MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. --
On a daily basis, nearly 500 Airmen walk through the doors of Malmstrom Air Force Base's Elkhorn Dining Facility. There is a solid routine of planning the day's courses, cleaning and cooking the required items in order to keep the hungry customers pleased and ready to fulfill their duties.
According to the DFAC's chefs, keeping these Airmen well fed helps them to stay on their toes when they are needed to accomplish the mission. Without a full stomach and plentiful nourishment, fulfilling the tasks that are required of them would be next to impossible.
"We start at 5 a.m. every morning, "said Staff Sgt. Eldoris Gardner, 341st Force Support Squadron food service craftsman. "First thing in the morning we prepare for breakfast and from that point on its go, go, go. Throughout the course of the day, we are on our feet a lot and it can be very hectic just like it would be in a civilian cafeteria. A million things are going on at once and you have to learn how to handle situations on the fly, but in the end it's all worth it.
"To cook for this many Airmen requires a lot of communication," he continued. "At our core we are a tight knit group. Everyone works together to accomplish our goal of making sure our Airmen, retirees and special guests are well fed. In part, we even play a small hand in keeping the morale up. We also have a group of civilians who come in every day and work just as hard to help keep things running smooth. This is definitely a team effort and the people we have here are some of the hardest working individuals I know."
In sheer numbers, the dining facility goes through a staggering number of food items with everything from chicken breasts to broccoli heads being consumed in the thousands on a weekly basis. Keeping track of these items requires constant observation and exceptional record keeping skills in order to keep food on the line for Airmen to enjoy.
"My job at the moment is to manage the storeroom," said Senior Airman Michael Johnston, 341st FSS food service apprentice. "I order any items that are low in supply and check what comes in for quality. In order to keep the chefs cooking, a lot goes into the organization of materials and produce. At home you might go to the store and pre plan for a family sized meal, which may take an hour or two depending on how many people you are cooking for. When you have multiple chefs cooking for nearly 500 people, the process becomes a little more complicated. Attention to detail is key."
While serving Airmen base-side is essential, keeping Malmstrom's defenders out in the field well-nourished and ready to fight is critical. According to some security forces personnel, constant vigilance is hard to maintain when all you have on your mind is food. It can big a big stressor when you need to be focused, and in a situation that could mean life or death the last thing you want to be thinking about is the meal you missed earlier in the day.
"When Airmen think of food usually the first thing that comes to mind is the DFAC," said Gardner. "We certainly try to do our part in keeping Malmstrom's Airmen in constant ready basis but we can't forget about the people out in the field. The men and women who spend days at a time working hard to keep us safe deserve recognition and our support. Chefs in a field-based environment are often tasked to cook for many people single handedly and with limited supplies compared to what we have here. I was a missile chef for six years so I know what goes into making it work out there.
"When I think of food, I think of the people I work with here on base and those deployed out in the field." he continued. "Everyone plays their part in making this a better place to live and it's been great to serve with these men and women."