JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. — The 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) Odin Café Dining Facility has been named the Joint Base Lewis-McChord best dining facility for fiscal year 2025. They have continued the winning streak extending into the second quarter of fiscal year 2026, totaling 17 quarterly wins in a row.
The competition includes all dining facilities across Joint Base Lewis-McChord, with winners determined solely by inspection scores.
Inspectors from the 404th Army Field Support Battalion evaluate facilities on a 100-point scale across eight categories: food preparation, administration, nutrition, command emphasis, personnel and training, equipment operations and maintenance, receiving and storage, and sanitation. All criteria must meet standards outlined in Army Regulation 30-22, the Army Food Program.
Staff Sgt. Kevin Hand, dining facility manager for Odin Café and assigned to the Group Support Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), said administrative precision is critical to success. “It’s a big checklist,” he said. “They’re checking all of our record keeping … production schedules, temperatures, making sure we’re in compliance.”
Despite competing against larger facilities with more personnel, Hand credited his team’s cohesion as a key advantage.
“They have more people, but I think we have better people,” he said. “It’s closer, more tight knit” Operating a dining facility presents ongoing challenges, including balancing financial constraints with the expectation of providing high-quality meals that maintain readiness.
“Trying to not overspend money, but then still put out high-quality meals … and balancing running the section administratively while trying to run the DFAC, it’s like a business,” Hand said.
Those demands are compounded because of the small team size, while maintaining consistent performance and continuing a winning tradition.
“All of these quarter awards hanging up, that tradition, that legacy, keeps the Soldiers striving for excellence," said 1st Sgt. Craig Smalls, Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment First Sergeant for Group Support Battalion.
Leaders say that tradition plays a major role in the facility’s sustained success.
“Every Soldier gave it their all, even the Soldiers that just arrived. They want to live up to that legacy and keep it alive.” Said Smalls.