MARCH 11, 2025 — Recent news reports have advanced misleading or incorrect information about the Army’s Basic Allowance for Subsistence, also known as BAS. Several Army senior leaders and subject matter experts have provided insight to better explain how the process works.
What many Soldiers know as the meal card plan is officially titled Essential Station Messing (ESM) in the Army. DoD requires all services to collect payment for the ESM program to provide to dining facility meal plans for Soldiers living in barracks or similar government quarters. Most Army installations with dining facilities (DFACs) require Soldiers living in barracks to be on ESM, since many barracks are not equipped for adequate meal preparation. ESM ensures access to meals at DFACs.
Soldiers on ESM status forgo a portion of BAS entitlement for meal plans. The transaction appears on their Leave and Earning Statements, where the BAS reduction for the meal plan is shown, and about $65 is paid directly to the Soldiers for their personal use. The Army’s approach to BAS and providing meal plans comes from Department of Defense directives and U.S. law, which is why it is consistent with the other military services.
“A common misconception about BAS is that it goes into a fund that the Army can use at its discretion. That’s not the case,” said Lt. Gen. Brian Eifler, U.S. Army Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1.
“There’s no account where the Army stores BAS entitlement funds. And the Army cannot reallocate BAS funds to any other requirements or programs.”
“As a matter of fact, if the Army had to depend on ESM BAS to fund the food we provide Soldiers, it wouldn’t be enough,” he continued.
Even just accounting for costs like maintaining food service staff, preparing the food, providing a place to eat, equipment and supplies can easily exceed a billion dollars annually. Although the Army pays those kinds of expenses from different appropriations, it’s still part of the total cost of providing food for Soldiers.
The Army develops its DFAC budget like the commercial sector. It identifies how much funding it needs to feed Soldiers, based on historical patterns of use, to ensure it doesn’t order more than it expects its Soldiers will eat. The Army then requests funding from Congress to support the forecasted DFAC requirements.
“However, as we all know, ESM Soldiers don’t always eat at the DFAC for any number of reasons,” Eifler said. “It might be because of operational tempo requirements, field exercises, deployments, annual leave and passes or just personal choice.
“But we also know ESM is a critical resource for many Soldiers in the barracks. That’s why there’s a significant effort underway to make sure the ESM program meets our Soldiers’ needs. That starts with understanding what those needs are and making appropriate adjustments. That’s what Army Materiel Command has been working on.”
AMC is leading food modernization efforts through new initiatives and programs to drive change in how, when and where Soldiers eat.
In 2023, the Army established an Army Food Program Board of Directors, which led to a team of experts hitting the road to get feedback from Soldiers, culinary specialists, and leaders across more than 35 installations. They even partnered with professional chef and author Robert Irvine to serve as a special consultant to the board.
They also conducted surveys and focus groups to get Soldiers and food service professionals’ perspectives. Flexible options and accessibility, including better operating hours, have been the most requested improvements by Soldiers.
In response to the feedback, the Army expanded the use of food trucks, bistros, meal-prep programs and 24-hour self-service kiosks. AMC is also exploring other innovative options, such as campus-style dining models.
“We know we need to change our existing model and launch efforts forward exponentially,” said Lt. Gen. Chris Mohan, Army Materiel Command deputy commanding general and acting commander of AMC. We are exploring ways to leverage industry partnerships with culinary experts and are learning lessons from college campuses and other similar food operations to see ourselves from all perspectives.
This generational overhaul is necessary, Mohan said, to bring dining expectations in line with what troops are telling the Army they want, current industry standards, and, most importantly, what they deserve and what the service owes them.
By U.S. Army Public Affairs