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Food service 'fuels' deployed forces

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Bahja J. Jones
  • 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  Much like the jets on the flight line need fuel to fly, service members need food for energy to complete mission critical tasks. The dining facilities at the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing here are charged with the responsibility of providing quality 'fuel' to deployed service members - an operation costing $5.1 million per month.

"Our mission is one of the most vital because everyone needs to eat," said Master Sgt. Treva Sahadat, the 379th Expeditionary Force Support Squadron Independence Hall Dining Facility Manger deployed from Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.

The food service operation here is one of the largest in the entire Air Force, second only to Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, supporting more than 8,000 U.S. and coalition forces with five food service facilities, two of which are open 24/7. Combined, they serve more than 16,000 meals per day.

"Our 24-hour facilities ensure we can accommodate everyone including shift workers and those who are unable to make it to lunch at a specified time," said Senior Airman Takecia Condlin, a 379th EFSS food service journeyman deployed from Pope Army Air Field, N.C.

The 379th EFSS food service Airmen support a crew of more than 200 other-country nationals providing oversight and monitoring the temperatures of food on the service line, ensuring only the freshest food is available for patrons, proper sanitation guidelines are being used and the Air Force recipe system is followed.

"The food choices offered here support the Air Force's 'Go for Green' initiative," Sahadat said.

The 'Go for Green' program was implemented for the Air Force in June 2012. This initiative is a nutritional recognition labeling system designed to provide a quick snapshot of the nutritional value of food choices in the dining facilities.

"Each day we set out a plate containing the healthy choice meal for the day," said Sahadat. "We also provide the calorie, fat, cholesterol and sodium count to give patrons the knowledge to make healthier food choices."

Variety is one thing that separates the 379th AEW food service facilities from those in other deployed locations.

"Many of our brothers and sisters further downrange don't have the luxury of nearly as many options," Sahadat said

These options are only possible through careful coordination between food service personnel here and the Subsistance Prime Vendor Program, which employs commercial food distributors from the U.S.

"We use a web-based system to order from a contracted vendor within the area of responsibility," said Master Sgt. Martin Tanedo, the 379th EFSS rations superintendent deployed from Travis Air Force Base, Calif. "Aside from milk, all of the food and produce is shipped from the U.S. and can take 2-to-3 months to get to the AOR."

Ensuring food is properly rationed is crucial to mission success, he explained.

"Eating is serious business," Tanedo said. "People can't work without food and here it takes an elite food team to feed 8,000 to 11,000 joint war fighters."