Soldiers provide services for deploying comrades

By: Ashley Ward
Missouri National Guard Public Affairs

Private 1st Class Jonathan Beene (l) watches as Staff Sgt. Christopher Jones checks on chicken breasts marinating in the oven. The cooks operate on a 14-day menu set by the state but occasionally deviate for special meals.
Spc. Nathaniel Heotis (l) and Pfc. Justin Eudaley prepare beef stew for Soldiers training at Camp Clark.

Sgt. Matthew Barnes, Spc. Joseph Ringstaff and Spc. Rebecca McClintock wash, dry and fold Soldiers' uniforms-a process repeated on approximately 30 to 40 loads of laundry per day.
CAMP CLARK, Mo. - Soldiers from Detachment 1 of the 735th Force Provider Company recently returned from their annual training exercise at Camp Clark.

The detachment, based out of Poplar Bluff, spent two weeks supporting other units training at the camp, which sits just outside of Nevada, Mo.

The detachment's primary mission-providing cooking and laundry services-centered on the Soldiers of the 1107th Theater Aviation Sustainment Maintenance Group, who are preparing to deploy to Kuwait in February.

Staff Sgt. Delmer Horman, the food services noncommissioned officer in charge, said that the opportunity to take care of Soldiers who are preparing for deployment raises everyone's spirits.

"We know they're going to be away from their families for a year so we try to keep their morale and support up," said Horman. "We do the best we can to make their process of leaving a lot better than what it would be normally."

Staff Sgt. Christopher Jones, of Poplar Bluff, concurred.

"I like to spoil my troops," said Jones. "I try to make their dining experience better than what it was in the past so they actually want to come to chow."

While the number of troops the kitchen feeds per day may fluctuate-anywhere from 150 to 200 Soldiers per meal-almost everyone agreed on their favorite meal.

"I can tell you exactly what that was," said Jones. "We had New York strip that I marinated for two and a half days with my special seasoning. They loved it, absolutely loved it."

Although the unit doesn't typically have time to prepare a meal for that long, the four cooks running the kitchen at any given time work hard to operate efficiently and make each meal the best it can be.

"You've just got to know what you're doing," said Spc. Nathaniel Heotis. "You can't have people running around doing their own thing. You've got to know what you're going to do every day and just stick to it."

The Soldiers' professionalism and extra effort hasn't gone unnoticed.

First Sgt. Paul Wise, the operations noncommissioned officer for the Missouri National Guard's Training and Evaluation Battalion, commended the detachment for their support role in other Soldiers' training missions.

"All the units coming through here have said the same thing-we all hope that they'll continue to support us here," said Wise. "They should all be proud of the job they're doing out here."

The 735th Force Provider Company, headquartered in De Soto, falls under the 835th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion and maintains detachments in Cape Girardeau, Jefferson Barracks, Jefferson City, Poplar Bluff and Rolla.

For more information about the Missouri National Guard, please call 1-888-GoGuard or visit www.moguard.com.