Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Tristan Lotz | 200413-N-ME396-1008 GROTON, Conn. (April 13, 2020) Chief Culinary Specialist...... read more read more
GROTON, Conn. – Sailors assigned to Cross Hall Galley onboard Naval Submarine Base (SUBASE) New London are maintaining hygiene and fighting the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic with facial coverings sewn by and procured from a local quilt shop.
The Galley Sailors donned the new facial coverings en-masse on April 13, after wearing various Do-It-Yourself (DIY) versions following Department of Defense (DoD) recently issued directives. DOD and the Navy established requirements for all military personnel to wear facial coverings when COVID-19 physical distancing practices prove unfeasible.
Until official uniform face coverings are produced and implemented, personnel have been authorized to wear medical or construction type masks, or other cloth coverings in accordance with CDC guidelines.
For Lt. Trevor Torres, food service officer at Cross Hall Galley, the supply shortages for mask procurement combined with the DIY cloth efforts by the Galley team not holding up to the high standards required of food service, presented a challenge.
Torres had to find a solution.
Every day the Galley provides around 1,500 meals, and the Culinary Specialists (CS) on watch are at the center of it all, explained Torres. The Galley is an essential service to Naval Submarine School, and now to multiple other commands with Sailors living on base in a Restriction of Movement (ROM) status.
“Continuity of operations is the mission, and our CS’s are executing that beautifully,” said Torres. “I had to find a way to support the facial covering effort.”
That solution came in the form of a local quilt shop that was already providing facial coverings to a nearby hospital - meaning they were also suitable for Torres’s Sailors. Contracted civilians working at the Galley have their own facial coverings provided by the contractor.
“I started calling businesses in the area to see what was available, but everyone had completely sold out of medical and surgical type of facial coverings,” said Torres. “I thought about how everyone in the community was making their own cloth face coverings as well and that got me thinking about the local quilt shop that I drive past on my way to work. I figured I’d see what they could do. As it turned out, the quilt shop had been making facial coverings for Lawrence & Memorial Hospital for some time and they were happy to fulfill our Galley order.”
The facial coverings Torres was able to procure are durable, washable, and have a non-woven fiber filter sandwiched in them similar to some surgical facial coverings.
Chief Culinary Specialist (Submarine) Kevin Stanton helped distribute the facial coverings to Galley Sailors during lunchtime.
“It feels comfortable,” said Culinary Specialist (Submarine) 2nd Class Eric Robert Putrus upon receiving his. “Everything is good to go with it. I can’t ask for a better one.”
For Stanton, the facial coverings serve a dual utility: made of the same material, Cross Hall Galley leadership can be confident their Sailors’ coverings all meet the same hygiene standards; and, as the coverings all look the same, they create a uniform appearance for the Galley’s military personnel.
“The acquisition was smooth, the coverings well-made, and the idea that we can give our Sailors matching facial coverings to identify they work here at the Galley is great,” said Stanton. “This entire evolution is a testament to the hard work everybody puts in every day towards common goals.”
Once available, Sailors will be able to procure and wear official Navy uniform face coverings.
SUBASE is taking measures such as increased hygiene protocols, and physical distancing when possible, to mitigate COVID-19 and help ensure the base continues its essential mission to provide national security and defense when needed.
| Date Taken: | 04.13.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 05.04.2020 14:39 |
| Story ID: | 369170 |
| Location: | GROTON, CONNECTICUT, US |
| Web Views: | 30 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Facial Coverings from local Quilt Shop are Galley’s Pride, by PO2 Tristan Lotz, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
