Cookin' The Books

During my time at sea (in the 1970s), the watch captain prepared a NAVSUP Form 1282 each watch. As the senior cook on watch, the watch captain formulated a requisition for the following day's food needs in the galley.

Once approved by the chief, the jack of the dust -- the Navy term for the subsistence storeroom supervisor -- fulfilled the order. The JOOD didn't run a delivery service. I usually sent the mess cooks to the storeroom and reefers to hustle the food up to the galley.

Pacific Ocean (Feb. 1, 2007) – Culinary Specialist 2nd Class Jimnett Santos checks food order forms for accuracy in the galley aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76). Ronald Reagan recently received the Captain Edward F. Ney Award for excellence in food service for aircraft carriers. The Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group is currently underway on a deployment in support of U.S. military operations in the western Pacific.

U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Kathleen Gorby.