Combat Cooks Keep Marines Energized, Happy

Defend America News ^ | Lance Cpl. Ray Lewis

[SandRat]

Combat Cooks Keep Marines Energized, Happy
Food Service specialists make sure everyone at Observation Post Falcons and other outposts have hot chow in their bellies.
By Lance Cpl. Ray Lewis 1st Marine Division OBSERVATION POST FALCONS, Iraq, Sept. 29, 2006 -- If the Marines can’t come to the mess hall, then the mess hall will have to come to the Marines. Food service specialists assigned to 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment set up a field-food facility so Marines can have a daily hot meal here. “If Marines don’t get a good meal, they don’t have the energy to complete their tasks,” said Cpl. Melvin D. Carson, Jr., a food service specialist with Headquarters and Service Company. The 26-year-old from Virginia Beach, Va., is one of three self-proclaimed “combat cooks” who serve with the battalion under Regimental Combat Team 5. Carson is the leader of the bunch. He and his men make sure everyone at Observation Post (OP) Falcons and other outposts have hot chow in their bellies. Carson and his cooks wake up every morning to prepare food like steak, eggs and hash browns for hundreds of Marines and sailors. It’s not so much a duty as it is a chance to help out those Marines facing hostile fire every day. The self-proclaimed 'combat cooks' look into a cooking pot at Observation Post Falcons, Iraq, Sept. 23, 2006. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Ray Lewis “It’s our honor to cook for Marines, whether they’re in the rear or in the front lines,” Carson said. He said the honor doesn’t come without a little sweating though. It’s a daily test of skill and leadership for Carson. “I had to prove that I can run things without my staff noncommissioned officer here,” he said. “I try to teach my guys how I do things so they can learn it and pass on what I do.” “I like cooking out here,” said Lance Cpl. Matthew R. Magnuson, also a food service specialist. “This gives me a chance to apply what I learned when I was training in cooking school.”	Food service specialists with 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment are self-proclaimed 'combat cooks' who brought a chow hall to the field so Marines could have a hot meal between missions. All Marines serve under Regimental Combat Team 5 and will be conducting operations in the Habbaniyah area for seven months. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Ray Lewis The 20-year-old from Puyallup, Wash., said it’s a hard-working but rewarding job. “Having them come back from chow and tell you chow was good feels good,” Magnuson said, “especially when I get a compliment on a certain food that I made for a large crowd. It makes me feel like I did what I was supposed to do.” Magnuson isn’t the only one who feels that way. The cooks have been told on many occasions how much the Marines enjoy their food. “They put love into the food, good portions,” said Cpl. Nicholas J. Lindsay, a squad leader in the battalion. The 22-year-old mortarman from Paramus, N.J., knows the importance of a wholesome meal after an operation. “Its one thing coming off patrol, tired and having a No.12 Meal, Ready-to-Eat,” Lindsay said. “But tasting steak and eggs or chicken parmesan deliciously seasoned makes that much difference.” Lindsay spends more than a week at a time here. He sees the work the combat cooks accomplish. “They take care and pride into what they do even though they cook for other OPs,” he said. “I have respect for them in every aspect.” The combat cooks stay humble. They’re just glad to make their fellow Marines happy. “It feels good to know that after sweating in the kitchen making food that they appreciate our meals,” Carson said.

[Lurker]

I served rare steaks

God Bless You.

Semper Fi.

L

[perfect stranger]

I've never been bored in a kitchen.

Nor have I. It's a shame that the illegal Mexicans here don't agree.

[JRandomFreeper]

What does not kill you makes you stonger... maybe. But it does make you smarter.

/johnny

[BIGLOOK]

On flight crews we from 0500 till often near mid-rats, we had bad hours. The cooks had bad hours too. working overtime. I'm forever grateful.

Chief, those guys worked an 8-4-4-8 watch sched daily in Danang and like everyone else had no liberty.

[pissant]

God bless each and every one of them!

[Lurker]

Ping to #40.

Not that you'd do anything like that to an FNG type...

L

[Lancey Howard]

A friend of mine, a Marine cook circa 1970, was busted a rank in Vietnam for punching a 2nd Lt. The officer pulled the cook, who was sleeping, out of his rack and got in his face for making the brown cake with the white icing instead of the white cake with the brown icing.

[JRandomFreeper]

My right eye is smarting from the salsa I made earlier. But yes, I washed my hands before touching anything important.

I worry about the FNGs. I saw one pick up a sizzle platter right after chef put it on top of the range. We all smelt the smoke and sizzle. I washed dishes that night to cover for Ernesto.

/johnny

[Jemian]

You beat me to it, again. I was just about to ping you. JT appreciates good cooks. Thank you, Johnny, and all our fighting warriors.

[SAJ]

Excess habs? No such a thing. Couple of thoughts for you.

