Food service specialists motivate Soldiers

Photo By Capt. Kayla Christopher | Pfc. Sara Ryan, of Poolville, Texas, a cook working with 700th Brigade Support Battalion, 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team helps prepare dinner in a Containerized Kitchen. The Oklahoma Army National Guard of which Ryan’s unit is a part, is undergoing annual training at Fort Sill during May and June 2015. The mess sections across the Oklahoma Army National Guard have been working in approximately 120 degree heat inside the CKs to feed the hard-working Soldiers their morning and evening meals. (Photo by Spc. Carli Styles, 45th Field Artillery Brigade Public Affairs)  

FORT SILL, OK, UNITED STATES

06.15.2015

Courtesy Story

45th Field Artillery Brigade

By: Spc. Carli Styles
45th Field Artillery Brigade Public Affairs

FORT SILL, Okla.—Long before the sun rises, members of the 45th Brigade Special Troops Battalion (BSTB) mess section begin preparing meals for approximately 400 Soldiers of the 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT).

Members of the Oklahoma Army National Guard are currently participating in annual training at Fort Sill near Lawton, Oklahoma. After a month of heavy rain and flooding in the area, the Soldiers are training in a hot, humid environment and need calories to keep them energized.

That’s what Oklahoma Army National Guard mess sections provide twice a day.

The cooks begin their day around 3:00 a.m., preparing meals using Containerized Kitchens (CK). The mobile kitchens travel in the form of a con-nex, a military shipping container, on wheels pulled behind a 5-ton truck, a Medium Tactical Vehicle (MTV) or a Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT). On site, it folds out to a fully-functional kitchen that can feed approximately 600 Soldiers. Meals take three to five hours to prepare.

Spc. Trent Edwards, of Guthrie, Oklahoma, is the quintessential, all-around, food service technician for the 45th BSTB. He says being a cook means moving quickly on very little sleep. He gets up with his team before sunrise and helps prepare breakfast. After breakfast, he refills the generators’ two 75-gallon fuel tanks using 5-gallon cans.

“It takes at least three trips carrying two fuel cans weighing 45-pounds each to fill half the tank,” said Edwards, a young Soldier with a wiry build and a big grin. “You definitely have to be self-motivated.”

After breakfast, team members wash the pots and pans, clean up the kitchen and surrounding area, carry out trash and then, hopefully, catch a couple of hours of sleep. After that, it is time to begin preparing for dinner. Bedtime comes at around 10:00 p.m.

According to Pvt. Damishea Martinez, of Crescent, Oklahoma, long hours and hard work can make anyone a little irritable.

“Meanness creates a hostile work environment. To prevent that, one of us will pick up extra duties when someone is needing a break,” said Martinez, who describes the mess section as “one big family”, adding they have been working together now for a year.

Sgt. 1st Class Elizabeth Carter, of Checotah, Oklahoma, is the noncommissioned officer in charge of the mess section. Carter said her focus is providing quality service and quality meals. For this AT, the 45th BSTB cooks are preparing Unitized Group Rations-A (UGR-A) for breakfast and dinner. The rations are easily prepared in the containerized kitchens and come in several surprisingly tasty flavors like shrimp scampi and BBQ pork ribs. Even the very trendy chicken and waffles is available.

“I tell the cooks that if they have a personal issue, don’t bring it to the line. Presentation and attitude is everything,” said Carter, who is known to her Soldiers as “Mama Carter” for her caring leadership. “What we put on the line is what we represent. I tell my Soldiers that if you put it on the plate like slop, they are going to treat it like slop.”

Further out west in a field near the Wichita Mountains, members of the 45th Field Artillery Brigade are waking up to the smell of bacon cooking in the CK. With a cheerful ‘good morning!’ and a smile, cooks in Headquarters Service Company, 271st Brigade Support Company, serve their meals one tray at a time to approximately 300 hungry Soldiers.

Being a cook in the 271st Brigade Support Battalion (BSB) is anything but easy. When the team hits the ground, four Soldiers set up the CK in as quick as 45 minutes. Along with the kitchen, the mess section must set up a field sanitation system, which is a screen tent with sinks, drying racks and tables where they wash, rinse and sanitize the pots, pans, utensils and other components. They have to unload sort and stack rations, and organize their equipment within convenient reach and set up. Their training calls for them to move quickly in order to be able to follow units during combat and keep them fed.

The 271st BSB’s mess section is using raw rations and U.S. Army recipes this year, instead of UGR-As. It is possible to cook raw rations in a containerized kitchen if there are less than 300 Soldiers to feed. The BSB’s cooks sometimes engage in friendly competition to see who makes the best food.

“What’s unique about the mess section is that we all have our own style of cooking.” said mess sergeant Sgt. 1st Class Max Salcido, of Corn, Oklahoma.

Between early morning wake ups and long hours of standing in 120 degree heat generated by the mobile burner units inside the kitchens, the Oklahoma Army National Guard mess sections keep all the other units going.

“I’m in it for the Soldiers,” said 45th BSTB cook Sgt. Chad Holley, of Moore, Oklahoma. “If you do your job right, it’s a lot easier for them to do theirs.”

Even complaints are taken in stride.

“Complaints are good,” said Spc. Patrick Brautigan, a cook in the 271st BSB. “It helps us get better at what we do. There’s always room to improve.”

“It’s the end result for prep and food morale. It’s for the Soldiers. It makes them happy,” said Salcido.

• Date Taken: 06.15.2015
• Date Posted: 06.15.2015 16:42
• Story ID: 166708
• Location: FORT SILL, OK, US