What it is
The Dugout is the post canteen. Cold beer, honest prices, enough TVs that you can usually find whatever game you came for, and people who understand without being told.
It is not a nightclub and it does not pretend to be. It is somewhere to sit down with people who have been where you have been.
What's on
Trivia night is Tuesdays at 1900: the M&M Show.
Karaoke is Thursdays at 1900, year round.
A game takes priority over it. The TVs come first here: if there is a game on while we are open, it is on the screens. In football season that covers a lot of Thursday nights, because Thursday Night Football starts around 1715 and runs well past seven. Karaoke works around it.
Our teams come first. When the 49ers, the Raiders, the Giants or the Athletics are playing, or one of the local college teams, that game is on. When they are not, whatever game is on goes on the screens: in football season that means Sundays, Monday and Thursday nights, and college football on Saturdays.
If you are making a special trip for one or the other, ring the canteen first and ask what is on.
Games while we are open this week
From the published schedules, in Hollister time. Games move and get rained out, so treat this as a guide.
Our teams' games are in bold. Every NFL game the whole country watches is listed too: Thursday, Monday and Sunday nights, and the playoffs. So is every baseball game in the postseason, through the World Series. On Sunday afternoons, with a dozen football games on at once, and in baseball's regular season, only ours are listed.
- : Las Vegas Raiders at New York Jets
- : Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Commanders
- : Chicago Bears at Seattle Seahawks
- : Jacksonville Jaguars at Baltimore Ravens
NFL schedule from nflverse, used under CC BY 4.0.
Birthdays, with cake
Every service's birthday, and the VFW's, is marked at the Dugout, and there is cake. Come in during opening hours on the day.
- The Marine Corps' 251st birthday:
- The Space Force's 7th birthday:
- The Army's 252nd birthday:
- The Coast Guard's 237th birthday:
- The Air Force's 80th birthday:
- The VFW's 128th birthday:
- The Navy's 252nd birthday:
Who can come in
Members and their guests are always welcome. If you are a veteran who has never been in, just walk in. Nobody is going to ask for your DD-214 at the door — this is a bar, not a records office.
Bringing family is normal here. So is bringing a friend who is curious about the post. If you decide you want to join, someone will sort the paperwork out with you another day.
House rules
They are short. Look after each other, settle your tab, and no politics loud enough to spoil someone else's evening. The canteen manager has the final say and does not need to explain it.
Food
There is popcorn, hot dogs often enough, and pizza once in a while. Nobody is pretending it is a restaurant — you come here for the company.
The hall upstairs is a proper ballroom and hosts much bigger events, food included. Those are run by the building rather than by this post, so ask at the canteen and someone will tell you what is coming up.