Photo By Matthew Veasley | An Indonesian army soldier and members of the local community, offers Pvt. Marc...... read more read more
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SURABAYA, Indonesia - The job of an Army food service specialist is never done. They are always the first ones up in the morning and the last ones to slumber at night. That surreal fact hasn’t changed here in East Java, Indonesia. Food service specialists here received a peculiar treat that won’t be long forgotten.
Several food service specialists from Washington and Hawaii were on the opposite side of the serving line and received a special fish dinner, cooked traditional over palm branches and coconut hulls, compliments of a few friendly Tentara Nasional Indonesia (TNI).
“It was absolutely delicious and fresh, it really reminded me of home,” said Saipan Common Wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands native, Pvt. Marc Trinidad, an Army food service specialist with the 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team out of Fort Lewis McChord, Washington. “ I had four pieces of fish and they kept offering me more. I feel so fat right now,” he said with a smile.
The food service specialists are supporting the Garuda Shield 2014 field training exercise in Puslatpur, Indonesia. Garuda Shield 2014 is a bilateral, tactical military exercise sponsored by the U.S. Army Pacific and hosted by the Indonesian armed forces. Approximately 1,200 personnel from U.S. Army and Indonesian armed forces will conduct a series of training events focused on peace support operations.
The fact that the members of the local community offered fish to the Soldiers may not seem significant to some, but considering the austere environment in which they live this gesture speaks volumes about Indonesian Culture.
“The fish tasted very good, it felt weird to get offered the fish. The way it was prepared was different than we prepare food. The insides were left in the fish, it wasn’t cleaned like we do our fish, but nonetheless it is their culture and we respect that,” said Pfc. Christina See a native of Visalia, California and also a food service specialist from the 325th General Support Aviation Battlion (GSAB) on Wheeler Army Airfield, Hawaii.
“Me being a food service specialist I try to use food to bridge a gateway as best as I can. It felt good being on the opposite side of the serving table for once,” said Sgt. Darmel Carrasquillo, a food service specialist also with the Headquarters Support Company, Headquarters Headquarters Battalion, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. It makes me feel proud that they respect what we do and we respect them for what they do. I have a greater respect for them now, because they didn’t have to branch out to us like they did and I respect that,” he concluded.
The food service specialists based out of Puslatpur, Indonesia serve more than 700 soldiers a day in support of the Garuda Shield 2014 exercise. Their daily mission consists of food prep, food service and several field sanitation venues. The food service support team here can definitely say they have earned every bit of recognition they can receive.
Since the exercise began the Indonesian Army has been very hospitable to the U.S. Army Soldiers and have created lifelong relationships.
“I feel the gesture was very heart warming. I have always lived by the motto “the best way to build a lifelong bond is through food,” Carrasquillo concluded
| Date Taken: | 09.17.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 09.17.2014 09:43 |
| Story ID: | 142411 |
| Location: | SURABAYA, ID |
| Hometown: | SAIPAN, MP |
| Hometown: | FORT LEWIS, WA, US |
| Hometown: | VISALIA, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 380 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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