Serving more than food

GRAFENWOEHR, Germany - Accustomed to waking up earlier than most people, Soldiers are not strangers to watching the sun rise. However, there is one Army job that requires Soldiers to wake up even earlier.

"It's a matter of getting in the groove," said Sgt. Sandra Johnson, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the 91st Engineer Dining Facility at Grafenwoehr, Germany. "It's a lot of long hours for an underappreciated [military occupation specialty]."

Despite long hours and a lot of hard work, the 91st Engineer Dining Facility serves 360 Soldiers a meal, 800 Soldiers a day, to help keep morale high during Combined Resolve III.

Although this isn't her first time in Germany for the Combined Resolve training mission, Johnson is stepping into a new position.

"It's new for me because this is my first time in charge," said Johnson. "I've been in the chef leader position, so I've seen both aspects and learned a lot from the last [time we were here]."

Even with experience on their side, getting a dining facility off the ground isn't without its challenges. Unlike working at the dining facilities back home at Fort Hood, coming to Grafenwoehr means working from the ground up.

There has been a lack of supplies and equipment, said Johnson, but fortunately the main post dining facility has been very helpful.

"It's all about who you know," said Johnson. "Don't burn bridges and it really helped that old NCOIC kept the lines of communication open with the main dining facility."

In addition to receiving help from the main dining facility, the 91st Engineer Dining Facility has a more open line of communication with their leadership.

With more support from the leadership, cooks in the 91st Engineer Dining Facility are able create better meals for the Soldiers, and with better meals come happier Soldiers, said Johnson.

"If you can't keep Soldiers happy their morale will decrease," said Johnson. "It's especially important during the holiday season when Soldiers are away from their families and we've got something great planned for Thanksgiving."

Knowing the dining facility is doing its part to keep Soldier morale high is what makes the long hours worth it for Johnson and her crew.

"A lot of people, especially Soldiers, have expressed to us we're doing a good job," said Johnson. "It helps keep our morale up so we can keep there morale up."

For some of Johnson's crew, working overseas is a new experience.

During his first overseas rotation, Pfc. DeQuan Prince, a food service specialist with the 91st Engineer Dining Facility, discovered working in a dining facility here is more challenging than at Fort Hood.

"I was worried about what it would be like since it's my first time overseas and I didn't know what to expect." said Prince. "You have to feed more with less and work all day as opposed to working in shifts."

But even through the challenges, Prince knows his job in important to keeping morale high at Combined Resolve III.

"Keeping morale high is important," said Prince. "If their morale isn't high then they don't want to be here and they don't want to do their job, and I think their jobs are important."