Everything and the kitchen sink: Soldiers make swift work of dirty dishes, austere field conditions notwithstanding

Photo By Sgt. Michael Connors | Evening chow's sticky mess of chicken alfredo is no match for Spc. Luis Mercado, as he scrubs a serving container at Base Camp Tusi during Combat Support Training Exercise-91 July 13, 2012. Mercado serves with the 448th Engineer Battalion, an Army Reserve unit based at Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico.  

FORT HUNTER LIGGETT, CA, UNITED STATES

07.16.2012

Story by Sgt. Michael Connors 

302nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

FORT HUNTER LIGGETT, Calif. -- A reprieve from doing dishes at home may be a consolation for Army Reserve soldiers attending Combat Support Training Exercise-91. But for others here — it’s their job — only within a crucible of high temperatures and hot steam.

Typically only troops on kitchen patrol wash dishes, but Spc. Luis Mercado, a cook working on Base Camp Tusi, relishes the opportunity to pull double-duty — cooking on the first part of the shift and washing dishes on the backend among the KPs.

“It’s a dirty job, so we have to use teamwork to get out of here on time,” said Mercado, who serves with the 448th Engineer Battalion, an Army Reserve unit from Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico. He is known as the fastest dishwasher on Tusi, a skill he uses to motivate the others.

Since early June, Mercado has been supporting exercises here on Fort Hunter Liggett, Calif., including CSTX-91. The 91st Training Division (Operations) based on Ligget is leading CSTX-91, which is being supported throughout July.

The Tusi chow tent serves approximately 200 soldiers per meal. Dishwashing per meal can take up to two hours, Mercado said, but on his shift he’s cut the time down to between 45 minutes and an hour.

It’s easy to imagine the drudgery dishwashing could become and how some could begin to drag their feet on the task, but with Mercado taking the lead he’s a whirlwind of activity, motivating the other dishwashers to work at their highest capacity.

“I’m always telling him you don’t have to do this, but he likes doing dishes,” said Spc. Manuel Bencosme, a fellow cook with the 448th. Cooks are not required to share the work of dishwashing, but Mercado’s enthusiasm for the task has even motivated Bencosme to jump in and help out too, so the shift can be completed as soon as possible.

This is not to say Mercado and the others cut corners in the name of speed. He and Bencosme explained the rigorous standards they enforce and maintain in the three-step process. First, dishes are scrubbed with 170-degree soapy water, then rinsed in 120-degree bleach water and finally rinsed in 100-degree water.

Nor do they go so fast that safety is compromised, they said. They stand on wood pallets to prevent slipping and wear high, thick, plastic gloves to prevent water burns.

Combine field conditions, extremely hot water and steam, and hot weather, and one can see how the job could quickly become miserable without the right attitude that Mercado has displayed.
Both cooks acknowledged other soldiers don’t always realize how long and hard they work. They’re up at 3:00 a.m. to start breakfast; and while they get the middle of the day off, they’re back again in the early afternoon through the early evening for dinner.

“They only see us for the hour-and-a-half during chow,” said Bencosme. “We do so much more.”

• Date Taken: 07.16.2012
• Date Posted: 07.16.2012 18:01
• Story ID: 91641
• Location: FORT HUNTER LIGGETT, CA, US
• Hometown: SAN JUAN, PR