Small Israeli Army Kitchens

Most of my reserve duty was spent in small positions: Mutzavim, roadblocks, settlement entrances, etc. Listen to what a Rabbi Zecharya Ben-Shlomo has to say about army kitchens in places like these:

"Kitchens in small Mutzavim, where there is no one responsible for kashrut, and which can be freely entered, and anyone who enters can cook there whatever he likes, the kitchen and all of its utensils have a supposition(chazaka) of being forbidden, and one should not eat there unless it is properly kashered (Hilchot Tzava, second edition p. 315)."

Now these are wise words from a wise man. Remember, among the soldiers using these kitchens are Jews who know almost nothing about Judaism, Druze, Bedouin, and even gentiles from the FSU. If you think that such a kitchen will remain kosher without supervision then you might be interested in buying the Brooklyn Bridge from me!

In my first time around in reserve duty, the position that I was stationed at had an unsupervised kitchen where anyone and everyone could enter it any time of day or night. There was one soldier stationed with us who brought pork from home (poor guy, he couldn't bear to go a month without it). I did not eat any cooked food from that kitchen after what I saw what was going on there. In my following stints in the reserves, I always brought a pot and dishes from home, just in case. I am not writing this to complain or to disparage the army, G-d forbid! I am writing this so a religious soldier who is about to enlist should know what he is getting into.