Marines

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U.S. Marine Corps Col. David S. Owen, commanding officer of II Marine Expeditionary Force Information Group shakes hands with Marines with Food Service Company, II MEF Support Battalion, after being recognized as the best expeditionary food service in the Marine Corps at Camp Lejeune, N.C., April 13, 2018. The Marines went up against representatives from I MEF and III MEF in the Maj. Gen. William Pendleton Thompson Hill Awards for food service excellence. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Aaron Henson)

Photo by Cpl. Aaron Henson

II MSB field mess cooks their way to the top

17 Apr 2018 | Cpl. Aaron Henson II Marine Expeditionary Force

The Marines competed against representatives from I MEF and III MEF in the Maj. Gen. William Pendleton Thompson Hill Awards for food service excellence.

Food service specialists catalog, cook and supply Marines with food so they have energy to complete their mission while in garrison, training and deployed environments.

“The significance of receiving this award is repeating what we started for this unit,” said Gunnery Sgt. Diordane Pierrelouis, the food service chief with the unit. “This award details that we do have the best field mess in the Marine Corps and we wouldn’t have won it twice if we did not.”

During the competition, Marines were graded on cleanliness, preparation, teamwork, recipe compliance, customer service, kitchen operations and the quality of the food.

“The dedication of the Marines in the field mess, their job skills, time and meticulousness, [and] the training they do day-to-day, shows they are being fully trained and are dedicated to doing their jobs,” said Pierrelouis.

Sergeant Julio Cuellar, the platoon sergeant with the unit, said the Marines have great leadership, which pushes the food service specialists to do more.

“The Marines themselves are highly motivated, morale is always high, and it doesn’t take much for them to take initiative and accomplish the mission,” said Cuellar. “The Marines displayed their tremendous ability to be versatile and always be on time. They don’t need [to be] pushed in the right direction because they already have that momentum going.”

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