Reservists experience field feeding at April UTA

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Eric Amidon
  • 934th Airlift Wing
MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL AIR RESERVE STATION, Minn. --  Members of the 934th Force Support Squadron set up a Single Pallet Expeditionary Kitchen, (SPEK) as part of a competition for the Hennessy Trophy at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Air Reserve Station April 1.

Force Support members from around the Air Force Reserve Command showcase their skills in efficiently operating a SPEK in hopes of winning the trophy which is awarded to the team with the best overall performance during the competition.

Tech Sgt. Jerrod Weese, the chef supervisor at the FSS Dining Facility, explained that the annual competition is normally held inside of the facility but that this particular event was centered around conducting “field feeding” operations.

“The competition is overall setup, food operations and all of our training,” Weese said. “The judges make sure we do everything by the book and everything is inspectable.”
The team has been preparing all week setting up and tearing down the SPEK numerous times in order to improve efficiency and train for joint service operations serving troops deployed in austere locations where hard facilities may not be available.

Senior Airman Paige Tranah, a services specialist functioning as the shift leader during the competition supervised the food production throughout the competition.

“We served about 288 people today,” said Tranah. “Which typically during the competition you only see about 50 people go through.”
Paige went on to elaborate how the feedback team members were receiving was positive and that many were surprised at the quality of the food.

In her few years of experience she has noticed that people usually shy away when they see a tent set up for a serving line.
At the end of the operation the overwhelming sentiment felt by team members and leadership was that they had successfully changed the minds of those skeptical of “field food” served through a mobile serving line.