Like I said different people have different tastes, requirements etc. I'm an athlete, and the things they serve at the mess CAN do, but really are not ideal...WAY to much pasta/bread vs meat. Also lot of processing, does it taste decent...most days. But I would definitely not go on rations again without having to (i.e course, deployment, etc) Also the other crappy part, is you only get 3 meals, and your last meal is served until 6....Dunno about you guys but I haven't gone to bed without having food between supper and bedtime since I was a lil guy. For the price you pay, you figure you could get food more often.
There are some items i've had on the menus that I went back for 2-3 times (minus sides) but they are kind of rare, just like I CANNOT eat the steaks at the mess, for an 8ounce piece 4 ounces is grissle and crud...yuk, but usually the fish meals (none fried) are pretty tasty.
For deployments and courses...all I gotta say is protein powders, meal replacement bars/powders, RTD, etc.