Combat cooks serve it up to Marines at outposts

Courtesy Photo | Food service specialists with 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment are self-proclaimed 'combat cooks' who brought a chow hall to the field so Marines could have a hot meal between missions. All Marines serve under Regimental Combat Team 5 and will be conducting operations in the Habbaniyah area for seven months.  

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

09.22.2006

Courtesy Story

I Marine Expeditionary Force

by Lance Cpl. Ray Lewis
Regimental Combat Team 5

OBSERVATION POST FALCONS, Iraq (Sept. 22, 2006) -- If the Marines can't come to the mess hall, then the mess hall will have to come to the Marines.

Food service specialists assigned to 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment set up a field-food facility so Marines can have a daily hot meal here.

"If Marines don't get a good meal, they don't have the energy to complete their tasks," said Cpl. Melvin D. Carson, Jr., a food service specialist with Headquarters and Service Company.

The 26-year-old from Virginia Beach, Va., is one of three self-proclaimed "combat cooks" who serve with the battalion under Regimental Combat Team 5.

Carson is the leader of the bunch.

He and his men make sure everyone at OP Falcons and other outposts have hot chow in their bellies.

Carson and his cooks wake up every morning to prepare food like steak, eggs and hash browns for hundreds of Marines and sailors. It's not so much a duty as it is a chance to help out those Marines facing hostile fire every day.

"It's our honor to cook for Marines, whether they're in the rear or in the front lines," Carson said.

He said the honor doesn't come without a little sweating though. It's a daily test of skill and leadership for Carson.

"I had to prove that I can run things without my staff noncommissioned officer here," he said. "I try to teach my guys how I do things so they can learn it and pass on what I do."

"I like cooking out here," said Lance Cpl. Matthew R. Magnuson, also a food service specialist. "This gives me a chance to apply what I learned when I was training in cooking school."

• Date Taken: 09.22.2006
• Date Posted: 09.29.2006 15:40
• Story ID: 7871
• Location: BAGHDAD, IQ