Cookin' dinner on a tin can

Although meal preparation techniques have changed dramatically since my days at sea in the 1970s, Navy general messes have always place heavy reliance on canned items like sweet potatoes for the crew. I served during a period of transition from a scratch-made meals to the use of greater quantities of convenience foods, like frozen sauces, entrees and baked items.

PACIFIC OCEAN (March 18, 2008)--Culinary Specialist 1st Class Derrick Thompson prepares a glaze for the sweet potato side dish for the evening meal in the enlisted galley aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Russell (DDG 59). The Russell recently completed training for an upcoming deployment as part of a Carrier Strike Group deployed with the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72).

U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Michael A. Lantron.