© U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Osvaldo MartinezSoldiers line up for a meal at Fort Drum
The Army is repurposing more than half of the money it collects from junior enlisted soldiers for food, according to data reviewed by Military.com. The numbers suggest that a large portion of those funds are not going toward feeding soldiers, a diversion of resources coming at a time when troops increasingly struggle to find nutritious food on base.
The money is collected in what amounts to a tax on troops -- taken from their Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS) payments, roughly $460 per month that is automatically deducted from the paychecks of service members who live in barracks and is intended to help cover food costs. For junior enlisted troops who earn about $30,000 annually, the cost can be consequential.
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.
How to feed the force is an equation service planners continue to grapple with. In 2023, Military.com reported that Fort Cavazos, Texas -- the Army's most extensive base -- was barely able to keep its food services running for much of that summer, with only two of its 10 dining facilities open, leaving soldiers struggling to find meals.
In November last year, the publication reported pervasive food shortages at Fort Carson, Colorado. Soldiers were fed meals that were just a slice of toast and lima beans, troops told Military.com.
© Image provided by Hots & CotsSoldiers were recently served toast and lima beans for dinner at Fort Carson
Military.com reviewed the menus at those kiosks and found that it's virtually impossible for soldiers to stay within healthy nutrition guidelines, with most offerings being heavy in sugar and low in protein. The service's previous top enlisted leader, Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Grinston, sought to heavily invest in healthy foods, seeking to feed soldiers more like professional athletes and dramatically expand meal options to include fresh protein shakes. But those efforts never came to fruition after getting snagged in bureaucratic difficulties.
Comment: Where has one heard that before? Everywhere, when a forward-thinking individual tries to buck an entrenched, and likely corrupt system.
© Sgt. Elizabeth White/U.S. Army photoSoldiers with the 3rd Infantry Division shop at the Culinary Outpost Kiosk, Feb. 4, 2019, at Fort Stewart, Ga.
Army officials declined to answer detailed, or even broad, questions about how so much money is diverted and how budgets for food are decided. The service also declined to make any senior officials available on the record for interviews.
Maj. Andrea Kelly, an Army spokesperson, told Military.com in a statement the service only uses funds "needed to feed the projected number of meals based on previous head counts," meaning historic attendance at dining facilities dictates how much food is purchased.
In the past, service officials have pointed to a lack of attendance at Army dining facilities, saying resources are continually stripped because of a perception of dwindling interest.
Reports from service members frequently describe undercooked meat, unseasoned meals, a lack of fresh ingredients, and unhealthy menu options. The substandard, and sometimes dangerous, food in turn leads to fewer soldiers using the facilities -- a downward spiral that results in even less money being spent on meals.
"The Army should be making improvements," said Rob Evans, the creator of Hots & Cots, a Yelp-style app where soldiers review military housing and dining facilities. "You wouldn't use this logic with recruiting. The Army doesn't take away recruiting resources just because of a bad year."
The issue is not new. In 2020, Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, who has since left Congress, pressed then-Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy on the matter during a budget hearing, saying the Army is either "wasting half the food, or the money is not being spent on the soldiers' food and it's being spent on something it's not appropriated for." However, there was seemingly no follow-up to that inquiry, which came just before the COVID-19 pandemic.
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
- Money collected from soldiers: $18.2 million
- Money spent on food: $3.9 million
- Money collected from soldiers: $22 million
- Money spent on food: $5 million
- Money collected from soldiers: $19.1 million
- Money spent on food: $5.1 million
- Money collected from soldiers: $22 million
- Money spent on food: $11 million
- Money collected from soldiers: $42.5 million
- Money spent on food: $11.7 million
- Money collected from soldiers: $34.6 million
- Money spent on food: $16.6 million
- Money collected from soldiers: $18 million
- Money spent on food: $5.1 million
- Money collected from soldiers: $14.5 million
- Money spent on food: $5.3 million
- Money collected from soldiers: $9 million
- Money spent on food: $3 million
- Money collected from soldiers: $7.5 million
- Money spent on food: $4 million
Reader Comments
Big surprise. DOGE will follow the money to where it did go.
Although I have a suspicion the cartel gang members are better equipped and fed.
BAS is provided in lieu of free meals at the mess hall – and in addition to their base salary – for married service members, or those who live off-base, so that they can buy groceries for their household.
When the service member eats at a mess hall, they are then asked to pay for their meals from their BAS – they also have the option to brown bag it, and many do.
As for where the money goes, is there a law that says it must be spent on food?
We "should" be driving on roads paved with gold (or at least a material that does not need to be replaced every 3-5 years), but because there is no constitutional directive that says the highway trust cannot be raided by Congress it is.
Social Security "should" be flush with funds, but because the Congress started raided the Social Security trust as soon as they created it, it is not.
Doing something with which others disagree is not a scandal, it is a disagreement.
Just like USAID's spending; people may disagree with its expenditures, but the Foreign Assistance Act is written so broadly (and expanded by nearly administration) that almost nothing is out of bounds.
If, in fact, the diversion of lunch money to other expenditures is a violation of DoD or Army regulations or Public Law, then we have a scandal.