Pvt. Darrell McKenzie cuts chicken tenders for hot meals available in warmers at the Phantom Fresh grab-and-go dining facility at Fort Hood, Texas, on Aug. 14, 2025. (Rose L. Thayer/Stars and Stripes)

FORT HOOD, Texas — Army leaders know dining facilities on bases must do more to attract young soldiers and have released a menu of ways to offer meals with a side of convenience that soldiers are craving.

The order released by Forces Command this month calls on commanders to examine the entire ecosystem of food on bases and try new strategies offered while also easing the burden placed on Army cooks.

“This strategy goes beyond food — it’s about fueling the force, building morale, and reinforcing the Army’s promise to care for its people. By aligning feeding operations with soldier needs and operational demands, FORSCOM is setting a new standard for modern, resilient, and soldier-focused food service delivery,” according to a FORSCOM summary of the order.

Many of the recommendations in the order stem from changes that have found success at Fort Hood, which used a combination of predictable dining schedules and meals, and quick, conveniently located services to increase diners. Officials then consolidated resources so the added work didn’t overburden cooks.

“Our goal is to create consistent, accessible and appealing dining options that meet the needs of every soldier, whether on the go or if they have time for a sit-down meal,” said Sgt. Maj. Kresassidy McKinney, III Corps chief culinary manager at the central Texas Army base. “By expanding these choices, we’re not just improving the quality of life — we’re empowering our ... culinary specialists to showcase their skills in a more flexible, innovative environment that reflect the modern Army dining experience.”

Fort Hood soldiers can use meal entitlements in traditional dining facilities, they can visit a food truck, a grab-and-go kiosk or they can preorder and pick up several days’ worth of meals at once. The base focused these options in places where soldiers can easily get to them on their own or using the post’s shuttle bus.

III Corps, the largest command at Fort Hood, calls its soldiers “Phantom Warriors” and many of the new dining facilities carry the theme of that name.

Cooks have a centralized facility, the Phantom Hub, where premade meals are cooked and packaged and rations are prepared and sent to soldiers training in field. It’s a place for cooks to train and provides them with a computer lab.

Brig. Gen. Sean Davis, deputy chief of staff for logistics with FORSCOM, brought the ideas with him to the command’s headquarters at Fort Bragg, N.C., after seeing them find success in his previous assignment at Fort Hood. FORSCOM’s dining optimization order doesn’t directly name Fort Hood but recommends other FORSCOM units consider many of the base’s improvements, said Allen Fritzching, interim division chief for the supply, maintenance and contracting division at FORSCOM.

“All of it is designed for a commander to assess his organization, determine where there’s gaps that exist, and then through this optimization process try to minimize those gaps and improve access for soldiers to nutritious meals,” he said.

A display of meals available for preorder from the Phantom Hub at Fort Hood, Texas, on Aug. 14, 2025. (Rose L. Thayer/Stars and Stripes)

For the past several years, the Army has sought ways to bring soldiers back into service-run dining facilities after declining numbers. Officials have grappled with changing dining preferences of soldiers as well as a reduction in cooks the Army enlists into the force.

The order is just one front to combat the issue. Earlier this month, Army Materiel Command tested a pilot program to allow soldiers to spend their meal entitlement money on specific meals at on-post restaurants. No decision has been made on how and when the pilot program could return.

The service is also reviewing policy changes needed to allow soldiers to use that money in the commissary. Most barracks have a small kitchen, and this would allow soldiers to buy their own ingredients and cook at home. Another front aims to put a private business within a dining facility but a contract award has not been announced.

The recognition of Fort Hood’s dining program comes two years after it hit a low point. Soldiers complained limited hours and long distances between barracks and open facilities prohibited them from accessing food.

Roughly 6,000 soldiers have meal entitlements at Fort Hood, and 204,000 meals were served in July across all forms of dining facilities with all types of payment, McKinney said. In early 2024, before the shuttle and increased grab-and-go options, only about 100,000 soldiers with meal entitlements were using dining facilities in a month.

In traditional facilities where soldiers grab a tray and pick a meal line, TVs hang on the walls where soldiers dine with flowers on each table and décor that McKinney said she hopes makes soldiers feel like they’ve left work and can relax.

Specialized lines for burritos, pasta, pizza and stir-fry bowls allow cooks to take ownership and perfect the meals that they cook, she said. Right now, it takes about 30 soldiers to run the facility, but she is working toward staggered shifts to better manage people’s schedules.

Part of FORSCOM’s order asked commanders to exempt cooks from non-feeding duties and consolidate the workforce together to maximize their impact.

With the Phantom Fresh grab-and-go kiosk, McKinney focused on predictability in options and speed of service. It opens at 7:30 a.m. and doesn’t close between meals. Instead, the small space shifts from a breakfast yogurt parfait bar to a self-serve salad bar and a made-to-order sandwich line at lunch. Throughout the day, premade hot meals and premade sandwiches and salads, as well as fresh fruit, snacks and bottled drinks are available until closing at 3 p.m.

“It’s something to get used to,” said Sgt. Alexis Sobczak, the noncommissioned officer in charge of Phantom Fresh.

She transitioned a little more than a year ago from a traditional facility and said it took some time to get used to the work of overseeing the small deli-like operation. It started with about 25 customers per meal each day. Now it’s up to about 275 each meal.

“There’s more to it, but also not,” Sobczak said. “In the dining facility, I only worried about one line. Here, I worry about restocking fridges.”

For those soldiers who still can’t or don’t want to use these options, they can preorder about three days’ worth of meals at a time and pick them up twice a week. The program started in July 2024 and now serves about 300 soldiers twice a week, McKinney said.

To allow soldiers to pay for multiple meals at once, the dining facility uses paper forms to update the computer system. Facilities are funded, in part, based on the number of meals served and current computer programs don’t offer a way to sell multiple meals at once.

All this work during the past year has been done within the existing facilities instead of asking the Army for an influx of cash or resources, said Chontrelle Sturdivant, Fort Hood’s installation food program manager.

“We repurpose what we already have,” she said. “We refreshed, changed the setting and added variety.”

Spc. Teia Worthing prepares broccoli for hot meals available in warmers at the Phantom Fresh grab-and-go dining facility at Fort Hood, Texas, on Aug. 14, 2025. (Rose L. Thayer/Stars and Stripes)