The missile alert facility chef.
In a quaint little place, off the beaten path, there's an award-winning chef catering to an exclusive clientele. The atmosphere is homey, and the meals are prepared fresh to order.The kitchen won't be featured in any gourmet magazine because it's the kitchen at a missile alert facility near F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo. The award-winning chef is Staff Sgt. John Shirley, the Missile Alert Facility Chef of the Year.
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Customers can choose menu items like spaghetti with meat sauce and the daily vegetable, Philly cheese steaks subs or the house special, a grilled chicken wrap with rice, bacon and cheese.
The MAF comprises a support building where the chef, facility manager and security forces members live while in the field. Under their feet is a missile launch control center, a missile crew and an equipment area.
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Unlike traditional Air Force chefs who work in the base dining facilities, MAF chefs are assigned to the operations group instead of a force support squadron. In addition to the skills learned in technical school, MAF chefs get three tours of on-the-job training sessions to teach them how to manage the kitchen in the field before they go on tours alone. The extra mentoring is important because even the most junior Airman can be the only chef on site during the tour.
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As a MAF chef, it's Sergeant Shirley's job to prepare breakfast, lunch, dinner and a midnight meal for the missile alert family. He also takes care of the other chefs who work out of his MAF.
"As the site's senior chef, I'm in charge of the whole kitchen and I oversee the other team chefs who come out to my site," said Sergeant Shirley. "I keep track of all the paperwork and make sure everything is good to go. I'm also a chef trainer for my squadron and that does give me the opportunity to mentor the younger chefs and instill in them ... the importance of keeping a positive attitude while we're out there. (I remind them that) we do have an important job.
"If we're not doing our job properly ... foods aren't cooked properly, people can get sick," he said. That can really degrade the mission and the combat capability."
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Those who need the chef's services understand what a good meal means while away from home.
"Chefs improve the quality-of-life topside," said 1st Lt. John Adams, a missile crew member. "When there's an outstanding chef out in the field, people usually know and their morale improves. A hot meal in the cold out here makes it better while in the field."
To Sergeant Shirley, serving as the chef gives him a chance to apply a little golden rule to an Air Force core value.
"I don't know about you, but if I was down in the capsule, I would want somebody to make me good food," Sergeant Shirley said.
Sergeant Shirley said tours to the MAF for chefs assigned the 321st Missile Squadron can be anywhere from four to seven days long, depending on manning.
Being away from home often can also affect the chefs' families. Sergeant Shirley, his wife and their 5-year-old daughter have learned to make the schedule work for them.
"We've kind of gotten into a routine now," Sergeant Shirley, a native of Crestview, Fla., said. "On the days that I'm home, I take my daughter to the (Child Development Center) while my wife goes to school full time. Usually, the day before, I try to spend a little more time than usual with her. I just let her know I'll see her in a few days. She gets it now."
Sergeant Shirley said while he's away, his wife has to do all of the taxiing and care so, giving her a break when he's home by doing the daycare run, lightens her load, and gives him that extra time with his daughter.
Before going out to the missile field for a tour, or "tripping out" as it's referred to in the missile world, the MAF chef will pick up all the ingredients needed to prepare enough meals for the length of the tour. After the supplies are loaded and the briefings completed, it's time to drive out to the alert facility.
The drive, depending on the location, can be anywhere from a few minutes to a couple of hours long. Once he gets there, his tour starts and each duty day begins as the sun rises over the plains.
"The first meal has to go out by 6 a.m.," said Sergeant Shirley. "So, I'm usually up by 5 a.m. and in the kitchen by 5:30 a.m."
Meal preparation and clean-up are the tasks that take up most of his duty day.
"I can be in the kitchen cooking for about an hour to 1.5 hours, and clean up for an hour if it's a slow day."
In his professionally-equipped kitchen, Sergeant Shirley said he prepares meals for six to 10 people and cooks about 50 meals on an average tour.
While the Airmen on-site are enjoying those meals at dining room tables or at the counter in front of the TV, Sergeant Shirley, a five-year Air Force veteran, has time to come to the "front of the house" and interact with his diners.
"Most of the time I'm in the kitchen cooking while they're eating, but I do take the time to come out and talk," he said. "I think that's something different I do from a lot of chefs. I enjoy my job and I enjoy the people I interact with."
While Sergeant Shirley said he enjoys his job, sometimes he has to forego time preparing meals for his family during holidays to prepare meals for his MAF family. During the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, MAF chefs prepare a special holiday meal, similar to the ones prepared in the dining facilities with all the fixings. During these special meals, MAF members can get approval for their immediate family members to come out and enjoy the meal with them.
"For Thanksgiving and Christmas, we have a set holiday meal," he said. "We cook a ham and a turkey, stuffing, corn, green beans, rolls, mashed potatoes and different types of pies. We try to make it as normal as would be as if you were at home.
"My first Thanksgiving out in the field my family came out," said Sergeant Shirley. "It was nice because they got to see what we do and get a better understanding, especially my daughter, of why I'm gone. She enjoyed it."
Sergeant Shirley's outlook about his mission is positive even though his schedule takes him away from his family and is full of long duty days.
"I wasn't really excited when I first found out that I was going to be a missile chef because I didn't know what it was," he said.
After five years in the Air Force, he knows his work as a missile alert chef all simmers, sautes and boils down to one thing.
"The way I see it, the key thing about my job ... is customer service." Sergeant Shirley said. "We have a direct impact on the morale of the people who are out there. No one is in a good mood if you give him a poor quality meal."
STORY BY STAFF SGT MARESHAH HAYNES
PHOTOS BY LANCE CHEUNG
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| Title Annotation: | FEEDING THE MISSION; Staff Sgt. John Shirley |
|---|---|
| Author: | Haynes, Mareshah |
| Publication: | Airman |
| Geographic Code: | 1U8WY |
| Date: | Jul 1, 2010 |
| Words: | 1241 |
| Previous Article: | Missileer. |
| Next Article: | CMSAF: looking out for Airmen during first year in office. |
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