WASHINGTON --
A group of
mostly young first-term Airmen from the Georgia Air National Guard showcased
their culinary skills on a national scale supporting the 58th Presidential
Inauguration of Donald J. Trump.
Ten Airmen from
the 116th Air Control Wing deployed from Robins Air Force Base, Georgia to
Washington D.C. with their Disaster Relief Mobile Kitchen Trailer, or DRMKT, in
tow. FedEx Field, home of the Washington Redskins, became their home and base
of operations where they joined five other Air National Guard units
collectively feeding about 4,000 joint-forces personnel daily from three mobile
kitchens.
“This is my
first inauguration and my first time cooking with the DRMKT,” said Senior
Airman Charles Borre from the 116th Services Flight. “The training was great
for our state mission so if I ever have to respond to an emergency I’ll be able
to jump right in and be better prepared. It was also neat to support an
inauguration, something that goes back to 1789.”
According to
Borre, a former Marine, the joint-force aspect of this mission held a special
significance.
“We all have a
U.S. on our uniforms so it’s good to be able to support our brothers and
sisters in the other services,” said Borre.
In total, more
than 7,500 National Guard Soldiers and Airmen, from 44 states, three
territories and the District of Columbia, served with the specially created
Joint Task Force – District of Columbia. As a whole, National Guard Soldiers
and Airmen augmented the U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Capitol Police and D.C.
Metropolitan Police forces on a range of support including traffic control,
crowd management, logistics and communication.
“This is my
second inauguration and the first one with our Disaster Relief Mobile Kitchen
Trailer,” said Master Sgt. Patrick McMahon, superintendent of the 116th Services
Flight. “Serving nearly 4,000 people during extended meal periods was quite a
feat especially since our team was made up of mostly younger Airmen with no
previous experience at an event like this.”
The freestanding
mobile kitchen, similar to a concession trailer you would see at many public
events, is designed for fast setup and teardown and provides Airmen the
capability to feed about a 1,000 people a hot meal in less than 90 minutes.
Another first
for the team was joining forces with other Air National Guard services units
from across the nation.
“We cooked with
three other units who brought two DRMKTs to the event,” shared McMahon. “At the
last inauguration we were at a location by ourselves. This operation provided
great experience working with our counterparts as a cohesive team.”
“I learned a lot
of things and made a lot of new friends,” shared Airman 1st Class Kayla Akers
from the 116th Services Flight. “I’ve been to D.C. a number of times but being
a part of this inauguration is a huge honor.”
Accompanying the
team for the first time as the officer in charge was 2nd Lt. Matthew Nama.
“It’s great to
see our Airmen on the front lines,” said Nama. “I’ve learned what it takes to
put together a large-scale operation like this especially when you have
different forces combined. It’s been a great opportunity to see what kind of
equipment we have and experience it in actual use for my first time.”
The 116th Services Flight
is the services arm of the 116th Air Control Wing JSTARS
flying operation. The world’s only E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar
System aircraft, solely based out of Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, performs
command and control, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance over land
and water for Combatant Commanders around the globe.