This Tuesday evening, different National Guard units started showing up in Brenham. They are using our Fireman's Training Center to stage and house their different units.

This is a fluid situation. Units cone and go, but several will be staged here for the duration. These units will retrieve and repair the vehicles.

My questions are:
1) We, the Brenham Fire Department and The EOC have been feeding the these troops with meals we've made and/or those donated from the community. Why would the Guard send up to 500 soldiers to Brenham with no arrangement for feeding them. As a side note, when I started my shift at the Center on Wednesday, all the troops had to eat was a piece of white bread, a single slice of cheese and a slice of pickle. I went straight to our local HEB and purchased
50 pounds of lunch meat, bread, mustard and mayo. It was all consumed as fast as we could make the sandwiches.

2) there's a repair unit here, and they already have broken down vehicles but they no parts at all.

Why would the Guard send these soldiers out with no way to feed them and no vehicle parts?

We set up a web page to sign up to provide meals for the troops. The good people of this and other nearby communities have signed up for every meal for the next two weeks. This makes me proud to be a Texan!

I believe they might be paid a per diem and can elect to go eat somewhere like in a restaurant? I'm sure Uber would pick them up!

I'd bet a good chunk of change they have MREs. It's all we left with plus water. And it's what we expect to eat on such short notice.

MRE's have been provided. If you don't cook for them, they have food or can go purchase stuff locally. M

If their stuff has broken down, they have the ability to get parts. If they aren't getting them, someone isn't doing their job. I have been ferrying FMS and aircraft parts everywhere.

Trust me. I'm an expert on these things.

Sounds like a typical Soldier.

We have similar situation in Brazos County.

The pilots and crews at Easterwood/Astin have been treated like royalty by community volunteers. I witnessed it myself yesterday morning bringing relief supplies to an Aerobridge volunteer pilot.

Government entities, are at Rellis. I have no idea what their accommodations are.

EXPO has Swift Water/Fire personnel from around the state and nation. Until Sunday they were on MREs when a group of young ladies learned of it and have intervened organizing meals. When that happened about 300 Guard decided they wanted to partake of the 150 breakfast tacos yesterday morning. I spent most of yesterday trying to discern reality. In that process...

Talked to a National Guard logistics officer at the Armory who assured me in the Armory they are eating better than during training exercises. 3 hot squares a day. He also said the Guard at EXPO should have similar circumstances, but promised to verify that. Additional Guard will be housed at American Legion. This officer told me Guard members should be having meals provided for them on Guard tab.

I imagine, though have not confirmed, the FEMA associated SW/F personnel have a per diem. They just are way out on Leonard road without appropriate transportation into town. I've seen their convoys.

I don't think I have the "whole truth" yet, though have identified some things that are not truth.

One of my daughters sent me a picture this morning from the George R Brown Center in Houston.

She thought she was taking a picture of biscuits and gravy, only hamburger buns substituted for the biscuits.

I suggested that was probably SOS. "SOS?" she asks. Me - "Chow hall food. Creamed chip beef on toast. Aka SOS."

Her - "The national guard people were chowing down".

EXPO
Swift Water/Fire personnel pulled out this morning.
85 National Guard pulled out yesterday.
Empty until this afternoon when 385 Arkansas NG troops arrive this afternoon.
Per NG logistics officer catering is arranged.
Imagine locals will be providing some hospitality, fruit, cookies, etc.

They can provide whatever, but just so people are aware: the guard is picking up the food tab to feed its people. It's not required to feed them. If they need MRE's, water or food, its being delivered.

If they need parts their NCOICs need to get on the phone and get them down there.

Like a monkey ****ing a football!

The NG working in Port A were chowing down on a whole lotta Little Ceasers the other day. I know this cause I went by their setup to pick up water/ice/mre.

If they had plenty of MRE's, why were they lined up 25-30 deep to get one piece of bread and slice of cheese.

I was there too on duty as a firefighter (it's our training center), and they were hungry.

Blue Bell Ag said:

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If they had plenty of MRE's, why were they lined up 25-30 deep to get one piece of bread and slice of cheese.

I was there too on duty as a firefighter (it's our training center), and they were hungry.

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Because they're Soldiers and will eat anything. Some people are just that averse to eating an MRE.

This.

BBA, I'm not sure what other answer you're looking for. Most soldiers don't want to eat MRE's if they don't have to, and will avoid it if there's anything else.

I was also there for a night on my way to Orange, and I never saw soldiers lining up for anything, let alone bread and cheese. We had so many MREs that we loaded up an LMTV full with them when we left Orange on Saturday.

If there's other food available, soldiers will always choose that over MREs. Hell, they ate so well I'm worried about how many will fail height/weight or the APFT next month. I probably gained 5-10 lbs in the last two weeks, and I didn't eat until all my soldiers ate.