UK Army cooks visit Knight's Table

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Emerson Nuñez
  • 48th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England --  UK Army cooks from Colchester garrison visited RAF Lakenheath Feb. 4 in preparation for an upcoming deployment to the U.S.

The British troops visited to gain knowledge and experience on how American forces cater dining facilities.

"We're due to deploy to Fort Bragg with three pairs of battle groups to do an interoperability exercise with the [U.S. Army] 82nd Airborne Division," said Warrant Officer Class 2 Lisa Wainwright, regimental catering warrant officer for 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment, Colchester garrison. "Our leadership wanted us to have some insight into how the American caterers operate so that when we get out there, our cohesion into that department will be seamless as we will have an understanding on how they operate differently from us."

During the UK Army cooks' visit, 48th Force Support Squadron food service members performed normal operations in both the dining facility and the Single Palletized Expeditionary Kitchen, which is normally used to provide hot meals downrange. Both forces shared and compared their individual Meals Ready-to-Eat. MREs are individual field rations for use where hot meals or organized food facilities are not available.

Participants said the overall visit was educational for the UK Army cooks and the Airmen as well.

"It's interesting to see the differences of our equipment and how things differ, the benefits and disadvantages from the equipment both sides have," said Staff Sgt. Lois Escobar, 48th FSS NCO in charge of the store room at the Knights Table dinning facility.

According to Wainwright, the British forces were happy to visit the Knights Table because when U.S. and U.K. forces work together, they can merge seamlessly and accomplish the mission efficiently.