Living on The Boat

[Minnesota Tomcat]

Of course you could also just go VP or VQ (or VRC until they get plopters and are stuck on the boat, at least that is what I heard) then you get this thing called per diem that kind of makes up for having to pay for real meals served to you in real restaurants. Such is life....

Per Diem is the term I remember. When I lived off base Per Diem is what I got to pay for my meals. I never heard of the term BAS. It's something new to me.

On small boys we ran out of food. I never saw more food in my life than on the carrier.

So it costs some money, and maybe the E's get some sort of break. Good for them.

On the Forrestal we had two enlisted galleys, the general mess and the 'slider line'. I had to choice between normal food or hamburgers and fries.

 

[BackOrdered]

On small boys we ran out of food. I never saw more food in my life than on the carrier.

I'll never forget ordering a certain popular bulk item on a small boy for a month underway, only to have the supplier on "game day" tell me the CVN made a big order and my stuff was diverted to the CVN to fill it, sorry.

 

[pilot_man]

Be careful what you wish for. Most SWO officers make out on the deal of collecting BAS every month, regardless of duty status, since BAS is intended to subsidize food eaten at government mess facilities. Even on sea duty, if the ship is inport you're usually eating lunch every weekday (~$140) plus the meals when on duty...the whole bill ends up coming to about $175-200/mo. depending on the duty rotation. That means you get to pocket about $75 of tax-free money to use however you like. Alternatively, if you decided to order out for lunch or bring your own sandwich from the supermarket, you can apply your BAS to that instead of automatically losing that money for not eating at a mess facility. Many officers on shore duty don't use government mess facilities at all, yet continue to collect BAS.

If you wanted the Navy to be uptight about paying for the meals you actually sit to eat U/W, they could come back and get uptight about withdrawing BAS when you are not using government mess facilities. That means you don't get BAS at all, you will just swipe the card when eating on the boat or base galley 'for free,' which would be a net loss for most people. Personally, I'm okay with paying a little extra underway knowing that I'm getting the better deal in the long-run.

My BAS is not tied to food eaten at government mess facilities, either on ship or off. My comments are geared to the majority here who aren't attached to a ship while it's in port. As in, I am on sea duty but this only applies to me when I deploy onto USS Ship. Your whole discussion about eating on ship during the week is useless.

Again, BAS is not tied to eating at a government mess so I'm not sure where you are going with this. My Per diem rates are tied to what kind of services a location has but not my BAS.

And that E-5 is getting Sea Pay even while sitting pier side where I am not, even though I'm on Sea Duty.

On small boys we ran out of food. I never saw more food in my life than on the carrier.

So it costs some money, and maybe the E's get some sort of break. Good for them.

Thanks for adding to the discussion Hozer, that was useful. I'm glad your ball is in the fairway. Yeah, fuck those guys who are still in. Who gives a shit if they are being robbed by big Navy.

 

[Gatordev]

No. Enlisted servicemembers assigned to sea duty on a ship are not authorized BAS unless the ship is in overhaul.

http://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-npc/reference/milpersman/7000/Documents/7220-180.pdf

It doesn't matter where they live or what the marital status is. Enlisted crewmembers not receiving BAS get $0 back if they miss a meal on the boat.

Which is EXACTLY what I've been saying. The same applies to those that are housed in the barracks while at a squadron. No BAS/COMRATS. Marital status does matter because if you're not married and junior, you're expected to live on base until you submit a request to move off (usually at a certain paygrade, depending on availability).

At this point, I give up.

 

[SynixMan]

I'll only add that the food on the carrier during deployment was fucking atrocious last year. Whatever NAVSUP is doing to save money should be outlawed. Their "21 day menu" or whatever can kiss my ass.

 

[picklesuit]

I must have touched a nerve...
Can you comment on the quality of the toilet paper? I assume John Wayne quality, so bring my own 2-ply for Chicken Adobo nights?
I'm learning more in this thread about SWO life than the last 11 years in the Navy...

 

[wlawr005]

I'd rather wipe my ass with brown paper towels than boat paper.

Baby wipes are an essential key to life by the way.

