OK I've only been in the AF about a little over a year but I have a question.
Being single and living at Travis in the Dorms I'm on a meal card but when the chow hall opens up at 0530 and I have to be on my way to the cargo terminal to arrive at 0545 those of us on meal cards don't have time for breakfast. So we usually grab a donut or something at the gas station. Lunch time rolls around and we are not allowed time to go and grab something to eat or get something to go, so we end up running over to the BX whenever we can get a few minutes and end up paying for something at the food court. Dinner rolls around and once again we are to busy to be allowed to go over to the chow hall so we miss a meal again and end up eating from the BX or someplace else when we get the chance. Is this normal if it is when my time is up I'm getting out of this racket. We do get a chance to go get a hot meal at the chow hall when there is a break loading a plane but not very often. We have brought this up at our meetings but nothing seems to happen to fix our meal situation. I'm not complaining about the work I'd just like a chance to get some food at the chow hall that I don't have to pay out of my pocket. If I was on BAS I wouldn't complain but I can't afford to be in the AF if I'm not going to be able to use my meal card.
Is there anybody on the base that could help us we are not sure who to talk to. Our supervisors don't seem to care.

One option would be for you to stop by your orderly room or finance and ask about a missed meal form. I suggest you make sure you are missing meals due to duty commitments and not personal preference before filling out the paperwork.

Your explanation of missing lunch makes no sense. How can you have less time to go to the dining facility than to the BX food court?

I might have had the same question Segedeth, but it has happened to me also. Course since I'm reservist, I don't have to put up with that for long stretches of time. It's not that there is no time for the airman to get meals, it's just that there maybe no time while the chow hall is open. A load team may be out on an aircraft and can't get back to the ramp shed until after the chow hall closes.

I would agree to fill out the paperwork for miss meals (I also agree that it would be a very good idea to be sure that you missed those meals because of duty and not personal reasons). The immediate benifit would be of course you should be able to get reimbursed for the meals that you need to buy (unexpededly) and a side benifit would be that your command staff would eventually see the pattern of having to pay for meals that should have already been paid (via through your meal card). When they see the loss money (paying for meals twice) on a regular basis, there should be some look at your schedules to at least attempt to find a solution. Or I believe if the issue can't be resolved because of the workload, I believe there's a way to put single airman on BAS

I might suggest you keep a record of the dates, times, and reasons you missed that meals and do the missed meal claims.
After maybe a month of this present a copy of your record to your 1st sgt. and ask for help to resolve this or BAS.
You want to to get your meals then a record will get their attention.

Commanders can authorize BAS for dorm residents but this is not the norm and needs duty-related justification.

freebyrd - I understand what you mean about the hours of operation. I was just a bit confused by our young poster's verbiage.

bullhunter - Great advice... as long as he lets his supervisor know what he is up to beforehand. I've seen sup's get a little upset about troops going to the shirt without letting them know about it.

Keep track of missed meals. I think 20 meals missed is enough for viable reasons to get BAH. I had an airman in Little Rock have the same issue an we went back and fourth over it for months.

12 hour shifts + flightline workers should be a definate BAH. Get with your supervisor and talk with the shirt to explain why you need BAH. If you have a good shirt it should go fast.

Great advice about going to the Sup first. I've always told my Airmen and Sergents that they are free to see the Shirt anytime (as long as the Shirt is ok with it) but I'd like a little heads up first so I wont be blind sided later. Doing end runs around Supervisors are generally not a good idea.

Segedeth is right, it's not the norm, but if the OP is accurate and is paying out of pocket that many meals because of duty related missed meals his Commander should at least be informed so that he can fix the issue.

edited to add.
Just a clarification, inform the Commander through the Shirt, probably wouldn't be a good thing to do an end run around the Shirt either.

Where's your flight kitchen? They serve personnel on the flight line.

I've worked where opportunities for missed meals were high due to ops tempo but it didnt occur. Sups, Shirts and Amn were able to work out something to get meals w/o having to go to missed meals. It's doable and more so if you have an operational FK to help you.

OK to clarify what I said in my first post. There just is not time for breakfast the chow hall opens at 0530 and we are already on the way to work at 0525. 90% of the time we work right through the chow hall hours for lunch and when we do get a few minutes to run and grab a bite we run over to the food court at the BX ( It's definatly not a personal preference). Dinner is pretty much our only meal we can get at the CH since we get off at 1800 and they don't close till 1830. So pretty much we just go hungry for breakfast except for some junk food we grab at the gas station on the way to work from the dorms. Lunch is a 10% possibility for us at the chow hall. Dinner is our only meal card option. The thing about missed meals has been brought up but none of us knows how to go about doing this is this something that we just do on our own and turn in weekly. They have brought up the BAS thing also but nothing ever happens. We really don't have any direction on this when we bring it up at a meeting we are told that it is being looked at and things just keep on going as they have been. Is this normal I mean should we really have to go this route or is this just how life on the ramp is Air Force wide or is this just a Travis thing.

No this wouldn't be a Travis problem. I do think that it's a little strange that a base that size can't have longer hours fro breakfast but I'm not there so I don't really know. Your Orderly room staff would know how to go about filing the miss meal paperwork.

the flight kitchen is definatly an option or might I suggest and this would have to be cleared through your Supervisor. I've known places that have required thier troops to check in before the chow hall opens, but would release them a few at a time after the morning briefing for chow.

If this is happening on a regular basis do bring this up to your supervisor and Shirt. You're Supervisor's primary job of course is to make sure that the mission is complete, but part of that is to make sure that his subordinates are cared for as much as possible this includes making sure that his Airmen don't pass out due to hunger while they are working.

Boxed Nasties are also an option for lunch, not my first choice but hey when you are hungry you're hungry (of course sometimes the cardboard box tastes better).

