FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. -- By the time you stumble out of your bunk and manage to wake up halfway through your morning workout, there's a group of Soldiers and civilians on the installation that have been up and at it for nearly four hours by the time you hit breakfast.
Cooks, both Soldier and civilian, start their day in the wee hours of the morning and are one of the most important jobs on the installation that happen outside the normal duty day.
At the Dauntless Dining Facility, Soldiers start their morning early to get ready to serve the students of the Noncommissioned Officers Academy beginning at 6 a.m.
"We come in at 3:30 and start cooking by 3:45 (a.m.)," said Spc. Joshua Miller, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 4th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade. "If you're on the morning shift, you finish in the dining facility around 1300, and then we do physical training. In all, your day ends around 2:30 in the afternoon."
"But that's on days when we don't have to go do company stuff as well. On Monday, we have to go to the motor pool after lunch and take care of that equipment. It can make for a long day," Miller said.
For the Soldiers preparing meals in the Dauntless Dining Facility, it's all part of the job.
"If you're on the early shift for one day, you'll move to the second shift for the second day, and the second shift comes in at 1100 before the lunch is served," said Sgt. James Goolsby, 5th Engineer Battalion and shift noncommissioned officer-in-charge.
The Dauntless Dining Facility runs with eight on a shift, but serving the Noncommissioned Officer Academy students, the facility closes on most holidays and weekends. The eight are responsible for feeding an average of 400 Soldiers each meal, said Sgt. Erik Moore, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 193rd Brigade Support Battalion.
"The other dining facilities on post use contractors, so for them, they can add or reduce personnel on the shifts based on the headcounts," Moore said.
"Here, we work with the cooks from all the units in the 4th MEB, but we don't add people when the count goes up -- we run it with what we got," Goolsby added.
"If we had more personnel, we would add a third shift -- the night bakers -- but right now, we also do the baking," Goolsby said.
As with any shift work, there are always challenges adapting to the work schedule.
"It's not bad coming in on the first shift, because you have most afternoons to yourself.
The second shift comes in at 11, but they have to be here for PT at 6 a.m. and they usually don't get out of here until after 1900 (7 p.m.) -- that makes for a really long day and a very short night, because you are coming back in the next day at 3:30 (a.m.)," Miller said.
Motivating the Soldiers is one of the many challenges faced by the Dining Facility leadership.
"It's tough, but as a leader, you have to let these Soldiers know that their work is not going unseen, and that they are appreciated," Goolsby said.
When asked about the toughest part of the job, the answers ranged from dealing with early morning deer and skunks, to making the gravy while shaking the sleep cobwebs from your head.
"The sleep hours are kinda crazy, getting up at 2 a.m. and all, but it's definitely worth it. I really like it," said Spc. Sean Bradford, HHC 193rd BSB.
Social Sharing