By Sgt. Roger Ashley
Photos by Maj. Jesse Stalder
From left to right, Staff Sgt. Shelly Shurtleff supervises the line while Pfc. Peterson Demon, Sgt. Jennifer Jones and Pfc. Christopher Dukes discuss amounts of portion sizes.
Spring time with cool breezes, cloudless, sunny days and a burst of new green buds is perfect for grilling out and a picnic. The 412th was in for a treat to a picnic of sorts as 46 Soldiers received hands on training in new field food service items at the 412th Theater Engineer Command from 23-27 February 2009. 92G MOS (cooks) Soldiers of all ranks and experience joined forces to help instruct, train and familiarize in a Food Field Sanitation Class, the new Modular Burner Unit (MBU) and the Containerized Kitchen (CK). “We have Soldiers deploying and have never received the training. You have new equipment and seasoned Soldiers, and only the newbie’s have seen it. My goal is to get engineer units cooking again,” remarks Mr. Lanyard Armstrong, 412th’s food program manager.
The Food Service Sanitation Class was 16 hours of instruction on cross contamination, diseases, proper use and handling of food, personal hygiene and food storage. “Food safety, well really the safety of the Soldiers, That’s what it’s about. Keeping Soldiers safe,” said Staff Sgt. Cedric Douglas, a 412th Food Service NCO.
The MBU is the Army’s newest field service stove replacing the M2 Burner. “The M2 ran off of gasoline under pressure,” said Retired Chief Warrant Officer Mr. David Long, USACE contractor for the 412th Food Service Program, “Which is dangerous. They’re getting away from mogas.” The MBU runs off of diesel, “It’s much safer,” added in Douglas.
The main portion of the training focused on the Containerized Kitchen (CK) a portable field kitchen which replaced the Modern Kitchen Trailer (MKT). “The first time I used it was last year at Operation Sand Castle. I never saw the thing before. I had a Specialist train me on it. We transitioned well on it,” said Douglas. The older MKT, “You could cook with it, prepare food and serve food with it, but that’s it. The MKT is capable of feeding 300 persons per meal. The CK is able to feed 800 per meal,” said Long. “The CK has all new features,” said Douglas, “It’s generator powered. It has air conditioning. The CK has two refrigerators, a serving line, a self contained water system and a warming cabinet. You could live on it, if you had to. It’s better than some kitchens.
Sgt. Anthony Watkins pours water into steam tables to prepare for lunch.
Instructors included Sgt. 1st Class Janice Williams and Staff Sgt. Cedric Douglas, who both serve as 412th Food Service NCOs and the only two certified food sanitation adjunct instructors from Quartermaster school in FT Lee VA. “You have to make a 90 or above to become an instructor,” said Douglas. Mr. David Long served as a consultant and instructor for the class. Sgt. 1st Class Diana Gilliam, Staff Sgt. Marcia Weir and Sgt. Doyle Saylor served as assistant instructors from the 841st Engineer Battalion, FLA.
Long said, “The Reserves need more of this type of training.” Long didn’t have a field manual to guide them through the class on the CK, “All I could find was contractor’s notes. Some of the newer Soldiers who recently finished Advanced Individual Training (AIT) or who were recently deployed helped explain the CK.,” Long added, “Soldiers networking together helps everyone as a whole.”
“The classes were set up for the Soldiers getting mobilized,” said Douglas. Eight Soldiers have already mobilized from the 412th to the 842th to deploy to Iraq. Representatives from the Engineer Battalions included 841st, 926th, 467th, 844th, 391st, 463rd, 479th, 459th and from the 41th Engineer Brigade, the 412th TEC and the 416th TEC. “We’re the only command that has done the training,” said Armstrong. “I thought the 412th was behind but after looking into it I found the 412th was ahead. It’s USARC that’s supposed to be doing the training but it fell by the wayside. Money is always a problem, but Because Soldiers were mobilizing, we were able to use Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) money to fund the training.
Armstrong said, “We’re trying to set up more training. Money is always a problem but the overall goal coming from the food advisor that sits at FT Lee is to revitalize our cooks. Cooks are a dying breed. We want to bring cooks back to the kitchen. We want 92Gs back where they used to be. We want them back cooking, safely and efficiently.”
