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FORWARD OPERATING BASE SHARANA, Afghanistan (April 1, 2008) -
Army cooks from Task Force Pacemaker in Afghanistan are providing
their own unique touch and a taste of home with each hot meal they
serve to soldiers throughout Regional Command East.
The Task Force Pacemaker Headquarters Support Company cooks,
deployed from Fort Lewis, Wash., work throughout RC-East, often in
remote areas for extended durations.
"Our cooks use the Army-standard recipes as a guide, but as soon
as a new cook learns those standards, we show them how to customize
the recipe, and this is what makes it a traditional homemade
taste," said Army Staff Sgt. Melanie Scott, lead cook at the
Reception, Staging, Onward Movement and Integration dining facility
here. "Our weekly barbecues are the most loved meals by the
soldiers."
Scott, a Grosse Ile, Mich., native, has a staff of eight
military cooks and 16 Afghans who work on midnight and day
shifts.
"Transportation has been a challenge, getting supplies to these
remote locations," Scott said. "KBR and other contractors do not
support these locations for security reasons.
"Army cooks are more than capable and prepared for these kinds
of missions," Scott said. "During the winter and in the rainy
season, it is especially hard for supplies to get to these
areas."
Army Pvt. Christopher Henderson, a Beech Grove, Ind., native,
studied the culinary arts before joining the Army. "I like to know
that someone enjoys the food I prepare," he said. "Those
compliments make my day."
Henderson has been cooking for two years. Army Spc. Michele
Maximova, a 70th Engineers cook attached to Task Force Pacemaker,
has 13 years of previous experience as a chef.
"I love feeding soldiers," the Cleveland native said. "The
biggest challenge is the lack of products available in the theater
of operations. We have to improvise with food; for example we have
to use one type of stew beef and use it for six different
varieties. I love being an Army cook."
Army Maj. James DeLapp, a Barrington, Ill., native and Task
Force Pacemaker executive officer said the dining facilities run by
the Army cooks here rival the contracted dining facilities.
"The cooks take more time in preparing the food and adding their
personal touches," DeLapp said. "Soldiers and civilians walk across
the FOB to enjoy their meals and wait in line when they would not
have to at other contracted dining facilities."
The Pacemaker cooks established dining facilities at new FOBs
throughout Afghanistan such as FOB Logar, Combat Outpost Herrera,
FOB Kushmond and Khyr Kot Castle.
These Army cooks continue to provide more than just the
essential food rations needed for survival; they also provide a
taste of home during deployment.
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