FORT CARSON, Colo. -- About 100 cooks from Fort Carson took to the streets of downtown Colorado Springs at 1 a.m., armed with 80 gallons of syrup, 500 gallons of coffee, 935 gallons of milk and 325 gallons of juice for the 51st annual Colorado Springs Street Breakfast that kicked off June 22 with about 6,000 people in attendance.
“I was in the Army 50 years ago, and I can tell you those scrambled eggs haven’t changed a whole lot since,” said Loren Whittemore, a Colorado Springs resident.
The cooks from Carson staged at the post around 11 p.m. the night before and rolled out around midnight.
“My Soldiers have been up since o’dark 30, and, after a long day they are still motivated,” said Gregg Joell, installation food program manager.
The Soldiers came from the 3rd and 4th Brigade Combat Teams, 4th Infantry Division; 43rd Sustainment Brigade; 4th and 52nd Engineer Battalions; and 759th Military Police Battalion.
The Street Breakfast, a joint effort between the Sertoma Club, Fort Carson, the Pikes Peak Range Riders and the city of Colorado Springs, kicks off the rodeo season.
The Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo runs July 13-16 at Norris-Penrose Event Center.
Fort Carson cooks have been participating in the breakfast for approximately 40 years, although no one has a record of the exact date the Mountain Post became involved.
“I have done this five times, and it is a great opportunity for us to be able to serve the folks of Colorado Springs,” said Joell.
The crowd was treated to country and western music by the Durango Drifters as they sat cowboy style on hay bales.
In a ceremonial procession, about 150 horses with riders led by the Fort Carson Mounted Color Guard; Brig. Gen. James H. Doty, acting senior commander, 4th Infantry Division and Fort Carson; and Senior Mission Command Sgt. Maj. John A. Kurak, 4th Inf. Div. and Fort Carson, left the breakfast site. Then the Range Riders left on their 62nd Pikes Peak Range Ride, a five-day ride around Pikes Peak.
“I am about as excited as I can possibly be, this is an outstanding event and I am really looking forward to the ride,” said Jim Nielsen, who was on his first ride.
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