Single Quarters & Rations (R&Q) [MERGED]

[armyvern]

If I have a problem with the food at s restaurant, I complain and it gets fixed.  If I complain in a mess hall, I get yelled at by a sgt. They are not the same. It is more akin to prison food (in process if not quality). Prisoners eat for free. Just saying. [emoji6]

I would pay 600 dollars a month to eat at a CF restaurant every day where I ordered off a menu and had my food cooked to order.  Instead, I'll walk into a mess hall see 3 choices I don't like and have to decide if I want to eat food I don't like or order pizza paying twice for the same meal.

I would prefer a debit system.  if you swipe your card you are charged what ever that meal works out to. If you don't want to eat there you aren't charged.

You answered your complaint in your own post.  Prisoners do not eat for free.  We taxpayers pay for it and they cost us a fortune.  They have even less 'choice' than we do.

I would pay 600 dollars a month to eat at a CF restaurant every day where I ordered off a menu and had my food cooked to order.

Yep; and you'd pay 2 grand a month minimum to do that in a restaurant.  Guess you're getting it cheaply comparatively speaking then.  Less choices, but far less cost too...

I would prefer a debit system.  if you swipe your card you are charged what ever that meal works out to. If you don't want to eat there you aren't charged.

And in my near-decade on this site, the reasons why the above is not feasible in the CAF have been addressed upteen times.  The Mess has to prep and order food in as if you ARE going to show up to eat.  They have to have the staff there to cook just in case you show up (and those staff have to get paid even if you don't show up). Two people swipe on Monday lunch, so they cut down the food to 50 or so people based on swipes .... Thursday all 500 of you show up and the whining begins, "what do you mean you don't have any food left/not enough to feed us all.  You damn well should, WE have swipe cards!"  You'd be on here posting a ranty whine in a heartbeat.

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

You answered your complaint in your own post.  Prisoners do not eat for free.  We taxpayers pay for it and they cost us a fortune.  They have even less 'choice' than we do.

Oh Vern,....if only that were true.  Just because I shouldn't use specific numbers I'll go with percentage, at least 20% of them in my facility have special diets that range from vegetarian, no pork, gluten-free, high protein, not to mention how many come in as a *cough* diabetic so they're entitled to more food.

Tangent over.....

 

[armyvern]

Oh Vern,....if only that were true.  Just because I shouldn't use specific numbers I'll go with percentage, at least 20% of them in my facility have special diets that range from vegetarian, no pork, gluten-free, high protein, not to mention how many come in as a *cough* diabetic so they're entitled to more food.

Tangent over.....

Oh; those must be the prisoners that eat for free then. 

 

[KerryBlue]

It's nice you don't see it that way.  I'm being sarcastic.  I actually think you are out of your lane and should STFU.  Just being honest.  University has nothing to do with this and isn't used as a basis of 'anything' in the equation.

Before you start criticizing CF policy too much, maybe think about waiting until you're at least thru the recruiting process.  :

Never in my post was I criticizing polices I have no clue about. All I did was provide an example that for young Pte's with no family, it is cheaper to live in the CF then it is to live on residence at university. I understand your point about someone with a family having a harder time but that was not the point of my post. I apologize for posting outside my lanes, but that was not my intention. Simply providing an example of what something I perceived to be similar as CF R&Q would cost outside the CF world.

 

[OldSolduer]

If I have a problem with the food at s restaurant, I complain and it gets fixed.  If I complain in a mess hall, I get yelled at by a sgt. They are not the same. It is more akin to prison food (in process if not quality). Prisoners eat for free. Just saying. [emoji6]

I would pay 600 dollars a month to eat at a CF restaurant every day where I ordered off a menu and had my food cooked to order.  Instead, I'll walk into a mess hall see 3 choices I don't like and have to decide if I want to eat food I don't like or order pizza paying twice for the same meal.

I would prefer a debit system.  if you swipe your card you are charged what ever that meal works out to. If you don't want to eat there you aren't charged.

I work in a prison and the food from a mess hall is by far superior. As prison employees we have no choice. You eat what's served or your bring your own.
And it's not free, as Vern has eloquently stated.

 

[TCM621]

I work in a prison and the food from a mess hall is by far superior. As prison employees we have no choice. You eat what's served or your bring your own.
And it's not free, as Vern has eloquently stated.

I wasn't comparing quality. It is the institutional nature of the food. The main point is that comparing the mess to a restaurant is an apple to oranges comparison yet it always the one that is brought up.

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

I work in a prison and the food from a mess hall is by far superior. As prison employees we have no choice. You eat what's served or your bring your own.
And it's not free, as Vern has eloquently stated.

Ah Jim,...you need to come work a few weeks at my little Shangri-La place....hehehhehehee

 

[armyvern]

I wasn't comparing quality. It is the institutional nature of the food. The main point is that comparing the mess to a restaurant is an apple to oranges comparison yet it always the one that is brought up.

Funny that you brought up the old, "if I could choose from a menu and have it cooked to order, then I'd pay 600 bucks" or such comments to that effect.

YOU compared it to a restaurant --- I'm merely pointing out the difference in pricing between your 600 and 2 grand a month to have same in a restaurant.  Given your "choose from a menu and have it cooked to order" ... it sure seems like YOU expect restaurant quality and service for 1/4 of the price.

