HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah – Air Force reservists in the 419th Force Support Squadron raced to set up a field kitchen during the Unit Training Assembly here June 7.
The reservists are trained to quickly assemble the tents as a group, using teamwork to build working facilities from the ground up, just as they would when deployed to austere locations.
Tech. Sgt. Rachael Sparrow, readiness manager in the 419th Sustainment Services Flight, said the team built and disassembled this particular tent in about 50 minutes.
In a deployed scenario, the Airmen are required to have a field kitchen up and running within four hours of arriving. That includes building the tents, installing the equipment, and preparing the meal.
“Getting that first hot meal really boosts the Airmen’s nutrition and morale, especially if they’ve been surviving on MRE’s (Meals Ready-to-Eat) while deployed,” Sparrow said. “We’ve worked with my team so much, we can have one of these kitchens ready in no time.”
The 419th Fighter Wing held its first fully manned UTA weekend in two months following the worldwide COVID-19 outbreak. In recent months, the wing held limited UTAs, which included mission-essential F-35 operations and maintenance.