Photo By Staff Sgt. Broderick Hennington | The 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team “Black Jack Brigade,” 1st Cavalry Division,...... read more read more
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FORT HOOD, TX -- The 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team “Black Jack Brigade,” 1st Cavalry Division, reopened and rebranded its dining facility as the Black Jack Warrior Restaurant during a ceremony here, Oct 1, 2021.
The Black Jack dining facility has not operated as a restaurant for the brigade since approximately 2013.
“We worked in 1st Brigade’s dining facility because they closed our facility to be a culinary school,” said Spc. Bernard Cassidy, 1st Battalion, 9th Regiment culinary arts specialist with G Company. "We felt slightly out of place because we were not in our brigade footprint. We were limited in promoting Black Jack pride because the facility was not ours.”
Cassidy is an Eagle Springs, North Carolina native and has served with Black Jack Brigade since 2018.
The dining facility is now controlled by Black Jack Brigade again, and the Troopers who operate it view it as more than a place to eat.
Sgt. First Class Adrian Todd, a Houston, Texas native and the dining facility manager for the Black Jack Warrior Restaurant strives for his facility to provide a sense of pride and comfort for both Troopers who service the restaurant and those who patronize it.
“It is imperative that this building is open so the Black Jack Brigade has its own identity as far as food service is concerned,” Todd said. “With an ever-changing Army and society, we must continue to improve services for our Troopers and not simply providing the bare minimum. I want Troopers so comfortable they want to fall asleep here. The ambience has to change in our building.”
Comfort and pride are the focus for Todd, and the energy and enthusiasm he has brought to the reopening was embraced by his Troopers as well.
“This is different because when I think of eating in a dining facility I get a little depressed,” said Pvt. Kyra Wilson is a native of Cordele, Ga., and a culinary arts specialist with 1st Battalion, 8th Regiment. “As a meal card holder, I have not always enjoyed eating in dining facilities, but I wouldn’t mind eating here. I feel like we’re creating a better setting for future Troopers. Todd has us decorating and we have a V.I.P dining room. I like this new vision and the ambience.”
Wilson is a recent graduate of the culinary arts Advanced Individual Training school and relatively new to the unit and the Army. She notices a distinct difference between the Black Jack Warrior Restaurant and other dining facilities.
The Black Jack Warrior Restaurant offers the Brigade’s Troopers a welcomed change from the dining facility experience of the past.
The return of the facility also fills a void for Black Jack, and makes life for meal card holders easier.
“When the Black Jack dining facility ceased to be our dining facility, it left a huge hole in the brigade footprint,” said Col. Ian Palmer, Black Jack Brigade commander. “Not just physically, but also for our Troopers who had to travel a mile or so in either direction to get meals. The days of our Troopers standing in the motor pool, seeing this beautiful building but not having access to it are over. We welcome all to the Black Jack Warrior Restaurant, please enjoy.”
| Date Taken: | 10.01.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 10.05.2021 12:01 |
| Story ID: | 406734 |
| Location: | FORT HOOD, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 440 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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