Kosher in Bootcamp
 

I got to MEPS on the 6th, and I've talked to my recruiter and pretty much every chaplain/observant Jewish servicemember I can get my hands on about this, but I still have questions.

I keep Kosher, which means I'll probably be sticking to a strictly vegetarian diet (no cheese either) at boot camp. These will probably seem like strange questions, but I'd like to be as prepared as possible, so any info would be appreciated:

Are fruits and vegetables in the salad bar cut or whole?
I've read there's PB, milk, and Yogurt available...are those in individual packages?
What about salad dressings? Are those name-brand-in containers or bulk like at most salad bars?

The reason I ask is because ideally, anything processed should be under supervision and needs to stay sealed, so if I can look up, say, the yogurt brand I'll know if it's kosher. I don't expect to be able to keep strictly kosher, I'd just like to know before I go in what kind of options I'll have and how to prepare for any compromises I may have to make.

PB is prepackaged individual servings. As is yogurt. Milk is not.
Salad dressing - depends on the location. Some places will have individual dressing packs, but the bulk containers are more common.

The yogurt at bootcamp was in unlabeled tubs when I went through, granted that's going on 3 years ago now. Peanut butter was individual packets of smuckers, there were also individual packets of smuckers jam and sunbutter on the tables. Milk was a big dispensing machine.

The salad bar always had a good selection of whole fruit. I want to say the salad dressing was individual packets, but I never used it so I don't recall too distinctly. There were also packets of oatmeal at breakfast.

I made it through bootcamp on an entirely vegetarian diet. It wasn't hard at all.

Expect to eat pb&j for at least two meals a day. The salad bar is always stocked with plenty of options of vegetables and fruit. Cereal is a great side to any entrée. And most importantly, eat the nuts they serve. I would make like a nut salad, with like a cup of almonds, sunflower seeds, and walnuts.

Also, if you start feeling low on energy, or can't keep up, you'll need to kick the diet. I know it's a religious obligation, but it's not worth spending a year in bootcamp for. You should be all right though.

Talk to your Rabbi if unsure. read the book of Daniel as an example/inspiration. It can be done. having only studied divinity for a year, my understanding of the original intent and today's dietary options, you should be fine. pm me if you would like a more spiritual response.

At the level of kashrut that my community and I hold, the only things that would be ok for me to eat are uncut fruits and vegetables (Because they'd probably be being cut with a non-kosher knife) and anything in a sealed package with a certification. I'm fine with relaxing a little and eating cut fruits, veggies, and nuts from the salad bar because food safety should require that they not be using a knife for meat and fruits/veggies without washing in between, so it will at least not being getting pork juice on the veggies. If I absolutely had to (ie I was in real physical danger) I'd probably eat fish and hard-boiled eggs, but certainly no meat or anything that I couldn't identify what was in it.

But, my recruiter emailed the command chaplain at RTC about it so hopefully I'll be able to get kosher MRE's or something like that.