Reservists prepare and serve meal in a mock deployed dining facility

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Mark Hybers
  • 507th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  Reservists from the 507th Sustainment Services Flight set up grills, a tent and a food line, feeding nearly 100 Airmen in a mock deployment scenario July 12 here.

Setting up the single pallet expeditionary kitchen is a yearly training requirement for the services flight and according to Senior Master Sgt. Mikula Labbe, sustainment services flight superintendent, must be up and ready to serve in six hours or less.

"We use this set up when we deploy to a bare base," said Senior Master Sgt. Mikula Labbe. "The first thing our Airmen get is a meal ready to eat and then we use the deployed setup and serve the unitized group ration meals."

The UGRs come as a pre-packaged meal and meet Air Force dietary standards but do not include perishables. UGRAs are also included and have perishable foods such as steak, chicken and vegetables. Labbe said some food, like fresh salads or fresh baked cookies, must come from local vendors.

Sustainment Services Flight Commander Capt. Renette Hilton said although the SPEK is not a mobility item, it's still a very beneficial part of services training.

"It gives our Airmen an opportunity to be able to put up the SPEK and the tent and use it instead of waiting to be deployed," Hilton said.- "We backfill deployed active duty members so we don't take the SPEK with us, it's for home station use in the event of an emergency."

If the deployed location has been set up for two years or more, the active duty deployed services flight will have a brick and mortar dining facility, Labbe said. A BEAR 500 unit is set up if the location is less than two years old.

"That unit is set up to feed 550 people," she said. "There is also a variation to that unit that deploys with washers and dryers."

The services flight trains with the 137th Oklahoma Air National Guard two or three times a year during Unit Training Assembly weekends. Labbe said 507th reservists get training on the deployed equipment but are not able to train in the brick and mortar facilities.

"Since we are a tenant unit, the dining facility is not a requirement for us," she said. "The guard services flight is responsible for feeding their members on drill weekends, so we get the vital training needed to work out of a brick and mortar dining facility."

Labbe went on to say the set up and tear down is very different between the SPEK and a brick and mortar location.

"Once the meal is finished, the cleanup and tear down begins. The Babington Airtonic Burner, used to keep food warm, is also used to produce hot water for dish cleanup," she added. "The entire set up is then broken down and stored on a pallet ready for the next use."

Labbe and Hilton said this training could not have been smoothly executed without the leadership and help of Master Sgt. Tamika Ferguson, Airman 1st Class Brent Shaffer, Senior Airman Taiwan Jackson and Airman 1st Class Quinton Sanders.