DFAC is the acronym for Dining Facility in the Army. It’s pronounced, “De-fac,” and some even add a “T” to the end and pronounce it “De-fact.” It’s supposed to be a play on the word, “Defect.” Personally, I’ve always found food at chow halls (what Marines call a DFAC) to be decent, at worst, so I never gave much crap to our cooks. They make our food, and that food fuels us to carry out our missions. However, there have been a few exceptions to that rule: the field.

I’ve had some really bad food in the field. Last year’s AT, for example, was probably the worst food experience of my life in the military. It was also my first experience back in the military after a 20 year break, and I thought that military food had taken a general dump in that time. Fortunately, a new officer took over and really shook things up, and by the time we had our live fire exercises earlier this spring, the food was not only edible, but actually good. It was a 180 degree difference from last year’s AT food. That’s not to say it was all Paleo-friendly (it was not). But, it was good (when I did eat it; when there was pasta or other non-Paleo foods, I ate what I brought: Epic Bars and RXBars with some nuts).

My first experience with the DFAC here at the school I’m going to has been pretty positive. The eggs were not over-cooked, the bacon was crispy, and the coffee wasn’t scalding hot like the surface of the sun. That’s about it for the food choices, however. They did offer me waffles and potatoes, but I declined them. I’m trying to go keto while I’m here, and those two just don’t fit into that diet.

There were lots of fruits available: bananas, apples, and oranges. Also, there were lots of cereals and juices as well (neither of which I partook in).

I am still wondering what lunch and dinner will hold for me. If the military does anything well, it’s high-carb meals. It’s because they’re inexpensive, filling, and inexpensive. Yes, I said inexpensive twice because, well, that’s what the military is after: the most bang for the buck, and you can’t argue that high-carb meals fill the bill in that regard. It’s not the healthiest, but the military hasn’t caught on to what’s healthiest yet (and likely won’t anytime soon because it’s expensive).

So, breakfast was a win. I’m only slightly hungry after eating it (ha!), but that’s because I had too many carbs yesterday due to airplane and airport food. Starting today, I have options: if the food has too many carbs in the DFAC, I’ll either eat an Epic Bar to hold me over and eat elsewhere later, or just eat elsewhere (I’m guessing I won’t have time to eat off-post at lunch, but I will have options at dinner time).