Feeding the force

Photo By Senior Master Sgt. George Thompson | Master Sgt. Rayshawnda Davis, 386th Expeditionary Force Support Squadron, interacts with a Third Country National employee in the Desert Winds dining facility at the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing, Southwest Asia, March 19, 2013. Davis oversees all food operations at the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing and the 387th Air Expeditionary Group.  

(UNDISCLOSED LOCATION)

03.26.2013

Story by Senior Master Sgt. George Thompson 

386th Air Expeditionary Wing

SOUTHWEST ASIA - "This [washing dishes] is the hardest job in the whole kitchen," said Master Sgt. Rayshawnda Davis, 386th Expeditionary Force Support Squadron, dining facility Superintendent. "My hats off to the people that work in there because they are constantly in the water and it's nonstop all the time."

Davis is an 18-year veteran to the services career field deployed from the 97th Force Support Squadron, Altus Air Force Base, Okla., to "The Rock" where she oversees all food operations at the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing and the 387th Air Expeditionary Group.

Davis' job is to feed more than 1,700 soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines that call "The Rock" home.

"Right now we're at a surge because we have the Marines and Army here so we are forced to order a little more," she said.

The Desert Winds dining facility is by far one of the busier customer service facilities at the wing.

"Typically for breakfast we have 750 to 800 people, lunch and dinner ranges anywhere between 1,100 and 1,300 and midnight chow is anywhere between 250 and 300, not too many people come out for that," she said.

Davis works the 6 a.m to 6 p.m. shift and acknowledged she hit the ground running.

"They usually hate to see me coming because at 6 o'clock when I come in I do my figure eight," she said. "I check the dining facility temperatures and everything from the back of the house to the front of the house."

That's making sure the things that should be cold are cold and the things that should be hot are hot and making sure we don't have any sanitation problems, stated Davis.

One of Davis' primary responsibilities is ensuring the staff complies with food handling and hygiene safety standards and the dining facility is free of germs and bacteria.

"I make sure everybody has their hats on and hands clean," she said. "Public health comes in here once a month and the inspections are no notice because they want to see if you are doing what you are supposed to be doing all the time. I don't see public health as somebody that's out to get me but somebody that's out to keep everybody safe."

Another responsibility is keeping an accurate count of the meals served and providing those figures back to higher headquarters.

"I have to send the daily feeding summary back to the Air Force Services Agency because this helps track the money that they are providing for the food," she said. "This month alone I have served 42,033 meals already and that's as of 14 March."

She acknowledged that some days are overwhelming especially during the busy holiday season, but she knows she's doing her part to make the deployment better for everyone at the wing.

"The dining facility is a big morale booster, it really uplifts people," she said. "It's the doughnuts in the morning, the carrot cake at the dessert counter and the ice cream. Some days we literally have to say 'get out we need to clean, get your food and go' because they are always in here eating."

Davis is eager to return to her home station so she can out-process, pick up her mother in Cleveland and start her next adventure of feeding the force at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe in Mons, Belgium.

• Date Taken: 03.26.2013
• Date Posted: 03.26.2013 03:03
• Story ID: 104093
• Location: (UNDISCLOSED LOCATION)