Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Elizabeth Houx | Indiana National Guard Master Sgt. Dave Portish, Dining Facility Four and Convoy Cafe...... read more read more
JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq — While providing military oversight for a team consisting of seven different Army units and more than 250 civilian contractors from multiple countries would be daunting for some Soldiers, one Indiana National Guard Soldier stepped up to the plate and embraced the challenge.
Task Force 38 Master Sgt. Dave Portish, noncommissioned officer in charge of Dining Facility Four and Convoy Café at Joint Base Balad, provided not only military oversight during his Operation Iraqi Freedom deployment, but also set the standard in inspections, competitions and customer service.
"He has shepherded guys to go over and above in every single way," said Lt. Col. Don Strube, Task Force 38 deputy commander.
Since 38th's arrival here, DFAC Four and Convoy Café have won four out of six competitions for best dining facility at Joint Base Balad, best DFAC of the quarter here and were narrowed down to the final two facilities in the best DFAC of the theater competition.
"The dining facility is clean, bright and organized," said Strube, of Greenwood, Ind. "Master Sgt. Portish is very effective at pulling the whole group together as a team."
Army Reserve Spc. Michael Cunningham, a 910th Quartermaster Company cook, said even though he was from a different unit, he felt like he was part of Task Force 38 because of the team cohesion, mentorship and level of care between personnel in DFAC Four.
"If you have any questions, you can go to Master. Sgt. Portish," said Cunningham, of Beaumont, Texas. "And if he has to stay late to figure something out, then he will do it. He puts Soldiers before himself on a daily basis."
Cunningham said Portish's mentoring and dedication to greatness provided a good working atmosphere.
"He teaches everyone to respect everyone else," said Cunningham. "No matter what country they are from or what they do, we respect each other."
With the mutual respect and teamwork, Portish said his team of Soldiers and civilians ensured food was prepared properly and safely, and served more than 120,000 meals a week.
"We want everyone to have an enjoyable meal and walk out with a smile on their face and a happy ending," said Portish. "I genuinely care about every Soldier."
To meet his objective, Portish made certain that cleanliness standards were exceeded, worked to protect Soldiers from potential food-related dangers and managed a personable staff.
"One thing that has really surprised me is the level of professionalism I am surrounded by," said Portish, Mooresville, Ind., resident.
When he was assigned the DFAC NCOIC position, Portish originally set the goals to be the best and develop a true team. He said since first arriving in theater, everyone in the DFAC has grabbed the team concept, embraced the philosophy and stepped up operations.
"In my opinion, the reason we have achieved our goals was through the teamwork we established within the last six months and the networking we have done," he said.
Portish said the deployment so far has been an unbelievable journey that was unforeseen in nature.
"I'm very proud to say that I'm a part of this team," said Portish. "This deployment has fulfilled a void in my career and I am very glad to have come."
Other Soldiers were happy to have Portish on the Task Force 38 deployment as well.
"Dave Portish is truly a credit to the Army and truly an outstanding NCO," said Strube.
| Date Taken: | 02.20.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 02.21.2010 07:22 |
| Story ID: | 45644 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE BALAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 326 |
| Downloads: | 219 |
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