KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - From working in offices to working beyond the wire of forward operating bases in combat zones as a driver and a gunner, this cook has been there.
Thirteen years ago, Staff Sgt. Clint Pinson chose to make his hobby a career by enlisting in the Army as a cook, and is still enlisted under that military occupational skill today.
Pinson, from Headquarters & Support Company, Headquarters and
Headquarters Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division, and native of Tulsa,
Okla., doesn't work in a kitchen, nor does his place of work have a single stove.
He works at the NATO Accommodation Barracks on Kandahar
Airfield, managing and maintaining the site every day. Sometimes, that means working after office hours.
"I've been known to get up, throw on flip-flops in the middle of the night and take care of what I've got to take care of," said Pinson. "I have pulled stuff off over here that no one else thought I could do."
His current duties don't follow the typical cook's job description, but his work ethic and great attitude have helped Pinson adapt to this and several non-cooking assignments in the past.
"He is like a chameleon, he can blend in any situation and succeed," said Staff Sgt. Josue Molina, Pinson's supervisor.
Molina believes those characteristics are important for successful
soldiers all across the battlefield. Pinson owns his positive attitude and doesn't allow himself to be defined by what people think he does.
"I've seen cooks hang with the best of them, and out-do some other soldiers," Pinson said.
On his previous tour to Iraq, Pinson was tasked to run a dining
facility on an outlying post for four months, but spent the remainder of the year doing various other assignments. He views that constant adjusting positively.
"I've had a lot of opportunities in the Army," he said.
He plans to make a career out of his job, whether that means working as a cook, or doing any other job that the Army needs him for. Pinson is no stranger to adapting and overcoming, no matter what the task may be.