# Life in the military?



## Khaalid (4 Jul 2013)

I'm just curious to how many meals a day you get? and what kind of meals do they serve you typically? and when you're deployed how are the meals there too, and how much do you get? 

also this is probably silly, but how do you workout when you get deployed (weight training) ? do they provide gyms for training when you're deployed?


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## fake penguin (4 Jul 2013)

I was a reservist ,but what I could tell you is when I was on course or on exercise I got three meals a day.


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## mariomike (4 Jul 2013)

Khaalid said:
			
		

> I'm just curious to how many meals a day you get? and what kind of meals do they serve you typically? and when you're deployed how are the meals there too, and how much do you get?



FOOD
http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/12950.0/nowap.html

Good food in the Army??  
http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/36990.0/nowap.html

How‘s the food?
http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/13722.0/nowap.html

What's the food like?
http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/96247.0.html

Food, MRE‘s
http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/2003.0


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## Verge1993 (4 Jul 2013)

I know when I was in the reserves it was honestly the best food I've ever ate in my life. We had stuff like Roast beef dinner, turkey dinner, poutine, Make your own sub(every kind of meat and toppings), etc. I love the food. Now the IMPs are discusting. I don't like any of them


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## JorgSlice (4 Jul 2013)

Verge1993 said:
			
		

> I know when I was in the reserves it was honestly the best food I've ever ate in my life. We had stuff like Roast beef dinner, turkey dinner, poutine, Make your own sub(every kind of meat and toppings), etc. I love the food. Now the IMPs are discusting. I don't like any of them



Heretic!

IMPs are AWESOME!

MREs on the other hand... Not so much.


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## UnwiseCritic (4 Jul 2013)

As long as its warm, trying to thaw cabbage roles in the crevasses on a snowshoe ruck doesn't work very well.

In all seriousness the food in general is pretty good. There's to much pizza and French fries offered. And make sure to save those chocolate bars. 3 meals a day is fine as long as your not up all night.


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## Verge1993 (4 Jul 2013)

UnwiseCritic said:
			
		

> As long as its warm, trying to thaw cabbage roles in the crevasses on a snowshoe ruck doesn't work very well.
> 
> In all seriousness the food in general is pretty good. There's to much pizza and French fries offered. And make sure to save those chocolate bars. 3 meals a day is fine as long as your not up all night.




I'm a huge french fries lover. That's one thing I love about the food, they are offered a lot!


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## Khaalid (4 Jul 2013)

what if you're trying to live a bodybuilding lifestyle, and want to consume at least 4-5 meals a day, how would this work? and i'm also a slow eater


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## Delaney1986 (4 Jul 2013)

While you're on course or in the field that's probably not a very realistic goal. However, I know plenty of people who make/find time to nourish themselves appropriately for bodybuilding in garrison. It might be a bit more difficult if you are living off of rations as from what I hear there aren't as many healthy options available - but I've never eaten mess food so I don't know for sure (and it's 3 meals a day as far as I know). IMPs are very high in calories - I'm assuming to ensure that you have enough energy to burn off and keep you going in the field.

As for deployments - I'm pretty sure it would depend on where you are deployed but when my husband was in Afghanistan they have three meals a day and there was a gym on the base they had access to in their spare time. Weight machines, cardio stuff, etc.

You're gonna have to get over that "slow eater" business from what I hear, lol. Apparently in basic you won't have enough time to eat some days and will learn fast to shovel it in. I too am a slow eater so it will be interesting to see how that works out for me.


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## Khaalid (4 Jul 2013)

So does anyone know if they balance out the meals with how much protein, and calories per meal?

thanks for all the help so far


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## Delaney1986 (4 Jul 2013)

If you mean do they give you a protein, etc., in each meal than I'm pretty sure they try to do that. Like I said, it depends on where you are and what you are doing. 

Sometimes you will have access to the mess which is usually set up cafeteria style and you can pick and choose to a point what you eat. Sometimes you will be eating IMPs, less choice with those unless someone wants to trade (or they just order all the same and then you're screwed). Sometimes you will be given box lunches which could have sandwiches and salads, etc. An acquaintance was in Bosnia clearing mines and they were brought box lunches made by locals - _apparently_ they didn't know what to do with the bacon when the sandwiches were made and it was raw :facepalm:

So I guess you never know what you're gonna get!


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## Khaalid (4 Jul 2013)

do they accommodate people who can't eat pork? or provide halal or kosher meat?


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## Delaney1986 (4 Jul 2013)

Not sure about that. They do have food accommodation options for vegetarians though.


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## GeorgeD (4 Jul 2013)

Khaalid said:
			
		

> do they accommodate people who can't eat pork? or provide halal or kosher meat?



If I remember correctly there are josher IMPs. As far as I know the IMPs are balanced so as to provide you with the energy to function in the field, just dont throw anything out(bread, peanut butter, jelly etc...) as it is always a good snack if you are up at night.


