Back when I was a battery commander, my first sergeant and I were the last to eat while out in the field. Additionally, on the last morning, he would cook eggs to order and I cooked the French toast.

I went to Infantry OCS at Benning in 1967 & was commissioned in Jan 1968. Never did I eat before those of a lower rank.

For sailors, it’s different. The Officers have their own mess. They pay for their food, where we enlisted don’t.

I was called to the wardroom once during chow and everyone assembled there was waiting for the Captain to get his food and begin eating.

When the Captain would come thru our chow line, he always waited until the last man had eaten. Sometimes other officer would do the same-I guess they didn’t like what was being served in the wardroom that day.

When I was in the Marine Corps the enlisted ate first, then the NCOs, Staff NCOs, then the officers.

To this day, I eat last.

Doesn’t matter who I’m with.

There is a popular business book called "Leaders Eat Last"

If you find a leader/manager in the business world who eats last, keep them as your manager.

By the way, the author of the book is well known, but my feeling is he is out of touch with reality in much of his writings. He lives in a make-believe world, IMHO.

Army officer as well. In the field 100%, not only does it set a good example but often time stuff runs out. If someone is going to get stuck with just salad, bread and gravy that can be me.

Other occasions as often as practicable. With large established mess halls you just get in line, if you kept going to the back anytime a lower rank shows up you’ll never eat. However if there are soldiers coming off or about to go outside the wire or on duty they can go ahead of me.

Social occasions, Im nowhere near 1st but I’m also not going to wait a half hour twiddling my thumbs for the few soldiers talking and drinking beers to decide to get food.

I assume the Marines are same, Navy and Air Force not so much. Though in the AF it is officers who go into combat while the enlisted all stay safe on base so there’s that.

I was enlisted. I think that officers should eat first.

In the Olde Days, food tasters ate before the King.

You know, because maybe poison.

I can got damp guarantee that (then) CPT Dick Winters didn't eat before ANY of the rest of his Company or Battalion was fed.

Retired USAF 0-5. Always first take care of the troops (NCOs and enlisted). Unfortunately by the mid-1990s this was fading.

Never place yourself as a leader in a position to take from your men. I eat last. When recently deployed the enlisted went ahead of all the officers with me. They were pissed I did not give a damm. Most were LTC or MAJ. I told them tuff Shit

Officers always last and always serving at holiday meals.

quote:

Originally posted by LoboGunLeather:


I remember a few times in Vietnam when we received resupplies in the field. I stood guard on the C-rations and allowed each guy a turn to select what he wanted until everything was taken. Otherwise one guy at the end of the line would have had nothing but Ham & Lima Beans, and nobody wanted that crap.

Our platoon field mess drill in Viet Nam, which was there when I got there and remained when I left, was that the guide picked up rations from wherever they sprang, cut the top off the card board case and turn it upside down (labels were on the top). Junior man picked first, platoon commander, me, picked last and there you were. Of course if you got apricots from the fruit stack you were well and truly fucked because you had to toss them into the bush because as everyone knew apricots drew incoming. The cans got tossed intact because we figured it would draw incoming for Mr. Charles too.

You were also fucked if you drew ham and Lima beans because they tasted like ass and nobody would trade with you except for apricots which you had to throw in the bush. They were routinely referred to as Ham and Mother-fuckers. Sometimes Marines can be very crude.

In WWII, the gedunk bar, slang for ice cream bar, was one of the most popular places to be.

The Navy allowed men to have as much ice cream as they wanted, and so the ships that made ice cream, the concrete gedunk cruisers, cranked out almost 5,000 gallons of the dairy treat…per hour.

One muggy afternoon in the Pacific, two freshly minted ensigns aboard the battleship New Jersey, the flagship of the Third Fleet, decided they wanted some ice cream. Unfortunately, the gedunk line was interminably long, with dozens of sailors waiting patiently for their turn at the ice cream bar. Immensely conscious of their exalted rank, the two decided to jump ahead in the line.

When they tried to cut in at the head of the line, saying “Gangway for officers,” there was grumbling in the ranks behind them. Then a strong voice rose above those of the other men in line, calling out, “Get back where you belong!” with a few expletives thrown in for added force.

Just as the two brand new officers were about to deliver a severe dressing-down to the insubordinate sailor who dared to challenge their authority, a rather stocky, craggy-faced fellow stepped out to confront them.

It was none other than William F. Halsey, aka “Bull” Halsey, who ranked just “slightly” above them as full admiral and commander of the Third Fleet. “Bull” was patiently waiting for his turn in the gedunk bar line and wasn’t about to tolerate this sort of arrogant selfishness.

quote:

Originally posted by Strambo:
Though in the AF it is officers who go into combat while the enlisted all stay safe on base so there’s that.

Wait, what? My own brother in law was AF enlisted and was in combat hanging out the door of an AF helicopter. This was years ago, but I believe the 2 guys sitting in the back are still enlisted on an AF helicopter crew.

Leaders eat last.

When I was in the Marines, Officers and SNCO's ate first while in garrison, and ate last in the field.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Hound Dog:
Reminds me of a story. General George Kenney, IIRC, in the Pacific Army Air Forces. There was a line for the mess hall, and some new Lieutenant just strolls to the front of the line cutting off dozens of (mostly) enlisted waiting to eat. There was a *ahem* sound, and the LT turned around and saw the 3-star standing in line, waiting just like everybody else. He said something to the effect of "Hey, Lt, come over and stand in line with me." I don't think they recorded what that conversation was like, but knowing Gen Kenney's reputation, it was a valuable learning experience for the Lt. . .


I saw the same story, except it was Admiral Halsey and some Marines.

quote:

Originally posted by MikeinNC:
For sailors, it’s different. The Officers have their own mess. They pay for their food, where we enlisted don’t.

I was called to the wardroom once during chow and everyone assembled there was waiting for the Captain to get his food and begin eating.

When the Captain would come thru our chow line, he always waited until the last man had eaten. Sometimes other officer would do the same-I guess they didn’t like what was being served in the wardroom that day.

More likely they were carrying out a duty. When I was Food Service Officer on a radar site, I was required by regulations to eat each of the 4 meals served in the Dining Hall twice a week, to insure that the meals were of proper quality. I suspect the naval officers you saw were doing a similar thing.

flashguy

Leaders eat last, even it means you don't get to eat at all.