Photo By Staff Sgt. Jonathan Fernandez | A Soldier takes a plate of food prepared by food service specialists assigned to the...... read more read more
FORT A.P. HILL, Va. – In the earliest hours of the morning, when most people are snuggled deep in their beds, there are a select group of Soldiers who are wide-awake and are busy firing up stoves and heaters, inspecting and preparing food and food products, and getting a healthy breakfast ready for an onslaught of hungry Soldiers who will be eager to eat as soon as the sun rises.
Those early rising Soldiers belong to the 1008th Quartermaster Company, 103rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command, who have food specialists here preparing food for hundreds of troops as they conduct valuable skills training for the Nationwide Move 15 exercise that kicked off here Jan. 12.
Nationwide Move 15 is an annual Army Reserve approved functional training exercise designed to provide Reserve Component transportation units with valuable, realistic training, by conducting real-world operations in support of Continental United States (CONUS) activities.
“These Soldiers have to be up early in order to prepare the food and have it ready when the troops get here to eat,” said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Danny Wolf, food program manager for the 103rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command. “Our primary function is to fuel the Soldiers for their specific missions.”
One of the Soldiers assisting Wolf with food operations for the exercise is Staff Sgt. Edward B. Tedrick, a food service sergeant with the 1008th QM Co., 103rd ESC, and native of Granite City, Illinois. A 33-year-veteran of the Army, Tedrick is in charge of training the Soldiers in his unit. Normally he instructs the cooks on the proper cooking methods and meal preparation, but this training exercise also offers his Soldiers training on the use of a new special piece of equipment just introduced to the Army Reserves: the Assault Kitchen.
The Assault Kitchen (AK), a highly mobile field-feeding platform that provides a heat-on-the-move capability enables a company-sized group of Soldiers to be nutritionally supported within 90 minutes of its arrival at a remote feeding site.
“Using the AK, we can feed 250 Soldiers twice a day for three days without resupply,” said Wolf. “This is the first ever use of the Assault Kitchen in the Army Reserves, and we used it to feed over 400 Soldiers. With an experienced crew, a meal can be prepared and ready to eat within 30 minutes of our arrival at a feeding site.”
“Our Soldiers are getting some valuable training on the AK,” said Tedrick. “It’s a great piece of equipment. It cooks food faster and it even tastes better.”
So, despite the early start and long hours that go into preparing meals, the Soldiers seem to enjoy this training opportunity to learn how to use the Army’s latest food preparation equipment and to take care of their fellow Soldiers.
“I love what I do,” said Tedrick. “Seeing smiles on the Soldiers after getting their food is good enough for me.”
Tedrick’s words seem to be echoed by nearly all the food service specialist involved in the training. “I just love cooking,” said Spc. James Vancalster, a food service specialist assigned to the 753rd Quartermaster Company out of Green Bay, Wis. “I love being able to feed Soldiers and seeing them enjoy the quality of my food. I love putting smiles on thier faces, that’s why I do what I do.”
| Date Taken: | 01.12.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 01.21.2015 12:04 |
| Story ID: | 152373 |
| Location: | FORT A.P. HILL, US |
| Web Views: | 99 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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