Army marches on its stomach

Photo By Sgt. Jesse Smith | 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade Soldiers ate chow at the Ajoomma, a food cart meaning "old lady" on March 10 at G510, a ROK military base. The owner has served food for the past 56 years for the US Soldiers in Korea during big exercises.The 80-year-old woman, Mrs. Park Soon Ja, "At first, I cooked to feed my family, but now all my children are married and my husband has passed away,” Park said. “These days, I’m really here because I’m happy to see Soldiers enjoying my food.”  

PYEONGTAEK, 41, SOUTH KOREA

03.11.2015

Story by Chung Il Kim 

2nd Combat Aviation Brigade

CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea--Inside an old, small tent with picnic tables around a gas heater, an Ajumma, an old-aged Korean woman, cooks all kinds of Korean dishes for Soldiers during the training exercise, ‘Key Resolve’, at G510, a ROK military base in South Korea.

“Ajumma, I would like bulgogi with rice please!” said Pvt. Makaela Jensen, a tasking clerk from the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade. “I fell in love with her food. She offers various kinds of meals from a grilled ham and cheese sandwich to bulgogi rice.”

The 80-year-old woman, Mrs. Park Soon Ja, cooked bulgogi instantly on a burning fry pan while cracking eggs on a large pan covered with oil. The small tent was filled not only with the savory smell of Ramyeon noodle and yakimandoo, but also with long lines of hungry Soldiers from the 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade.

“I have cooked for 56 years for the U.S. Soldiers in this tent,” said Park.

After her husband’s business went bankrupt, she started by selling sodas to the U.S. Soldiers. Then, she got approval from the United States Forces Korea to put her service out in the field.

“At first, I cooked to feed my family, but now all my children are married and my husband has passed away,” Park said. “These days, I’m really here because I’m happy to see Soldiers enjoying my food.”

“The DFAC is good, and MREs are ok, but the Ajumma tent gives not only a special flavor but also flexibility,” said Pfc. Jae Hyok Choi, a human resource specialist with the ROK Army Support Group from the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade. “All the Soldiers have to do 12-hour shifts which makes it difficult for the night shift Soldiers like me to go to the DFAC at a the right time, but the Ajumma tent is open from early in the morning to late at night,” said Choi.

“The Ajumma’s tent serves also as a place for soldiers to get warm and sit down to take a breath from an intense training exercise,” said Sgt. Young Min Jeon, a human resource specialist from the HHC, 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade.

“Despite the blistering cold weather and tough training, I can survive a training exercise with the Ajumma’s food. In the end, the Army marches on its stomach,” said Jeon as he happily took a big bite out of his bulgogi sandwich.

• Date Taken: 03.11.2015
• Date Posted: 03.13.2015 01:02
• Story ID: 156880
• Location: PYEONGTAEK, 41, KR