An internet rumor states that budget cuts have taken away breakfast for service members in Afghanistan. Is this true or false?

The claim is false.

The rumor first appeared online in December 2012, and has circulated in various forms ever since.

For some service members, hot meals have been substituted with MRE’s (packaged “meals, ready-to-eat”). These were not due to budget cuts, but instead were meant to help streamline the closing of bases in Afghanistan.

A popular meme circulating throughout 2013 reads:

Army meals being cut to 2 a day because of “Budget Issues”

Prisoners still get 3 hot meals a day, no questions asked.

Department of Defense Response

A statement posted on the Department of Defense website in January 2013 debunks this report:

There is no truth to the Internet myth that Washington budget cuts have taken away breakfast for service members in Afghanistan, Defense Department officials said.

Americans serving in Afghanistan can have up to four meals a day: breakfast, lunch, dinner and a midnight meal, if one is needed.

The Internet myth’s genesis came from a few forward operating bases in eastern Afghanistan’s Paktika province that are closing or being turned over to Afghan security forces. Instead of a hot, prepared breakfast, service members at those bases receive packaged meals known as “meals, ready-to-eat,” or MREs. This streamlines the logistics for these closing bases, officials explained.

Stars and Stripes

An article published by Stars and Stripes also refuted the internet rumor, stating:

Hot breakfasts have been discontinued in some areas of Afghanistan to streamline logistics, according to the Defense Department, but officials were quick to note that MREs and often other cold food items like cereal and fruit are still provided.

“Breakfast is an MRE, lunch and dinner are traditionally served hot meals, and the midnight meal is MRE,” officials said. “This has nothing to do with the national budget, and everything to do with our responsible reduction of forces.”

Bottom Line

While hot meals have been replaced by MRE’s in some situations, allegations that breakfast service has been taken away completely from service members due to budget cuts is false.