Photo By Cpl. Thomas Sheng | U.S. Marines with III Marine Expeditionary Force and Marine Corps Installations...... read more read more
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CAMP FOSTER, Japan – Dry chicken and undercooked rice
After completing a field training exercise that lasted two weeks, the last thing that Cpl. Ryan ColonBurgos wanted to eat was a lackluster meal. He sat down, craving for a freshly cooked meal after having eaten countless Meal Ready-To-Eat rations. Upon observing his food, he noticed some things that ruined his appetite.
Dry chicken and undercooked rice. With no other option available that day, ColonBurgos chose to starve that evening and go to the mess hall the next morning.
What kind of meal was ColonBurgos expecting that day?
U.S. Marine Corps Chief Warrant Officer 2 Daniel Jensen, and his staff at G-4, Base Food Service, MCIPAC, are actively seeking answers for Subsistence in Kind (SIK) Marines; simply put, the DOD Financial Management regulation of the Food Service Program defines SIK Marines as those who are entitled to eat at mess halls.
“For those working in jobs like motor transportation, artillery, engineering or welding, you’re always moving and always working under the sun, and you’re lucky if you get off of work at 5:00 p.m.” said ColonBurgos, a field artillery cannoneer with 3rd Battalion, 12th Marines, 3rd Marine Division. “When I get to take a break and go to the mess hall, I want to know and make sure that I’m being treated right. I want to get the protein and macronutrients that I need, but I also want to enjoy the food that I’m eating.”
Marines and master labor contractors with Base Food Service, Mess Hall 488, partnered with stateside food vendors to host a food sampling survey event July 23 at Camp Foster.
Open to all Marines and U.S. Navy sailors who dine at mess halls, samples were available for those who were interested in new food items displayed in the dining area.
“We could definitely submit the master menu for Fiscal Year 2026 that we currently have, and that would take absolutely no work from our office and it would save manpower, but that’s not our job,” said Jensen, operations officer of Base Food Service. “We are fighting. We are fighting to make things more modern, to expand our menu catalog, and expand our capabilities.”
Jensen explained that his priority was Marines from private to sergeant, due to the E-5 and below community being the majority of SIK Marines.
Upon walking into the Mess Hall, Marines and sailors could sample fish fillets, chicken sandwiches and wings, scrambled eggs, popcorn shrimp, Asian dishes, and more. These patrons used evaluation forms after eating to grade the samples based on appearance, taste, texture, and overall acceptability.
“It was 10 out of 10. This is what we need at the mess hall. This is what’s going to make people want to save money and be here more often,” said ColonBurgos. “When I had these [samples ] for the first time I was like, ‘Wow’ I would have no problem coming to the mess hall every day, because I know for sure there’s going to be a nutritional meal waiting for me.”
ColonBurgos walked into the mess hall on July 23 for the sampling event. Just like other Marines, he went back to the line for multiple servings.
As part of the Unit Deployment Program - which typically lasts six months - ColonBurgos has been in Okinawa on UDP and heavily relies on the mess hall for subsistence. He mentioned that his day was sitting at a five out of ten, but after having had the samples his day was now at a strong eight out of ten.
Contrastly, Cpl. Juan Chavarria, a field artillery radar operator also with 3/12, 3rd MARDIV , has been permanent personnel and has dined at the mess hall for the past two years. He expressed similar opinions.
“I think it’s a good change, because the menu that we have now has been constant for the whole time I’ve been here,” he said. “It shows that people actually care about what we’re putting into our own bodies and I would definitely love to see more of it.”
As a former enlisted Marine, Jensen values customer feedback and understands the importance of meeting the needs of SIK Marines, but back then all this never existed for him.
In 2012, Jensen enlisted into food service and was a SIK Marine all the way up until 2021. As a customer and worker of food service, he recalls never seeing a survey or an analytics team at the mess hall, but now as a chief warrant officer he and his team are working to bring new changes to mess halls in Okinawa.
“When you actually live and breathe it [mess hall] for six or more years you understand that it’s not a quality of life question; it is a way of life type of question,” said Jensen. “Ultimately, human performance is everything in the mess hall, and having a secure line of feeding available is everything to me and that mission cannot fail.”
Finding a balance between appetizing meals, but also fueling Marines for peak performance is also another goal of Jensen and his staff. To find potential new vendors to contribute to changes to a new 28-day menu, Jensen and his staff have traveled around the world to setup up interviews with food vendors and bring them to Okinawa for Marines to try.
Some of the featured vendors included Mutombo Coffee, OvaEasy, FitFoodz, and Ying’s Kitchen. Options from these vendors provided a potential swap for current menu items that are nutritionally better options.
Jensen and his staff plan to take these findings and customer feedback and present them to Headquarters Marine Corps. Through these evaluation forms and results from the analytics team will ultimately determine if these vendors will get a spot on the new 28-day menu.
| Date Taken: | 07.23.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 08.06.2025 19:46 |
| Story ID: | 544874 |
| Location: | CAMP FOSTER, OKINAWA, JP |
| Web Views: | 12 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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