Veteran's Day tribute: Air Force

Elmendorf force support squadron earns Lemay award--Airman 1st Class Cortny Pelton, assigned to 673rd Force Support Squadron, prepares food for lunch at the Iditarod Dining Facility April 23, 2015, on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. Pelton, a native of Wyoming, Mich., and the rest of the 673rd FSS, earned the Air Force Curtis E. LeMay award for best large installation-level FSS of the year in the Air Force for 2014. U.S. Air Force photo by Justin Connaher.

Veteran's Day tribute: Air Force

Certified Master Chef James Hanyzeski and Airmen of the 374th Force Support Squadron take photos of the healthy breakfast alternatives they made July 15, 2014, on Yokota Air Base, Japan. Hanyzeski's visit provided hands-on training to services Airmen as part of the Healthy Base Initiative. U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class David Danford.

Veterans Day tribute -- U.S. Air Force

As part of my annual Veterans Day tribute, I'm featuring a photograph of a cook from each of the services. We owe a lot to these men and women, many who have sacrificed a big part of their lives to serve this great county. A hearty thank you from 'Round the Chuckbox.

The fire inside: an Air Force chef's journey to culinary excellence

Staff Sgt. Ghil Medina, a 633rd Force Support Squadron services journeyman, tries to beat the clock while preparing a meal for the American Culinary Federation's National Student Chef of the Year Award competition at the 2011 ACF National Convention in Dallas on July 24, 2011. While he ultimately did not win this award, Medina has won numerous awards in the military food services community, including being the first Airman to win the 2011 Armed Forces Junior Chef of the Year Award.

Photo courtesy of the American Culinary Federation.

From pallet to palette

Col. Clifton Perry chooses from a variety of food offered by the 18th Services Squadron single pallet expeditionary kitchen during the Pacific Air Forces Operational Readiness Inspection March 11 at Kadena Air Base, Japan. The deployable kitchen can be set up from pallet to serving in under four hours. PACAF is conducting the inspection from March 9 to 15 to validate the mission readiness of the 18th Wing. Colonel Perry is the 18th Wing chaplain.

U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jeremy McGuffin.

Dinner in Afghanistan

PAKTIKA PROVINCE, Afghanistan - U.S. Army Sgt. Timothy Hunnicutt from Atlanta, and U.S. Army Pvt. Clayton C. Hilderbrand from Ceres, Va., both food service specialists from 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, prepare rice and noodles for dinner for Soldiers stationed at Forward Operating Base Tillman.

Photo credit: U.S. Army Spc. Luther L. Boothe Jr., Task Force Currahee Public Affairs, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division.

World War II Army Air Corps field kitchen

Guest blog by David Hoxie

My brother, Danny Hoxie, and I donated a fairly complete WWII field kitchen to the 475th Fighter Group Museum in memory of our father, who was a plank member of the group. The basis of the kitchen are three M-1937 field ranges plus two of the short stoves that used the same burner, plus all of the odds and ends that we could find to fill out the display.

The 475th had their annual reunion last year in Ontario, California. My brother and I fed the reunion crowd using this field kitchen on the day of the 475th Museum's grand opening at the Planes of Fame Museum at Chino, California. We fed over a hundred people lunch that day.

We baked homemade biscuits the night before for bread for the next day's meal. This meal consisted of beef tips with carrots, new potatoes, mushrooms in a gravy with fresh cooked asparagus. It was far better than the Modified B rations that my father had to prepare into something edible.

U.S. Armed Forces chef's battle in Salt Lake City

I haved spent the morning catching up on YouTube videos. Viewing YouTube with a dial-up Internet connection isn't practical. A decent highspeed Internet connection is hard to come by in the Serria Nevada foothills.

This video was posted to YouTube in April 2008. Chefs from each of the five military services battled in an Iron Chef style competition.

Top general to mess sergeant

These photographs serve as a Veteran's Day tribute to the hard-working cooks and bakers of the U.S. Air Force ...

Gen. Norton A. Schwartz thanks Tech. Sgt. Toni Beaty after a senior leader dinner Oct. 22 at an air base in Southwest Asia. General Schwartz is the chief of staff of the Air Force, and Sergeant Beaty is a dining facility manager for the 380th Expeditionary Services Squadron.

U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Denise Johnson.

Dessert Dining Facility

A tribute to U.S. Air Force cooks serving our nation on this Veteran's Day ...

Airman 1st Class Katherine Parker, 386th Expeditionary Services Squadron food services specialist, performs a quality assurance temperature check Nov. 2 here. Airman Parker is deployed from Minot Air Force Base, N.D.

U.S. Air Force photograph by Staff Sgt. Tia Schroeder.

Chef at War

OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM –- Inside a containerized deployable kitchen, Staff Sgt. Theresa Schaible mixes ingredients for Sloppy Joes. The 386th Expeditionary Services Squadron food services members feed thousands of military members several times daily. The kitchen always stays open, even in Alarm conditions, so that food will be available afterward. Operation Iraqi Freedom is the multinational coalition effort to liberate the Iraqi people, eliminate Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction and end the regime of Saddam Hussein.

Photo credit: U.S. Air Force photo.