 

[George Wallace]

I wasn't comparing quality. It is the institutional nature of the food. The main point is that comparing the mess to a restaurant is an apple to oranges comparison yet it always the one that is brought up.

Actually, no.  It is not comparing apples and oranges.  There are many restaurants that run Buffets alone or along with table service.  Then again, what would one spend daily eating three 'decent' (not junk) meals in Food Courts?  I am sure the costs would add up.

 

[OldSolduer]

Oh Vern,....if only that were true.  Just because I shouldn't use specific numbers I'll go with percentage, at least 20% of them in my facility have special diets that range from vegetarian, no pork, gluten-free, high protein, not to mention how many come in as a *cough* diabetic so they're entitled to more food.

Tangent over.....

Same issues here. The food really is crap though.

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

Not at my place........extremely good.
Hey,...it's 'treatment'. ;D

 

[TCM621]

Funny that you brought up the old, "if I could choose from a menu and have it cooked to order, then I'd pay 600 bucks" or such comments to that effect.

YOU compared it to a restaurant --- I'm merely pointing out the difference in pricing between your 600 and 2 grand a month to have same in a restaurant.  Given your "choose from a menu and have it cooked to order" ... it sure seems like YOU expect restaurant quality and service for 1/4 of the price.

I was responding to a restaurant comparison. When people say 600 is cheap compared to a restaurant, I say mess food can't compare to a full menu, cooked to order food, the right to complain about quality and service, etc. Quality is a whole different argument.  I have had some great mess food and mess food I wouldn't feed to my dogs. Most recently I watched a mess go from damn near un-eatable to pretty darn decent when a new galley I/C was posted in. I also know that there are some fantastically talented CAF cooks out there. So I want to make clear, I am not disparaging the effort of the Cook trade.

The problem is that forcing someone to spend more than what they may spend in groceries, for food over which they have no say in the choice, quality or service of, particularly when they are supporting a family somewhere else is ridiculous.

That is not to say that their haven't been some improvements along those lines. Lunch time sandwich lines have been a staple for years now and many mess offer some type of A la carte menu such as a pasta bar or pizza slices. These options make the problem of only being able to make a limited number of entrees a little less of an issue by offering an easy option for choice. More invovation along this line would be great.

Also service is a huge thing. Friendly kitchen staff go a long way to making mess eating enjoyable. It's institutional food and there is only so much you can do to improve that. But when you are getting your slightly over cooked lasagna from a guy with a smile on his face you don't care so much. When the lady behind the counter attempt to give you a steak that is close to the way you like it, you appreciate it.

OK I'm all over the place.  Time to stop rambling.

 

[Tibbson]

Seeing as they have done away with Separation Expense, the only thing that you will get is "Free Quarters" but you will still have to pay for Rations.

If they have done away with separation expense then why do I have this claim I submit each month while I am at my new posting whille my family remained behind and we wait to try to sell our home?  And no, I'm not on IR, it clearly says separation expenses and the pay office even advanced me the money.  That starts in March for me.  Am I getting these 6 months of separation expenses through Brookfield or did they not actually do away with it as you noted?  Now I'm confused.

 

[Madjai]

They definitely still have SE.  I'm on course now and the BOR gave me the form that says, right at the top, "Separation Expense", so I don't have to pay for my quarters while my service spouse and primary residence is elsewhere.

 

[Eye In The Sky]

So you are going to receive the SE $ allowance, or is it just the form you still fill out so you don't pay for rations? There is a difference.

 

[TCM621]

They definitely still have SE.  I'm on course now and the BOR gave me the form that says, right at the top, "Separation Expense", so I don't have to pay for my quarters while my service spouse and primary residence is elsewhere.

SE now only entitles you to quarters at public expense. It used to include rations and daily incidentals. It was a tough blow to lose 500 dollars a month in incidentals and gain a 500 dollar bill for rations. The kicker was that the ones who could choose to go on IR still got a pretty good deal as they could delink rations and in many cases live on  the economy in an apartment. The ones that had no choice, ie privates and Jr officers in the training system, had to pay rations and stay in (normally) shared accommodations.

 

[Madjai]

The worst part is all the OT's (previously Reg Force) are getting full TD.  Kind of a slap in the face.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

The worst part is all the OT's (previously Reg Force) are getting full TD.  Kind of a slap in the face.

Why? They've already been there and got the T shirt. They are granted the TD rights under Treasury Board rules. If you haven't quite figured it out yet, the military is NOT an equal opportunity employer. I would surmise though, that if down the road, you decide to OT, you'll have an epiphany and it will all become clear when you're on full TD yourself

 

[Eye In The Sky]

The worst part is all the OT's (previously Reg Force) are getting full TD.  Kind of a slap in the face.

If they are OTs they've reached career status, are posted to a unit vice TE, etc.  That has benefits.

 

[jbird747]

Hey all,

I am a Reg Force VOT, 14+ years in, maintain a residence, married with two kids.  I am ATTACH POSTED to Kingston from Halifax for seven months for training. 

Am I entitled to R&Q at public expense like the above posts say?  I've looked everywhere, and asked a few clerks and no one seems to know for sure.  If someone could provide me with a reference, that'd be awesome.

Thanks