Story by: Pfc. Mike Pryor
BAGHDAD -- The three vehicles come racing down the dark street at 60 miles per hour, the roar of their engines shattering the pre-dawn quiet. Turret gunners in the front and rear gun trucks swivel their .50 caliber machine guns back and forth, looking for any signs of danger. Inside the third vehicle sits the precious cargo they are protecting. It's not gold or diamonds or a VIP. It's something maybe more important -- breakfast.
Every day, twice a day, Army food service specialists from Company A, 215th Forward Support Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division deliver meals cooked at a facility inside the International Zone to Soldiers stationed outside the wire. These cooks give the concept of 'take out" a whole new meaning.
The cooks take pride in their work.
"Food is [the Soldiers] best friend," said Sgt. Angela Chase of Co. A. "Once they get good food, they're happy."
In order to deliver the meals, the cooks must first pick it up from the Forward Operating Base Honor dining facility kitchen, where it is prepared. The facility is better equipped than the dining facilities at outlying bases and has a labor force supplied by a civilian contractor, said Sgt. First Class Michael Barker, the military quality-control noncommissioned officer in charge.
This dining facility supports eight other smaller base camps with prepared meals every day, and sends out half a million meals per month, Barker said.
"We feed the fighting force," he said. "Food is one of the biggest morale boosters you can have, and we make sure the Soldiers get the best food possible."
Yet, actually picking up the food and getting it to where the Soldiers can eat it is the responsibility of the different units in the FOB Honor dining facility's support zone. Of the eight FOBs that it serves, only one lies outside the International Zone: FOB Independence, home to the 1st Cavalry Division's 1st Battalion, 9th Regiment, and Co. B of the 3rd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division. This is where the Co. A cooks are based.
As a result, they are the only ones who must traverse the dangerous streets of Baghdad's red zone on a daily basis.
The commute can be a harrowing experience.
"We get grenades, RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades), small arms fire ... you name it," he said.
The cooks" willingness to risk their lives day after day to get hot chow to Soldiers on the front lines is impressive, said Pfc. Patrick Fenton, a cook with Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division who works at the FOB Honor Dining Facility.
"I definitely respect them," Fenton said. "They get shot at every single day just to get food for the Soldiers, but they keep on coming back."
"We come every day, twice a day, and on holidays as many times as we need to ... no matter what," Chase said.
On one recent morning, a crew arrived at the FOB Honor dining facility a little before 4 a.m. to pick up breakfast meals. Keeping the lights of the loading dock off for security, they passed green plastic containers containing eggs, potatoes and bacon out, one by one, until they were stacked high in the hold of a 5-ton truck.
When everything was ready, Villareal, Spc. Jason Pappas, and Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone Todd climbed into the lead armored gun truck. Todd climbed into the turret and got behind the .50 cal. Pappas turned the key and soon the convoy was moving out.
As soon as they left the International Zone, the vehicles picked up speed. In the turret, the cold wind whipped against Todd's face as he scanned the streets with the .50 cal. Danger seemed to lurk everywhere. Inside, Pappas and Villareal cracked jokes to defuse the tension.
It was something they had learned to live with, but never gotten used to. Near the end of the trip, Pappas had a premonition.
"Man, I think we're going to get hit today," he said. "I just have a feeling."
"Yeah, me too," said Villareal, looking out the window at the sky. "It's the rings around the moon. I'm telling you: it's bad karma."
Actually, their karma turned out to be pretty good that morning. They arrived safely and delivered the meals to the chow hall without an incident. When all the containers were unloaded, they headed back to their barracks for a few hours rest.
Before long the chow hall was filled with Soldiers returning from night patrols. As they shoveled down their hot breakfast, few of them thought about who had prepared the meal or what it took to get it there. All they were thinking about was getting food in their bellies.
But the cooks from the 215th's Company A wouldn't have it any other way.