothly. In my experience, as long as cooks are turning out quality meals there is never a problem. Where else can you stuff your smush for four bucks?? But, it sounds like good chow is not the case in your situation, particularly on the weekends you are drilling; that brings me back to the comments in my first paragraph!!
Also, I'm inclined to agree with EX_CG_GM's comments.
WRT to your boat hours questions, in AOPS/TMT hours are only credited on platforms that you are certified on, period. The change was implemented last July (2008).
Originally posted by Ex_CG_GM: Could be worse, you could be eating MRE's three times a day.
When I was stranded in the middle of Louisiana and Rita came through (right after Katrina - those damn b-tches! ) we didn't have water for 4 days (or something) and we had to eat MRE's because nothing else was available. IT WAS DELICIOUS! Heh. I had chicken tetrazzini. I wouldn't complain then.
Let me note however, that I'm not making light of some that have had MRE's and that you do make a valid point. Particularly if eating your MRE you're getting sand in your mouth from the scalding desert.
First off i know i know, my typing skills need to be approved upon, never would have made it as a yn. second good news to report, we got a new fs who defienetly gave you your moneys with at each meal. wasnt as healthy as i prefer but i think i will have to say that drill weekend will be officially cheat weekend and adjust my weeks before and after. this guy was awesome and he seemed like the kind of the fs that takes pride in his creations. Active guys said things are getting better fs wise and the new fs are doing a great job. so stand by to stand by. is anyone having issues with their bm's not getting qualed, our unit is hurting and for the most part we are self relient on the active coxwains
As a non-Bm I can only tell you what I've heard...
Its tough going for reserve BM's qualifying. Its's an extensive qual that takes quite a bit of time for active duty members.
In the "M" field we have a very similar problem with the PSCE qual. It takes active duty members easily 6-8 months to gain this qual. Thats 180 days...six years of IDT and ADT for a reservist. No to mention the difficulty in keeping sharp when you're only doing a boarding max twice once a month, some units maybe one every two or three months.
Good to hear that your galley issues have gotten better.
In regards to being a reserve BM.... Sigh.... Its hard as hell. I've been in over 5 years and within the last year and a half, we finally got a command that thinks its important for reservists to get qualified. I was never one of those sh%$ bag guys who just wanted to sit on my 6 all weekend. I came in wanting to be part of the team, but when you have AD guys who don't want to do anything on the weekend, but have us clean and stand radio watch for them things become quite difficult. Things have made a 180 degree turn since then. I finally got RBS BCM qualified this past July along with 3 other BM3s and an MK1. The issue now is getting coxswain qualified, which takes AD guys the good part of 6 months to do and having to deal with helm hogging coxswains. I ask to get helm time til I'm blue in the face. Is there a better way to get this across to them? That brings about the other major problem with being a reserve BM. You MUST get coxswain qualified to make BM2. Yes, I know there is an RBS school, but you still have to go back to your unit and get the sign offs and prove you are proficient in your AOR. Any other BMs running into or have run into these issues? I'm sure guys like me on here would appreciate any advise. At this point, when my enlistment is up in June I'm going to stop wasting our tax dollars and take it to the house or may transfer to another service.
) we didn't have water for 4 days (or something) and we had to eat MRE's because nothing else was available. IT WAS DELICIOUS! Heh. I had chicken tetrazzini. I wouldn't complain then. 
