201st oversees opening of new DFAC

Courtesy Photo | Service members at Camp Buehring, Kuwait, wait patiently in line as the first meal is served at the newest dining facility in Kuwait March 11. The new dining facility boasts four new serving lines which enables the staff to serve soldiers at a higher rate than ever before.  

CAMP BUEHRING, KUWAIT

03.11.2011

Courtesy Story

U.S. Army Central   

By Sgt. Debra Richardson
1/201st FA PA

CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait—Service members stationed here for the past four months have witnessed a number of ribbon-cuttings for new construction. The latest, hosted by 1/201st Field Artillery, West Virginia Army Guard, marked the grand opening of the newest dining facility in Kuwait.

“It has been a long time coming,” said Lt. Col. Clay Coatney, the 201st commander. “I first saw the shell [of the dining facility] while here on the pre-deployment site survey in July and watched as construction proceeded. Then, like a miracle had occurred, the contract work force descended upon the shell and got this facility in action.”

The new facility dubbed DFAC II sports all new equipment, from tilt grills to convection ovens. It is 900 square meters larger than the old facility and has its own bakery, salad, butchering, and dry storage rooms.

“We now have two salad bar lines as well four main lines, where before there were only two,” said Sgt. 1st Class Brandon Wolf, the DFAC noncommissioned officer in charge. “We also have a specialty and sandwich bar utilized daily, which was not always the case in the last facility due to space constraints.”

Soldiers now receive meals faster, spending less time in line and more time enjoying their food, Wolf said. The new DFAC also boasts a new awning, which will come in handy for service members this summer when the temperature soars to more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

Another subtle but vital improvement includes the promotion of better sanitation. At DFAC II, soldiers will pass through head count first before proceeding to the hand washing station.

“Support is one of those things that often go unnoticed until it’s not there,” Coatney said. “We as a team understand this facility is here to support the finest soldiers in the world and that’s the [mission] we continue to support.”

• Date Taken: 03.11.2011
• Date Posted: 03.13.2011 12:36
• Story ID: 66983
• Location: CAMP BUEHRING, KW