CAC cards required at dining halls

By ANIESA HOLMESDecember 11, 2013

FORT BENNING, Ga., (Dec. 11, 2013) -- A new food service headcount system will require Soldiers to provide common access cards to dine at facilities across Fort Benning starting next month.

In accordance with Army G4 and Joint Culinary Center of Excellence guidance, the Logistics Readiness Center will train staff and load the automated headcount system software program onto point of sale systems at each DFAC on post and satellite locations at Camp Merrill, Ga., and Camp Rudder, Fla., this month. The system will go live Jan. 14.

Each Soldier will be required to provide a CAC, personal identification number and meal card or temporary duty orders when eating in DFACs. Soldiers receiving basic allowance for subsistence are required to have a CAC and PIN when purchasing meals.

William Denton, director of DFAC for LRC, said the program would allow audit teams to track personnel who receive basic allowance for subsistence but do not pay for meals, and allows the tracking of individual headcount categories.

"It provides more accountability of what kind of diners we currently have, and to see how much money is spent supporting cash customers with appropriated fund dining facilities," Denton said. "It gives (the Army) a better snapshot of who we're feeding here."

The new system does not include initial entry training Soldiers, but does require drill sergeants or other authorized individuals to use their CAC and PIN when entering entries.

This will require an entry for each category of Soldier, such as National Guard, Reserves or other service members.

"This has no impact on training, but the process will be the same except the drill sergeant will have to start reporting actual numbers of who is dining instead of assigned numbers in a platoon when they put the CAC in the card reader," Denton said.