From the main line to the flightline

Published Aug. 8, 2008
By Master Sgt. Jeff Loftin
379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

Southwest Asia -- From the main line to the flightline the mission relies on the menu. It held true for Napoleon and his army and it still holds true at this modern Southwest Asia air base.

Forty-eight military members and 230 contract employees man five dining facilities here to provide sustenance for those serving their nation.

"If people don't have fuel to do the job they are not going to be able to maintain their mission," said Master Sgt. Christopher Bailey, Independence Dining Facility manager and assistant food service manager. "The meals also make or break morale. If people are well fed, both nutritionally and with items they like, they tend to perform better in their duty section."

The dining facilities here serve between 21,000 and 24,000 meals each day - one of the Air Force's largest food service operations.

"Only Lackland Air Force Base [Texas] has a larger food operation than we do," said Master Sgt. Grace Regpala, 379th Expeditionary Force Support Squadron food service manager. "We are the largest food operation in the area of responsibility."

The dining facilities here not only serve more meals to more people, they can also boast the sun never sets on their service.

"We also have the only 24 hour food operation in the Air Force," said the Philippines native. "There are flight kitchens open 24 hours, but we have the only dining facility open around the clock."

Large, around-the-clock operations aren't always better, but servicemembers here seem to be happy with this one.

"The majority of the feedback is positive," said Sergeant Bailey, deployed here from Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. "You are always going to have some kind of suggestion or recommendation for the menu or how something is prepared, but overall it's pretty positive."

Behind every good feedback there is a team ensuring every aspect of quality control.

"The primary job of the military personnel is to quality check the contractors who are charged with cooking and providing the meals," said Sergeant Bailey. "The inspectors are in there with the food service staff making sure they're doing the temperature checks and ensuring they prepare the food in accordance with the Air Force recipe card system. Sometimes they even step in and help out."

Long before an employee can begin preparing a meal, the menu must be planned and the supplies ordered.

"The managers plan out a 28-day menu cycle," said the Albuquerque, N.M., native. "Within that you have your main line, snack line, deserts, pastries and salads. We also have 94 specialty items we put out each week. We base everything off the Air Force recipe card system, which lists out what we need exactly [for each dish]. We make calculations from that and forecast the rations required. From there, we order them through the rations warehouse. They, in turn, order the food through the local prime vendor, which gets the rations to the base."

There are usually plenty of miles on the meals before they make the table.

"All our food comes from the United States with the exception of the milk and juices," said Sergeant Regpala. "If we want an item added [to the list] it's a long process. It takes anywhere from three to six months."

The ingredients for one new initiative have made it through the system and are now pleasing palettes here.

"At the Blachford Preston Complex Dining Facility we started a new pizza bar," said Sergeant Bailey. "It has been a really big hit. As a matter of fact, some of the other managers say they can see a drop in the numbers served on the nights they serve pizza at the BPC."

Servicemembers here will also be dining in some new facilities soon.

"A new Independence dining facility is tentatively scheduled to open Dec. 1," said Sergeant Regpala. "A new state-of-the-art flightline kitchen is also scheduled to take the place of the Grab-and-Go in October."

In the end, new facilities and initiatives only go so far in taking the mission from the main line to the flightline.

"It takes the entire food service team to come together to make it happen," said Sergeant Bailey. "Every job, whether it's the people in the store room, the rations people getting the food or the trash guy taking the trash out, everybody comes together to make the mission work."