"The chow halls of each military branch differ from each other by quite a lot.

I spent my entire enlistment when not on deployment eating at the chow hall on Marine Corps Air Station Miramar . The omelettes were always the best thing to get on a Saturday morning after drinking hard at a barracks party. After regular dining hours, the do-it-yourself sandwiches or wraps were always the best to get. The rest of the food straight up sucked. The portions were often measly depending on how much an individual Marine eats as the Marine Corps’ cheap/thrift mindset spills on over to food.

Contractors would only give a small portion of eggs, bacon, or whatever food requested once, prompting some Marines to cheat the system by putting the food they got down at a table, then returning to the line to get more. At times, it seemed that whoever cooked the food, couldn't care less about the presentation or ingredients of what’s offered on the menu.

Since the Marine Corps placed a huge emphasis on health and fitness, desserts came in the form of a small plate with a slice of day old pie, pudding, or jello placed in an obscure glass fridge tucked away in the corner, often oblivious to Marines hungry for dessert.

When I ate at the chow hall of the Air Force on my first deployment, I got the biggest branch culture shock of my life.

Holy s—, they have steak and lobsters on Fridays????

The contractors and food specialists of the Air Force encouraged getting large portions or could honestly care less about how much an individual ate. Worse, they even had an ice cream bar for dinner.

Every.

Single.

Evening.

And this does not include the New York cheesecake that they brought in. Plenty of Marines gained weight during our six month deployment thanks to the food and portions available. For me, I managed to not fall for that trap, but always enjoyed the occasional cheesecake on Sundays.

Like the Air Force, portions were unlimited and there was a variety of desserts offered at the dessert bar. Everyone on my team would laugh at how much cheesecake I was consuming every time we went to that Army base.

So what’s the difference between the chow halls of the service branches based on my experience?

The Marine Corps is thrifty in portions and presentation, the Army and Air Force can't honestly care less about how much you eat, and treat you like a King while eating in their facilities.That is probably the only time I will compliment the Army and Air Force when it comes to food. Because those guys have the best cheesecake on deployment."- Daniel Vu