Photo By James Gilbert | Cashier Rayne Thomas rings up two Marines who made purchases at the Army Air Force...... read more read more
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While the Yuma Proving Ground’s (YPG) reputation is that of a premier testing facility at the forefront of the U.S. Army’s transformation efforts, part of its mission also includes supporting training for every branch of the military.
At any given time of the year there can be anywhere from hundreds to more than a thousand troops temporarily at YPG for scheduled training. Those troops include Soldiers, Marines, Sailors, Airmen, Guardians and even military personnel from allied foreign nations from all over the world.
Oftentimes, these troops are confined to places such as the Laguna Army Airfield, where a forward operating base (FOB) has been established, and they don’t have access to the services they would normally have at their base.
Business and Recreation Chief Steve Ward of YPG's Family, Morale, Welfare and Recreation (FMWR) Programs and Services, said since these troops can’t leave the site, it was important that those amenities were being brought to them.
Just outside FOB Laguna is the Wild Horse Café, a semi-permanent food trailer that was built to give visiting troops a place to buy breakfast and lunch favorites hot off the grill.
“It’s comfort food,” Ward said. “Things like hamburgers, hot dogs, burritos, salads and French fries.”
Troops can also call and order pizzas from the Coyote Lane Bowling Alley, which will then deliver all the orders at three pre-scheduled times throughout the day.
“This is also another option for them,” Ward said. “There has been a lot of pizzas going out the door the past couple of days. Our team has probably perfected pizza preparation.”
Ward explained that before, visiting troops would have to call multiple orders in to a pizza place in the Foothills, adding that they would have to pay exorbitant delivery costs.
“We saw a need, so we made a plan to accommodate them,” Ward said. “That is not to say it still doesn’t happen. We want to be their first choice so we can make money and turn it back into our community here on base.”
Operations Asst. Manager Julie Shields of FMWR said the bowling alley is open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends and on any given day they make anywhere between 40 and 50 pizzas.
“We are here to provide for the troops,” Shields said. “If there is something that we can do for them, we are going to do it.”
Getting cool drinks or a snack had also been a problem for troops here for training until Army Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) store Manager Chuck Walmsley said a Mobile Field Exchange (MFE) and two storage trailers were set up at the FOB.
“There is pretty much nothing there that you can get at the MFE that you can’t get here,” Walmsley said comparing the mobile exchange to the AAFES store. “You can’t get everything that is here there, because I don’t have the space.”
In addition to keeping cold beverages stocked, such as sports drinks, sodas, bottled water, muscle milks, as well as protein and energy drinks, the MFE carry’s a small variety of hygiene products intended for troops who are deployed.
“We also carry a standard assortment of snacks. Stuff that is salty, spicy, and cheesy, which is all your major food groups,” Walmsley said. “When they are out here, they are basically living in combat conditions in a tent, so it is probably a taste of home for them.”
The MFE used to be considered a temporary facility managed by corporate, but due the volume of training happening at YPG, it was made into a permanent shop under the base’s AAFES store for Walmsley to staff and supply.
Business is so good at the MFE that the cooler for drinks sometimes must be filled three times on a busy day. Once training is over the trailers are emptied until the next group arrives.
Cashier Rayne Thomas explained that there is always a steadily flow of customers coming to the MFE, which is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
“We stay busy most of the day, if not all day,” Thomas said.
The barber shop at the AAFES store also closes on selective days and give haircuts inside a trailer at the FOB site.
| Date Taken: | 10.24.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 10.24.2023 12:18 |
| Story ID: | 455959 |
| Location: | YUMA PROVING GROUND, ARIZONA, US |
| Web Views: | 97 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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