We have to be the rock that keeps Soldiers working safely

By Mr. Kenneth David Hall (IMCOM)March 25, 2009

Sgt. Juan McGee, 4th - 58th Airfield Operations Battalion
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

HUMPHREYS GARRISON - There are endless reasons to join the U.S. Army, and endless motivations to make it a career of service. One Soldier's daily mission in the Army has a direct, lasting impact on the motivation of thousands of other Soldiers to stay Army.

Sgt. Juan McGee, 4th - 58th Airfield Operations Battalion joined the Army in 2000 to be a cook because he sees the job as not only a rewarding career, but as a way to help Soldiers stay alive.

"It's a great job and it's a job where you know what you have to do ahead of time because everyone will always have to eat," said McGee. "You also get to meet a lot of people and I get to see the benefits of doing a job the proper way through the morale of the Soldiers I take care of. When Soldiers go away from my meals with a lot of motivation, then I did my job."

McGee says food is a way to keep Soldiers in top form during missions. While on missions in the field, McGee's menu features an item cherished by his Soldiers - omelets.

"You can make the same things out in the field as you do in a dining facility and it's easy to do because I love my job," he said. "It all depends if you want to go the extra mile or not. Some teams won't do the extra work but omelets are easy."

McGee added when there's a variety of items on the menu, it alleviates the stress Soldiers endure during field operations.

"It never hurts to find out what everybody likes to eat before we go into the field," he said. "Also, when you have Soldiers who are vegetarians, I'll go the extra mile to make sure their dietary needs are met."

McGee and other Soldiers in his unit recently received an invitation to tour and eat at a Korean Army dining facility to see how they work.

"The only differences were the language being spoken, the food they prepared and the types of utensils they used to get the job done. This is a friendship that is solid and important because you never know when we will all have to work a dining operation together," he said.

McGee said that Year of the NCO gives new Soldiers and the world a chance to see all the things Noncommissioned Officers do.

"It's important for people to understand the many decisions and everything else outside of work that we have going on and how we have to break everything down to handle situations without things falling apart around us and keeping people from getting hurt and motivated at the same time," he said. "We are human, but sometimes we have to show - no matter what - we are keeping everything together. NCOs control what's going on around them in the Army and we have to be the rock that keeps Soldiers working safely and completing missions on time."

McGee said he loves the NCO Corps because it offers the chance to help people no matter how you look at it. But early in McGee's career, he almost didn't make it to the promotion board.

"When my time came to prepare for my sergeant promotion board, my chain of command had to order me to set aside time to study because I would not leave the kitchen because our mission wasn't going the way I wanted it to go and I wanted to make sure the mission was going right before I made time for anything else," he said.

"This is my second tour in Korea and there are more cooks to work with and that gives us all more time to learn our craft and train new Soldiers how to do the job better than anyone else."

McGee said that he has to serve 20 years in the Army because if he doesn't then he's wasting time.

"Though I love what I do, I never forget I'm a Soldier first. To me, this is the most fun, secure job in the world. Even when we arrive on site in the field at eight o'clock at night, we will set up quickly because I believe Soldiers are still entitled to a hot meal and to be full before they continue with the mission.

"When I'm done with my Army career, I'll look back at all the service members I served - and maybe because they had a great meal the day of a hard or dangerous mission it gave them that extra motivation they needed to stay alive, and maybe help others stay alive also."