So let those who want to eat separately do so, as long as public funding is only directed at the one communal mess facility.
Last time I was at Waddington that was largely what I saw. I popped over to Subway For lunch and the JR’s mess is upstairs. The old folks home mess was shut so they were all messing upstairs in the JRs. What I saw was a packed Subway and Costa and not many going upstairs.
I'm a old fart, but if as a young spoon i'd told an 'old' style catering WO i wanted PAYD (which i did not) he would have righty smacked me round the head, some sowed the seeds that screwed things up for todays troops
The implementation was WRONG!!! That's what the issue was. Basically singlies were being charged approx £5/ day BUT not all the money was used daily. Some of the food could be derisable. Some of the money was put into a pot for OOAs etc. A tad unfair when you consider that married personnel were not paying but living out of this pot when OOA. I know this because a Sgt Chef told me this. Needless to say nobody was showing any empathy to singlies AND STILL forcing them to pay at camps when they were not living there but living out. In training camps like Locking and T055fo0rd, personnel were forced to live-in, despite not living in so were losing money. So to blame only singlies is wrong!! If the contractors produced good food then they would have a captive "audience". Albeit the contractors just wanted to make money and genuinely thought that military personnel are all thick and would pay at the mess because they have been told to, all the while serving cr4P food!!!!
I'm hearing murmurings around regional HR hubs rather than Station/Unit PSFs, you won't even be able to blame a clerk for messing your pay up in person anymore!
Not rumour, is being introduced and will be coming to a region near you in the not too distant future! Numbers within the hubs will no doubt see a reduction in the numbers of HR personnel and a 'your call is important to us' call holding system!!
Damage done to themselves unfortunately. Last station I was at ("Secret Bunker Station with the MOST important trade in the RAF...in their own lunchtimes) it was the worst PSF I ever saw!! Unhelpful, condescending, self-serving, P1s that though they were the Station Commander..all approved by the Witch of a WO that ran the place (Officers were useless of course). When she left it got better, albeit still keeping your guard up. Best one had to be the investigation into themselves as to why one of our lads in a remote place had to pay back GYH(T) mileage. Seems someone in PSF took it upon themselves to change his form and add more mileage. Needless to say HE should have reported this (for the form he couldn't see once submitted of course). Of course the investigation found PSF not-guilty. Currently the station now has as self-serving, useless bint, promoted from AFCO, wreaking havoc as Chief-Clerk.
