Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Nicolas Morales | Spc. James Bullock, a native of Fayetteville, N.C., poses for a shot after the...... read more read more
PAKTIKA PROVINCE, Afghanistan – For the soldiers of Company B, 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, conducting patrols and coming in contact with the enemy is not a good feeling, especially on an empty stomach.
Everyone on Forward Operating Base Tillman raves about chow. The crew at the dining facility takes pride in everything they serve. They serve two hot meals daily, ensuring “Black Lion” Soldiers get good eats. At the same time, they offer an ear to Soldiers whot need to clear their heads from whatever they encountered that day outside the wire.
Sgt. Jeffery Matthews a native of Shreveport, La., has been in the Army for six years and has been cooking over the last twenty.
“I started in the restaurant business as a busser and worked my way up,” said Matthews. “ I learned from a sous chef, a Cajun chef, and from there I developed my own unique style.”
Being deployed, ingredients are hard to come by; however, Matthews makes do with more than with what he has in the cupboards.
“A recipe might call for three ingredients, but you only have two. It makes you get creative, and you find out what tastes good, and then you end up turning out a good meal,” said Matthews.
Options for soldiers on FOB Tillman when it comes to food are limited to MREs (meals ready to eat) or the dining facility.
“Out here they can’t go to Burger King; they can’t go to the shopette. We’re all they have Walking around the FOB Soldiers are always stopping me and asking what’s for dinner. It makes me feel good to know that,” said Matthews.
They serve over 2,800 meals a week and Matthews and his crew realize the impact the food they prepare have on the Soldiers they serve.
“I just treat it like it’s their last meal, which is kind of sad to say, but I could be giving them the last thing they get to eat,” said Matthews. “I have to make this good for them, you know. I ask myself is the bacon crispy enough are the eggs too runny? I think about that kind of stuff. I want to make it good for them.”
Since arriving in Afghanistan in June, the Dragon Brigade has suffered three causalities. These three heroes passed through the chow line at some point, and that has directly affected Matthews and his crew.
“I put my heart and soul into every meal. Spc. (Cody) Moosman, killed by small arms fire July 3, was a good guy who would come through the line and all of a sudden I didn’t see him again. I fed him his last meal and ever since that happened I made sure all my guys stepped up in the kitchen,” said Matthews.
This kind of attitude and service makes the the Battle Company Soldiers realize what they have, and they don’t take the cooks for granted.
“I had a guy out at another FOB come up to me and say the food was good out there, but you can tell they didn’t put their heart into it,” said Matthews.
Matthews a two-time awardee at the U.S. Army’s culinary arts competition at Fort Lee, Va., has two years left on his contract and is planning on making a positive impact on society when he gets out of the Army.
“I plan on going through the ‘Troops to Teachers’ program. Before I came in the Army I studied at Southern College in Baton Rouge and majored in secondary education,” said Matthews.
The rest of the crew at the dining facility are Spc. James Bullock, a Native of Fayetteville, N.C., and Pfc. soon-to-be Spc. Ryan Sims of Sharaton Ark., both enjoy what they do for the soldiers.
“I do the prep work in the kitchen; hours are long, but they’re well worth it,” said Sims.
“The hours are long, but these guys are the ones on patrol keeping me safe, it’s the least I can do,” said Bullock. “The guys tell me that when they’re out on patrol they’re asking around, hey you know what’s for chow? To the other guys and I, that right there makes it all worth while.”
| Date Taken: | 08.17.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 08.19.2012 08:49 |
| Story ID: | 93494 |
| Location: | PAKTIKA PROVINCE, AF |
| Web Views: | 115 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Feeding the lions: Cooks tame savage beasts, by SFC Nicolas Morales, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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