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## dimsum (4 Jul 2013)

Khaalid said:
			
		

> do they accommodate people who can't eat pork? or provide halal or kosher meat?



Yes.  I've served with Muslims and they have had little problem avoiding pork.  Sometimes they just have to eat the vegetarian selection though.


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## mariomike (4 Jul 2013)

Khaalid said:
			
		

> do they accommodate people who can't eat pork? or provide halal or kosher meat?



"Just because foods that are acceptable to the Jewish/Muslim diet are available does not mean that they are Kosher or Halal.  Preparation is a key element to Kosher and  Halal foods and CF cooks are not trained in Kosher or Halal preparation.  Nor do we have the facilities to be able to offer Kosher or Halal meals (require separate preparation areas and in many cases separate dishes, utensils, etc.)  We do not have a sufficiently high enough population of either Jews or Muslims in the CF to make this feasible.  Can we prepare pork free meals?  Yes.  Are they Kosher or Halal?  No."

"As of this moment, the only separate dietary requirements that are protected by regulation are those for medical reasons as prescribed by a medical doctor.  Having said that, we try to be reasonably accomodating to the point that we don't simply point to the salad bar if there is a request for more vegetarian options.

Food on board ship and in field kitchens is prepared to at least the same standard as on bases and in many cases is even higher."

"The limiting factor in ships and field kitchens is the availability of supplies.  Sometimes, things are just not available and so options and choices are limited.  When you run out of fresh fruit and vegetables, you just have to make do with pasta salad until you get re-supplied."
http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/96247/post-967309.html#msg967309
Reply #10



			
				Khaalid said:
			
		

> do they provide gyms for training when you're deployed?



If on a ship...

Gyms on Ships  
http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/38761.0.html


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## MikeL (4 Jul 2013)

Khaalid said:
			
		

> I'm just curious to how many meals a day you get? and what kind of meals do they serve you typically? and when you're deployed how are the meals there too, and how much do you get?
> 
> also this is probably silly, but how do you workout when you get deployed (weight training) ? do they provide gyms for training when you're deployed?



In garrison it is 3 meals a day.  In the field, the cooks will sometimes have a midnight meal for shift workers, etc - this could be a freshly cooked meal, soup, or dinner left overs.  You can eat as healthy or as unhealthy as you want depending on what you choose to eat.

When you are overseas, you will have 3-4 meals a day.  What the meals are will vary if you are in a large camp with cooks, or a small outpost eating IMPs/MREs with the occasional fresh food.  As for gyms, depends where you go(large base, or small) and if you are on roto 0 or roto 5, etc.  When I was in Afghanistan, KAF had numerous gyms(a Canadian one, US one, etc), FOB Wilson had a decent one as well, in the COP we made up our own gym with materials we had available.

No idea what it is like when deployed on a ship, but I would assume the kitchen cooks 3-4 meals a day for everyone.



			
				Khaalid said:
			
		

> what if you're trying to live a bodybuilding lifestyle, and want to consume at least 4-5 meals a day, how would this work? and i'm also a slow eater



The mess hall will not cook up extra meals during the day for you.  If you want to consume more food, by yourself a fridge for your barracks room and keep extra food, protein shakes, etc there - this applies for when you are posted to your unit and not on course.  Also, don't expect to be able to have a "body builder" life style while on course and being able to eat when ever you want, go to the gym to lift, when you want, etc.



			
				Khaalid said:
			
		

> So does anyone know if they balance out the meals with how much protein, and calories per meal?



You decide what you want on your plate, you pick a entree(chicken breast, steak, pasta, etc) and choose from the sides they offer(rice, potatoes, cooked/steamed vegetables), once off the serving line you can go to other stations and get yogurt,  salad, vegetables, fruit, dessert, etc.  The selection and quality of the food will vary from base to base - IMO the food is better when the kitchen is run by CF Cooks and not civilians.

From my experience, the cooks will generally only give you one entree at a time, but you can go up again afterwards and get more food.


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## Khaalid (4 Jul 2013)

ok sounds good, thanks for answering all my quesions


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## aarontoles (4 Jul 2013)

I know as far as gym facilities there was some sort of 'weight room' every place I was in afganistan. In KAF there was one of the nicest gyms Iv ever seen beside Canada house, and the even the smallest PSS had some sort of home made work out area that was more than adequate for staying in shape.


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## Fishbone Jones (4 Jul 2013)

There's already a ton of threads on "what is life in the military like", "what are the meals like", "what is it like to sleep with twenty guys" and just the plain ethereal "what is life".

I'm sure mariomike, the resident Verbindungsmaster, will be along shortly to provide the links.


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## PAdm (5 Jul 2013)

My comment, with respect, is that there comes a time when you must accommodate the  CF vice the CF accommodating you.  Under certain circumstances, life in the CF can suck. Other times it can be awesome. Roto 0 is vastly different from Roto 6.


