Photo By Sgt. Brianna Gaudi | Lance Cpl. Miguel Rojas, a food service specialist for Combat Logistics Regiment 25...... read more read more
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In Fort Greely, Alaska, long before the sun rises over the mountains, Lance Cpl. Miguel Rojas, a food service specialist for Combat Logistics Regiment 25 has already begun his day accompanied by the other cooks participating in Arctic Edge 18.
For the past three days, Rojas has climbed out of his rack around four in the morning to start the hot wets and coffee for all the Marines in the Task Force. For the duration of the exercise Rojas and his co-workers will provide Marines with nutritious meals to keep them going on their missions.
Consisting of more than 1500 participants from the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and Navy, Arctic Edge 18 is a biennial, large-scale, joint-training exercise that prepares and tests the U.S. military’s ability to operate tactically in the extreme cold-weather conditions found in Arctic environments by utilizing the unique and expansive air and ground training areas in Alaska.
A twenty-three year old from St. Louis, Missouri, Rojas explained that he joined to make his mother proud, and to get out of his city and see more of what the world has to offer.
“I didn’t choose to become a food specialist, but I make the best out of every situation and I’ve learned a lot from it in the last three years,” said Rojas. “I enjoy what I do, especially now that I understand the importance of it.”
Rojas tells about the role in which cooks play in any field operation, particularly one in the cold weather environment of northern Alaska. He explains that in the cold, the body sweats less and Marines don’t feel the same need to eat and hydrate like they would in the warm, humid climate that Camp Lejeune provides in North Carolina.
In order to complete their missions, Marines must be fueled and healthy, and facing the challenges of cold weather conditions, cooks must change the way they work by utilizing a specific type of fuel to keep equipment
from freezing.
“Things always move a lot slower in the cold, even the food takes longer to cook,” Rojas said. “Meals Ready-to-Eat are all good and well, but when you see the boost in morale when the Marines come in for a hot meal from a hard day at work, it really makes it all worth it.
Rojas described what a day in the life of a cook looked like explaining that he wakes up before anyone else, and after hot wets and coffee are made, he begins breaking down what meals he will prepare for the next day.
“We issue out MRE’s to the Marines for afternoon chow and then get an early start on making dinner to make sure the meal is thoroughly cooked,” said Rojas. “We begin serving chow around 1700 and when it’s all over we clean up the tent and the vats and pans.”
After all is said and done, Rojas returns to his rack around 2100 for a good night’s sleep just to wake up and do it all over again the following day.
Once Rojas is finished feeding and fueling the Marines of Task Force Arctic Edge, he will return to Camp Lejeune to await his next opportunity to serve the hard-working and hungry.
Grateful for what the Marine Corps has allowed him to experience, Rojas has future plans to use his GI Bill to get a degree in law enforcement and apply what the Marine Corps has taught him as a civilian.
| Date Taken: | 03.12.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 03.13.2018 13:12 |
| Story ID: | 269105 |
| Location: | FORT GREELY, ALASKA, US |
| Hometown: | ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, US |
| Web Views: | 68 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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