I can only suggest that you and you're co-workers speak (professionally) with your supervisor. Don't vent, don't whine, don't let your emotions run the meeting. If your supervisor can't come up with a solution, start going to your orderly room for miss meal paperwork and speak with your Shirt.

Flight kitchen is how I have seen a problem like this handeled. The shift supervisor submits the meal form at the beginning of the shift after folks order what they want. He picks it up and delivers the food to all the guys. I can't see how you would miss all three meal periods in a duty day unless you were working 12+ hours every day.

If I am not mistaken, you can't submit missed meal forms home station.

FK opportunities are more flexible than asking the DFAC to change operating hours (by AFI we're only allowed to be open for a set period of hours/weekly and odds are, this issue may only affect a small amount of personnel not warranting a change in service hours)

FK's can write memos with guidance from units requesting services.

For help w/ the FK, go to that facilities NCO and they will work something w/ the SVM (Combat Support Flt OIC) But dont use chow hall or box nasties, those arent recognized duty words.

LOL GTG, box nasties aren't much of a duty meal either Just kidding of course they fill a need. Seriously though, I've always had great things to say about the dining facilities on the bases that I've been assigned to, with one exception (but I won't go there as it was a long time ago).

Caninedale, you may be correct about the miss meals at the home station, but I'm not sure (never had to deal with that).

Regardless the ball is pretty much in the OP hands. If the problem is as bad as he feels that it is, he needs to speak to someone in his command staff and get the issue resolved.

I'm in that same boat, our DFAC hours are
B: 0600 to 0800
L: 1100 to 1300
D: 1600 to 1800

I work from 0545 to 1800 (Panama), during my work days though I usually only get to eat once, and when I asked for a missed meal thingie, my Supervisor said worked through meal wasn't a valid excuse, that someone HAS to go get me food. This worked well and fine when I was with the SF troops who had a roaming patrol that took care of meals, but now as a SrA I'm second to another SrA as far as shift lead goes. We're all just as bad off together. Don't get me started on night shifts, 1745 to 0600. there's a "grab and go" open from 1800 to 2000 but that's nothing but candy and poptarts, with some sodas (water too). Boxed nasties are barely food too, an old sandwich, a water, a soda, candy, and some chips. I have to put up with that for 3 straight months!?

WTF is up with the slave drivers!!!! I understand mission and all but come on getting screwed out of taking a breather at the dining facility to get a decent meal during the day. come on!!!!

BTW this thread isnt to discuss DFAC or FK food quality. IF you have an issue with it, take it up with the NCO ... otherwise its out there and only you can change it with your feedback. If you cant do it yourself (rank/time) then get your Shirt involved.

So if you're in charge (w/ another SrA) that you guys cant empower yourselves (as shift leads) to determine how you're going to fix this issue? What about your subords? Are they missing meals too? How about fixing up your leadership hat and determining what the solution is. At some point SSgt stripes come and its not a miraclous gift of leadership that comes with it.. its something you start now as a SrA.

1) Assume a role in fixing this problem given the barrier of not being allowed to claim missed meals

2) Assume a role in fixing the FK quality problem by gathering other flightline personnel in focusing on quality and food expectations.

DFAC hours are rarely changed due to AFI requirements (so many hours per week) and its a large facility that impacts more than just the 1 population requesting changes.

Oh I've been fighting for 2 years to try and get it, and everytime I send it up the chain they come back with some excuse about the SVS Commander not approving it... I guess that's how it goes. Most of our new troops may be able to GET breakfast but eating it is a whole other story. We have a rule, in fact we recently got paperwork on this, if there is a body at a desk, the phone is on, the only exception being to brief leadership of high priority outtages. So I may GET breakfast but many-a-day goes by that 1100 rolls around and I haven't even touched my breakfast because I've been busy with calls. I've got 1 more month of this so it no longer worries me too much. I guess I'm just whining sorry guys

quote:

Originally posted by AF3C0X1:
Oh I've been fighting for 2 years to try and get it, and everytime I send it up the chain they come back with some excuse about the SVS Commander not approving it... I guess that's how it goes.

Its ok to vent, good to go.

The SVS/CC wont change DFAC hours thats pretty easy to answer there. More than likely, they currently accomodate 90% of the base and your 10% just has to be creative in their food intake.

Learn from these mistakes and if you continue into the higher ranks, you'll know more than what they may know now.

After reading this guys post what really strikes me is that he's not complaining about the work, he's not complaining about long hours, working on weekends, working on holidays, getting sent to the desert I don't hear a single complaint about that.
The guy is just hungry and having to pay out of pocket when he should be getting that meal at no cost. Those taco bell meals add up after awhile especially on an e-2 or e-3's pay. I know a couple of guys that work the ramp over there and pretty much it's all about the mission welfare of the troops comes last over there. All the supervisors are on BAS so they don't care they got their cash. You know what really sucks is that this guy is the guy thats talking to his friends back home that might be thinking about joining up and what do you think he's going to be telling his friends about the way he's treated.
Sounds like the Leadership and Supervisors over on the ramp at Travis are a bunch of SADB's.
It make's me sick to hear the way some of these guys get treated and fall through the cracks.

I would be very vocal about this. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. My first stop would be the shirt, but go in there armed. Have a good 2 weeks of missed meals and explain to him that you don't feel like you are getting fully compensated for your time. He more than likely will handle it on that level. And if he brushes you off(which would be absurd being that this is his job) then take it up the chain. I would be willing to bet someone would get pretty upset knowing that an airman is having to work through chow hall hours and pay for his own food.

Again, let me reiterate... food is part of your pay, don't let this slide. How do you think your supervisor would feel if the air force just decided to take 5-10 dollars a week out of his paycheck?? That is basically what they are doing to you.