Lawmakers press Army on Fort Carson dining failures; panel describes pilot contracts to privatize mess operations
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Summary
A member of the House committee described reports of food shortages and poorly prepared meals at Fort Carson. Panel witnesses said the root cause appeared to be forecasting shortfalls as forces returned, and outlined pilot efforts to use privatized contracts and waivers to improve dining availability and quality.
A House member told the subcommittee that soldiers at Fort Carson reported improperly prepared or unavailable food, citing a Military Times account, and asked service leaders what caused the failure.
“An army that's not fed is an army that cannot fight,” Representative Crank said during his five‑minute questioning period. He asked for the root cause and corrective action.
A senior Army official told lawmakers the incidents were “anomalies” and said the immediate shortfall appeared to come from a lack of forecasting tied to returning forces; dining facilities did not anticipate higher demand and had to prepare additional food after shortages appeared. The official said leadership at Fort Carson’s responsible units addressed the problem.
The panel described pilot programs that would bring private contracts into dining operations similar to approaches used in privatized housing. A witness said the service is pursuing waivers to allow private companies to run mess facilities and collect money from patrons, with the goal of improving food quality and value and reducing shortages. That witness said the Department of Education controls contracting authority in some contexts and the Department of Defense is seeking waivers from it to implement pilots at about five locations as early as this summer.
Other witnesses told the committee that higher food prices and inflation have strained operating budgets, and they urged fuller funding of manpower and dining accounts to help address costs. Lawmakers asked whether new statutory authority would be needed; witnesses asked for legislative support for waiver requests but did not call for new statutory authorities during the hearing.
The committee took no formal vote. Lawmakers pressed service leaders for follow‑up on corrective steps and asked for information on how the subcommittee could help facilitate waivers and funding to keep dining operations stocked and functioning.