Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Zach Sheely | National Guard Soldiers from all over the United States come to Salina, Kansas, to...... read more read more
SALINA, Kan. - Walking into the new Culinary Center of Excellence at the Kansas Regional Training Institute in Salina, Kansas, is like entering the set of a television cooking show.
Contestants, or in this case student Soldiers, offer their freshly-prepared dish for critique from the judges, eliciting comments such as, “Too nutty,” “A little runny” or “This meets the standard.”
The judges, Staff Sgt. Adam Cloyd and Staff Sgt. Hector Medina, are the only certified food service instructors in the Kansas Army National Guard. Their job is to train future food service specialists from across the nation in the commercial-grade kitchen.
“The Army relies on the sustenance it receives,” said Medina. “Without it, nothing else runs. If you don’t have food, you have no energy. It’s important that Soldiers are getting the right quantities and nutritional value.”
The 28-day food service specialist course features classroom instruction and hands-on training at individual cooking stations to train prospective U.S. Army, National Guard and Army Reserve food service specialists to deliver a standardized food product for one person to up to a battalion-sized element.
During a typical drill weekend, National Guard Soldiers may receive food catered from a civilian vendor, or be offered a Meal, Ready-to-Eat. In garrison and in theater, Army dining facilities are operated by civilian contractors. For Sgt. 1st Class David Medina, course supervisor, his dream is to put the responsibility of feeding Soldiers back into the well-trained hands of fellow Soldiers.
“It’s going to save the Army a lot of money,” he said. “Contracting is very expensive. Getting catered meals or going out to a restaurant, that’s a waste of money.”
Hector Medina echoed his brother’s sentiment and estimated that “serving fresh food prepared by Soldiers in place of an MRE can save approximately $6 per Soldier. It’s more cost-effective to serve troops fresh food, as opposed to an MRE.”
Students are required to complete two phases, garrison and field food service. The students will train on a mobile kitchen trailer and a containerized kitchen for the field service portion.
Students are taught to read and follow recipes and learn simple techniques such as the proper way to chop vegetables, to more complex disciplines like making a roux.
But it’s not only about making good food.
“It’s not just cooking the food,” said Hector Medina. “It’s keeping temperature logs on the refrigerator, labeling ingredients and sanitizing equipment and cooking areas.”
Historically, the Army cook may not be the most glorified job in the military, but the Medina brothers entered the Army in the job field, and their passion is obvious.
“I don’t like the term ‘cook,’” said David Medina. “You can go to McDonald's and be a cook. I prefer the term food service specialist, because, to me, that means you care about what you’re doing.”
While some military occupational specialties do not transfer into the private sector, cooking offers many opportunities in civilian employment.
“We’re always doing our mission,” said Sgt. 1st Class Robertson Winters, previously an automated logistics specialist with the 250th Forward Support Company, Kansas National Guard, who is reclassifying as a food service specialist. “The thing I like is that you’re not simulating, you are actually doing it. There’s a lot you can take away from this course, at home and in the culinary arena.”
David Medina said that the institute could use more instructors to facilitate the course, and he, along with Cloyd and his brother, Hector, have big dreams for the culinary institute.
“Why not bring military couples in here?” David Medina said. “What a great way for a couple to be intimate. Bring them in here and teach them to cook dinner together. Also, some of the kids, why not teach them a safe way to make a grilled cheese sandwich or macaroni and cheese not from a box?”
The Culinary Center for Excellence offers a glimpse into the future, and a nod to the past when it comes to Army chow, and David Medina believes this is just the start.
“We’re headed in the right direction here,” he said. “We’re helping save money, doing it the right way. The military runs on its stomach and in a split second, if there’s not the proper training, you can wipe out a whole unit.”
| Date Taken: | 04.23.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 04.23.2015 15:10 |
| Story ID: | 161012 |
| Location: | SALINA, KS, US |
| Hometown: | SALINA, KS, US |
| Web Views: | 84 |
| Downloads: | 3 |
This work, Fresh food at a fraction of the cost, by SFC Zach Sheely, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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