U.S. troops could be in better physical shape if military installations banned cheeseburgers and other fast food, according to the Marines’ top commander. Troy E. Black, senior adviser to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made the comments on a popular military podcast.
“If you want to reduce obesity, serve different types of food in restaurants,” Black told hosts Alex Morrow and Drew Hammond during an Aug. 4 episode of the series. MOP and MOE podcast. “Immediately remove all fast food restaurants from all facilities.”
Black spoke about fast food during a wide-ranging podcast interview about the Pentagon’s role in promoting fitness in the ranks and human performance programs. Black wasn’t announcing or proposing any changes to current lineups at military bases, but rather expressing his personal views on the role of nutrition in fitness.
Just as squad leaders are responsible for ensuring their troops have enough water and rest, Black said, the Pentagon needs to set standards for human performance. Because human performance is critical to success in war, Black said, the Defense Department needs policies that support the physical, mental, social, spiritual and behavioral needs of troops.
Black said military canteens are contractually required to provide balanced, macronutrient-rich meals. “Unfortunately, it doesn’t compete with the cheeseburger,” he added.
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“If you walk into a SOF (special operations forces) installation – I’ve been to a few – none of that exists there because the primacy of that individual’s performance – not just physically – but every decision they make, the investment in that individual is so great, that they can’t afford to make exceptions in these other areas of their purview,” Black said.
Obesity is a problem that affects both military members and the general American population. A 2023 study by the American Security Project think tank in Washington, D.C., found that 68 percent of U.S. military members were obese or overweight.
Between 2012 and 2022, the obesity rate among active-duty soldiers more than doubled, from 10.4% to 21.6%, according to the study. Meanwhile, eating disorders among soldiers also increased by about 79% between 2017 and 2021.
FILE: Senior Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Troy Black speaks during an all-call at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, Jan. 9, 2024. (Airman 1st Class Madeline Baisey/U.S. Air Force)
“Despite being a chronic disease with several FDA-approved treatment options, outdated body composition policies and stigma prevent effective treatment of obesity in the military,” the study said.
Black could not be reached for comment for this article. The position of senior adviser to the president was created in 2005 as the military’s highest-ranking enlisted person — surpassing the senior enlisted person of each service — and is held on a rotating basis by senior enlisted persons from each military branch.
As SEAC, Black advises Air Force Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on noncommissioned member issues. He is the fifth person to serve as the chairman’s senior noncommissioned member.
Black is not the first senior military official to propose eliminating fast food options for troops. In 2010, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, then commander of all U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, banned Burger King and Pizza Hut from Kandahar Airfield.
McChrystal was fired shortly after for a disastrous decision. Rolling stone In an interview, he and his team were described as disparaging the civilian chain of command, including then-Vice President Joe Biden. Fast-food restaurants returned to Kandahar after his removal.
During his podcast interview, Black suggested that the U.S. military could educate troops to think differently about nutrition and thus “eliminate all the challenges around nutrition.”
“Sometimes having too many options is not good for our performance,” Black said.
But when Black was asked why the military doesn’t get rid of fast food on bases, he explained that those restaurants generate unappropriated funds — not directly from Congress — that pay for amenities for troops and families, including base swimming pools.
Without that source of funding, the military would have to ask Congress for money to fund morale, welfare and recreation programs, he said, adding that the funds allocated are for wartime needs.
“With almost $1 trillion, you can do a lot of things,” Black said. “But can you have softball, soccer, swimming pools, gymnasiums? Can you have those things in an appropriate budget? Are those things mandatory for the Department of Defense?”
