My brother was a mess crank in the Navy. After he was kicked out for popping positive on a piss test, he became certified as a chef and worked in that field for a while. He served on a destroyer. I couldn't imagine trying to cook on a bobber like that.

I will say, in my experience, Army chow halls are the best. I've eaten in a lot of them around the country, and the world, and they always lay out some good chow. Navy shipboard messes aren't bad. The Kitty Hawk had a good mess deck. The Kennedy was hit and miss. When they missed, it was terrible. The worst part was looking past the cockroaches. I used to tell the new guys to not look at the food, just eat it. Seeing your beef Yakisoba with veins and tendons sticking out can be a little unappetizing.

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