Story and Photos By: LCpl. Jimmie W. Perkins
26th MEU Combat Correspondent
 
 
      CAMP MONTEITH,
 KOSOVO (June 23, 1999) —
 After many days of eating Meals
 Ready to Eat in the field, the luster of
 eating a Beef Ravioli or a Tuna
 Noodle meal starts to wear off.
 When the Marines of the 26th
 Marine Expeditionary Unit field mess
 began serving hot meals to the
 Marines operating here in Kosovo,
 yesterday they were a welcome
 sight.
      Operating from Camp Montith,
 the center of operations for the 26th
 MEU (SOC) the Combat cooks
 deliver two meals a day to over one
 thousand Marines working in the
 nearby towns. The workday starts
 early for these Marines.
      “We’ve been up since 3 a.m. the
 past two mornings and worked until
 almost 10 p.m.,” said Sgt. Oscar
 Ortiz, a combat cook. “That will be
 our schedule until the MEU pulls out
 of Kosovo.”
      Working in three teams, the 19
 Marines of the field mess must
 prepare and deliver hot meals called
 tray rations, or “T rats” in a
 co-ordinated and timely manner.
      “It takes about 2-3 hours for us
 to prepare the deliveries before we
 leave,” said Ortiz, a native of El
 Monte Ca.
      They deliver the food in
 Humvee’s with special food heaters
 to cook the food as they race to
 their next location.

                             The eager Marine's of Lima Battery line up quickly for
                             their dinner of Lasangna.

      According to Sgt. Damian A. Sullivan, a combat cook and team leader, it takes about 40
minutes to cook each tray. This evening his team is tasked with delivering food to the Marines of
Lima Battery, who are positioned in and around the town of Zegra. Their first stop is the Command
post, which overlooks the valley and town. They pull up and quickly begin to set up the chow hall.
Sullivan times them counting off the minutes.
     “I have them down to five minutes to set up,” said the Portsmouth, Va. native. “This is a great
team because it usually takes 10 minutes to set up.”
     The Marines eagerly eyed the meal of Lasagna, green beans, applesauce and cake as a line
formed up.
     “The hot chow is definitely appreciated,” said Miami native Cpl. Mario Flores, of Lima Battery.
“It tastes a whole lot better than the MREs; after awhile they get tiring and the T’rats are pretty
good stuff.”
     LCpl. Adam Hertz, standing watch from the .50 cal machine gun on top of a 5-ton truck shouts
out, “Imagine an Italian bistro in Kosovo, this is great after two weeks of MRE’s.”
     For Damian it is praise like this that makes the long hours worth it, “All it takes is one Marine to
come up to me and say ‘That was great chow’ and I feel I have done my part.
 

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