Officials at Fort Bragg have already begun trying some of these changes through the culinary expertise that already exists within the Army. Kent also envisioned technology playing a role with soldiers - being able to order in advance on a smartphone app and information that can help them pick meals based on their own fitness goals and then track their caloric and nutritional intake. Kent said the Army’s new facilities must be fast, casual environments with menus informed by nutritionists and dieticians and prepared using healthy methods. Food is prepared upon ordering, and the facilities remain open between meal times to sell grab-and-go options. The Air Force uses a mix of contracted industry experts and airmen to work in 43 dining facilities at 27 bases. The Army also reviewed the Air Force’s new approach toward campus-style feeding. To design the Army pilot program, service officials visited Louisiana State University, Duke University and the University of Alabama to see how their athletic programs feed athletes through campus dining facilities, Kent said in his presentation. “I tell soldiers to go get an air fryer.” Edward Peralta told Wormuth on Tuesday when she visited his barracks room during a tour of Fort Polk, La. Some of them just prefer to cook in the small kitchens found in most barracks rooms. Instead, soldiers end up spending money from their own pockets on fast food or whatever is available at the nearest convenience store. Soldiers have long complained about dining facilities – everything from the taste and variety of food to the operation hours. “This is to affect the quality of life, it's the recruiting, it's the retention, food insecurity issues of obesity.” “There's an element of purpose over profit,” he said. Geoff Kent, who is leading the program, said in a presentation posted online that the plans hang on bringing in the right experts from the restaurant industry.

The Army Materiel Command, which is responsible for the pilot program, declined to comment on the plans because it’s too early in the process. Hours of operation should go beyond what dining facility schedules maintain now to meet the needs of the community, according to the online request for business proposals. It asks companies to be responsible for renovating the dining facility to meet the company’s needs, use a sales system that allows soldiers to pay with their basic allowance for subsistence meal card, and offer food that meets the nutrition standards of the service. The proposal lists future locations for the pilot program as Fort Drum, N.Y., Fort Carson, Colo., Fort Bragg, N.C., Fort Stewart, Ga., and Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. Companies can bid on the contract until May 2, according to the federal government’s award management website.

Fort carson dining facility map