 

[Spekkio]

My BAS is not tied to food eaten at government mess facilities, either on ship or off. My comments are geared to the majority here who aren't attached to a ship while it's in port. As in, I am on sea duty but this only applies to me when I deploy onto USS Ship. Your whole discussion about eating on ship during the week is useless.

I think that you missed the point. The stated purpose for BAS in the MILPERSMAN is to offset the cost for government provided meals. It's not there to give you tax-free money to pay for groceries at Walmart or lunch at Subway. I agree that whether or not you collect BAS as an officer isn't tied to eating in the mess decks which is why I'm saying that we get the better end of the deal for most officers when you crunch the numbers and calculate how much you have actually spent eating at the ship or a base galley vs. how much you've collected in BAS. If you want to complain about the times that it cost you extra to eat on the ship and pursue 'fixing' it, the DoD can counter with recouperating (or taxing) the extra tax-free money that you bank when you don't. The only reason that they don't do this is it would be an administrative burden to track all that shit, so the officer BAS is based on a flat long-term average guesstimate of how much a typical officer will spend eating on a ship or base galley.

My second point is that you might feel hosed for paying extra money on deployment, but enlisted crewmembers of a ship have their entire BAS recouperated to the ship's mess, regardless of whether they are married, live off base, or eat there every meal. If they don't eat on the ship because it's in-port and they are eating Sunday breakfast with the fam in a privately rented 3BR home, the money still goes to the ship's mess. This is a big source of angst for many enlisted married couples who have a lot harder time making ends meet than officers, especially if their kids are older and BAS counts against financial aid for college despite being auto-deducted to the ship.

At this point, I give up.

I'm genuinely trying to understand what you are trying to say? That enlisted servicemembers in a squadron get BAS?

 

[exNavyOffRec]

I must have touched a nerve...
Can you comment on the quality of the toilet paper? I assume John Wayne quality, so bring my own 2-ply for Chicken Adobo nights?
I'm learning more in this thread about SWO life than the last 11 years in the Navy...

toilet paper, that is what we call it, don't think that is what it really is on the ship, you are better off gathering leaves and storing them for use.

 

[webmaster]

toilet paper, that is what we call it, don't think that is what it really is on the ship, you are better off gathering leaves and storing them for use.

I would always stockpile items while underway on the sub. It is amazing how many people stood my in port watches or I made some quick $$$ off of some extra chewing tobacco rolls (I never used the stuff, but you walk into the galley and throw a roll or two down during week four of a two week underway when the tobacco fiends are in withdrawal!)... muhahaha!


And of course, always keep a few rolls of TP handy when it suddenly disappears!

 

[Pags]

I'd rather wipe my ass with brown paper towels than boat paper.

Baby wipes are an essential key to life by the way.

Until DCA catches you for messing up the CHT system.

 

[robav8r]

Boy, this thread has taken some twists and turns - when are we gonna start talking about Tom Brady's deflected balls

 

[Gatordev]

Until DCA catches you for messing up the CHT system.

Seriously. On my last deployment, we had a phantom baby wipe flusher. Nothing better than coming back from a flight to find that you can't take care of any urgent business, or even take a shower, because they're unscrewing the poop eater.

I'm genuinely trying to understand what you are trying to say? That enlisted servicemembers in a squadron get BAS?

Yes, unless they are:

a) embarked onboard a ship, in which case their COMRATS are diverted to disbursing.
b) living permanently in the barracks when back home (and thereby single).

 

[wlawr005]

Everybody knows not to flush babywipes...duh. That's what the angle irons are for.

 

[Pags]

I must have touched a nerve...
Can you comment on the quality of the toilet paper? I assume John Wayne quality, so bring my own 2-ply for Chicken Adobo nights?
I'm learning more in this thread about SWO life than the last 11 years in the Navy...

If I remember correctly you've been in VP for your entire career and I get the distinct impression you don't know what you're getting yourself in to living on the ship. The boat isn't the Q or the barracks. The boat is an inhuman place that makes human monsters. The boat sucks in ways that I don't think you realize. I'd recommend your work some sort of drug deal to "house hunt" the boat and live on board for a couple of days to see how it is before you go all in.