FORT BENNING, Ga. - Diners at the NCO Academy Dining Facility along Vibbert Avenue will soon need to find another place to eat. After the dinner meal Feb. 26, the DFAC will close.
The closure is both a cost-saving measure and part of Base Realignment and Closure-related plans to renovate the space and turn it into offices and barracks, said Bill Denton, installation food program manager.
The 197th DFAC, located one block over in Building 73 along Vibbert Avenue, will gain the Soldiers put out by the closure, he said.
The NCOA and 197th DFACs are under-used and combining the head counts saves the Army money, said Dave Shepherd, the post's deputy director of logistics.
The Department of the Army requires DFACs to consider consolidating when total annual use drops below 65 percent of capacity, according to Army Regulation 30-22.
The NCOA DFAC was rated at 34 percent for 2009 and the 197th DFAC only reached 54 percent, Denton said. By combining the two facilities, Shepherd said he expects the numbers for the 197th DFAC to average closer to 92 percent.
Not only is the 197th DFAC larger than the NCOA's, Denton said, it also meets Americans with Disabilities Act requirements to accommodate wounded warriors.
With more diners heading to the 197th DFAC, there may be longer lines during meal times, but Denton said few other changes would be noticeable.
"The menus are comparably the same," Denton said. "And with the headcount increase, there's a greater opportunity to purchase more food and increase menu items."
Denton said the DFAC would continue to accept food suggestions as it has in the past, through either the Interactive Customer Evaluation survey or the facility's suggestion box.
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