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## Khaalid (5 Jul 2013)

PAdm said:
			
		

> My comment, with respect, is that there comes a time when you must accommodate the  CF vice the CF accommodating you.  Under certain circumstances, life in the CF can suck. Other times it can be awesome. Roto 0 is vastly different from Roto 6.



Under what kind of circumstances can it suck for example? What's Roto 0 and Roto 6?


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## PAdm (5 Jul 2013)

Khaalid said:
			
		

> Under what kind of circumstances can it suck for example? What's Roto 0 and Roto 6?



You missed my point and my not so subtle advice to a young, slow eating, 5 meal a day, body building lifestyle person contemplating life in the CF.  I am not getting involved with your trolling.  Good luck with whatever you choose to do in life.


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## MikeL (5 Jul 2013)

Khaalid said:
			
		

> What's Roto 0 and Roto 6?



Roto 0 is the first rotation into a new theatre of operations.  After Roto 0 comes Roto 1, then Roto 2, etc. 

As for ways it sucks, and the difference in accomodations between rotos, etc look for pictures of Kandahar Airfield in 2002, compared to photos of Kandahar Airfield in 2010.

The CF will not accommodate your every want and desire for multiple meals a day, large gyms in every location you go to so you can work out, etc


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## secondchance (5 Jul 2013)

Verge1993 said:
			
		

> I'm a huge french fries lover. That's one thing I love about the food, they are offered a lot!


 Is it healthy?


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## The Bread Guy (5 Jul 2013)

Khaalid:


			
				PAdm said:
			
		

> .... there comes a time when you must accommodate the  CF vice the CF accommodating you ....





			
				-Skeletor- said:
			
		

> ....The CF will not accommodate your every want and desire for multiple meals a day, large gyms in every location you go to so you can work out, etc


Geddit?


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## Khaalid (6 Jul 2013)

ya i understand


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## peterpan (17 Jul 2013)

unless your airforce!   LOL 
 :cheers:


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## Jarnhamar (17 Jul 2013)

Khaalid said:
			
		

> Under what kind of circumstances can it suck for example?



Seriously?


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## UnwiseCritic (17 Jul 2013)

secondchance said:
			
		

> Is it healthy?



I thought verge was being sarcastic, I really, really hope he was.


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## DAA (17 Jul 2013)

Khaalid said:
			
		

> do they accommodate people who can't eat pork? or provide halal or kosher meat?



I had experience on this one first hand.  Jr NCM living in shacks, submitted a request under religious accommodation to be provided with kosher meals from the mess.

End result......the kitchen would have had to set up a completely separate food preparation and cooking area, provide special training for the cooks which made it "cost prohibitive".  Request denied.


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## Verge1993 (17 Jul 2013)

UnwiseCritic said:
			
		

> I thought verge was being sarcastic, I really, really hope he was.




I was not sarcastic in anything I said, I love the food they serve.  ;D


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## UnwiseCritic (17 Jul 2013)

Well it's just that you mentioned you like how much they serve French fries... Something I think they shouldn't do. Too many people eat them all the time. Try a salad people. 53% of the CF is overweight. I'm not sure if that's based on BMI or not. And the source of my info. Those torturous Christmas week long briefings.


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## Fishbone Jones (17 Jul 2013)

UnwiseCritic said:
			
		

> Well it's just that you mentioned you like how much they serve French fries... Something I think they shouldn't do. Too many people eat them all the time. Try a salad people. 53% of the CF is overweight. I'm not sure if that's based on BMI or not. And the source of my info. Those torturous Christmas week long briefings.



A lot of people join the military to get away from their mothers and her advice.


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## UnwiseCritic (17 Jul 2013)

recceguy said:
			
		

> A lot of people join the military to get away from their mothers and her advice.



Haha, Yea I guess that's how it sounds. I sent him a pm with some legitimate reasons as to why he should eat healthy. Trying to set up the new guys for success. As the CF as a whole doesn't do it very well. Too scared to step on people's toes.


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## PAdm (18 Jul 2013)

UnwiseCritic said:
			
		

> Well it's just that you mentioned you like how much they serve French fries... Something I think they shouldn't do. Too many people eat them all the time. Try a salad people. 53% of the CF is overweight. I'm not sure if that's based on BMI or not. And the source of my info. Those torturous Christmas week long briefings.



Coming soon to a Canex near you - the "Try a Salad, People" motivational t-shirt line....


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## UnwiseCritic (18 Jul 2013)

PAdm said:
			
		

> Coming soon to a Canex near you - the "Try a Salad, People" motivational t-shirt line....



:rofl:. I will make that t-shirt and wear it at the gym.


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## peterpan (18 Jul 2013)

ok can we move on now, I am getting hungry! op:


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