Soften some cream cheese, say an hour @room temp. 8 oz pkg, into a blender/food processor, toss in 3-10 stemmed, habs (depends on your taste, of course, but the fat in the cream cheese neutralises the oleoresin capsicum in the habs), couple-three-five mashed garlic cloves, tsp sesame oil. Set the blender/processor on puree, run it for 3-4 minutes. Use the result as either a fantastic dip for nearly anything, OR, mix tbsps of it with good bleu cheese and chopped onions for smothering steak, ribs, pork chops, &c. The flavour is simply fantastic. Try it and see!

Or, make a bechamel sauce, say 1 quart, then, reduce the heat, add 3-5 well-chopped habs (stemmed -- don't worry about the seeds), 1 tbsp of butter, 1-3 tsps dijon mustard (to your taste, of course) and 1 tsp dried thyme. Whisk briskly on reduced heat for 30-60 seconds for full incorporation.

This is a jackleg variant on sauce moutare and can be used to 1) pan-broil shrimp, crawfish, even firm-flesh cold-water fishes like trout (dash of lemon should be added for these last), 2) mixed with a bit of mayo to thicken, as a fabulous sandwich spread, 3) mixed with coconut milk and about 1/2 cup of red wine vinegar, as an excellent marinade for most cuts of beef or pork (pork tenderloin is especially tasty with this, btw). About 1.5 lbs of meat to 8-10 oz of marinade, overnight in a zip bag in the fridge.

OR, retain the brine from a quart jar of pickles when you've used all the spears or slices. Drop half a dozen whole habs into the brine, figure it's about 8-10 oz left or so in the jar. Refrigerate overnight, strain out the habs, and you've an excellent high-acid marinade for anything you like. Tougher cuts of beef are perfect for this marinade; skirts, flanks, even briskets if you want.

Too many habs? Send 'em along to me -- I'll gladly pay the postage!

Buon appetito, m'friend!

[Lurker]

Yeeeeouch.

Mrs. L used to come home with some nasty burns. Before we met one time she managed to douse her entire leg with a pot of veal stock.

She was off her feet for a couple of weeks so she said. I can't even imagine how badly that must have hurt.

Worrying about the new guys is a good thing. They're not only dangerous to themselves, they're dangerous to you. There's lots of ways to get hurt in a kitchen and almost all of them involve copious amounts of blood or large areas of damaged skin.

Thanks again for doing your thing.

Regards,

L

[Lurker]

Sounds marvelous. I'll give 'em a try.

I love grilling whole pork tenderloins. I'll give that marinade a try.

Thanks,

L

[NormsRevenge]

Armies march on their stomachs.

SoS aka chipped beef and gravy on biscuits
Marines Field Mess BumP

[perfect stranger]

I didn't fall for it so easy. But that little bit of webbing betwen my right thumb and fore-finger was pretty tender for a few days.

A few weeks ago I bought a pound of habs and let them sit around in the cooler at work for a week or so and greatly regreted it because the rest of the staff used them as practical jokes and dares for cash.

One of our idiot servers that was "got" by the kitchen staff the night before offered me 20 dollars to eat half of one and I told him, "You don't have to pay me, I bought the whole damn pound of them."

[Lurker]

I've got a few of them cleaned and sectioned into about 1/4 inch strips. Then I ran a cotton thread through them and hung 'em up over the stove.

Once they dry I figure I can just pluck off a hunk and drop it into whatever I'm cooking kind of like those New Mexico style chiles.

One or two should do for a whole great big pot of chili.

They are really pretty little peppers, and they look almost completely harmless but man oh man one wrong move and .....

L

[JRandomFreeper]

God gave me the opportunity to serve. Daddy placed his hands upon my head as I knelt before him and he gave me his blessing. About 6 months before he died.

Dad thought I was being stupid, but he gave me his blessing.

What else do you do? Serve correctly, work as required, and give thanks for an opportunity to serve?

For that, I am grateful.

I feed warriors.

/johnny

[perfect stranger]

One wrong move and....you will learn not to make that wrong move.

[Lurker]

I feed warriors.

You ought to put that on an few T-shirts.

You make sure you stay qual'ed on marksmanship. Bad guys kill cooks, too.

Stay safe.

L

[Lurker]

LOL!

You got that right.

Well my shift keeping the County safe is almost at an end gentlemen. I've got a couple of quick equipment checks to run and then I'm off to home for a couple cold ones.

JRandom I'll hoist one for you and say a prayer for your speedy and safe return along with all those you feed.

It's been a real pleasure chatting with both of you.

Semper Fi.

L

[JRandomFreeper]

I fed a former SecAF with just my knife kit bundle and a light colonel and a debit card.

If I need a rifle. I'll be able to pick one up. And I'm qualified. Us, ours, Ma Duece, theirs, AKs, whatever.

I'm old and grumpy. No exes have kilt me. No bad guys will. AF is as safe as houses.

It all works out.

/johnny