Stories

Many people long to visit a five-star restaurant, but how many look forward to eating at a dining facility in a military base overseas?

As one of the top contractors for the military, KBR partners with the U.S. government to take care of its service members through logistics and contingency support contracts, which includes galley – dining – management on bases throughout the world.

It’s said you can’t make an omelet without breaking some eggs, but KBR’s galley staff might give that idiom a run for its money. Currently, every galley KBR operates for the U.S. Navy has earned a five-star accreditation – the Navy's highest level of evaluation for food service operations.

KBR handles galleys at four locations, including Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti; Isa Air Base and Naval Support Activity (NSA) in Bahrain, and Navy Support Facility (NSF) Diego Garcia in the British Indian Ocean Territory.

The Navy bases’ accreditation has strict criteria regarding the overall quality of food service management and evaluates items such as food preparation, storage, customer service, record-keeping, inventory practices, financial accountability, training, sanitation, facility structure and equipment, as well as the promotion of healthy eating programs.

To receive five-stars, a galley must achieve a minimum grade of 95% or score 1309 out of the possible 1378 points. In fact, out of the more than 300 Navy galleys worldwide, the five-star award is only given to the top one percent each year. And so, the question begs, how are five-stars achieved?

Excellence in Food Service

Rodel Torres, KBR food services manager at NSF Diego Garcia, leads two galleys; the main Seven Degrees South Café (SDSC) and one smaller site. The SDSC galley operates 24 hours a day, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. The galleys receive feedback through customers following each meal period.

“Most of the time, we receive positive comments from our customers, who enjoy having healthy options available, like grilled chicken, veggie burgers and sandwiches made to order,” Torres explained. “Through team effort and hard work, the KBR staff takes a great deal of pride in achieving the required goals.”

Indeed, KBR employees work hard to provide mass sums of delicious, healthy meals in a safe and welcoming manner. One of the unique goals of the galleys is to offer special meals for service members, which can include themed nights featuring food, such as BBQ, farewell dinners and holiday meals. They also try to incorporate regional and cultural food options like Asian, Indian and Mongolian cuisine.

During last year’s Thanksgiving celebration, the SDSC served a total of 684 patrons. The meal included 20 turkeys (nearly 400 pounds); eight beef pot roasts; nine orange-glazed spiral hams; two oven-roasted steamship rounds of beef; 700 baked and loaded potatoes, shrimp cocktails, and deviled eggs; 800 cheddar stuffed celery sticks; and 60 assorted cakes and pastries.

KBR Goes for Green

But KBR’s galleys do more than mimic home-cooked meals and American-style cravings. Each kitchen incorporates the Navy’s green initiative standards including healthy food options and environmental sustainability practices, like recycling.

Antonio Navos Jr., KBR food service manager at the Dorie Miller galley and three smaller galleys at Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti, Africa, says the company transitioned from the use of Styrofoam cups to paper cups, as well as helped the military with a plan to encourage eaters to dine-in, an eco-friendlier option.

“Regular dialogues, transparency and a good working relationship between the KBR galley team and the Navy food service officer and camp military leadership contribute greatly to our success,” said Navos. “It was only when KBR took over the base operations support (BOS) contract at Camp Lemonnier that Dorie Miller received its first five-star accreditation.”

All Navy galleys utilize 21-day cycle menus, which the Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP) dietitian reviews. When creating menus, KBR takes into consideration allergies and customer preferences, such as those who do not eat pork, dairy or meat products.

In addition, KBR’s food operations meet the requirements for Go for Green® (G4G), the military’s healthy-eating program.

“KBR galleys operate under the DoD’s G4G initiative, a joint service nutrition initiative that aims to makes it easy to find high-performance foods and drinks to boost fitness, strength and health where service members live and work,” Navos said.

The Dorie Miller galley provides a wide variety of food with long meal service hours and a grab-and-go section. KBR serves roughly 11,000 meals on any given day, and even more on big holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. KBR’s Djibouti location is the only Navy galley that serves more than 3,000 personnel four times a day.

“We also take pride in supporting the U.S. Embassy Djibouti First Program, wherein the Navy contracts with local Djiboutian businesses including their Coca Cola company and two bakeries that supply fresh pastries and bread,” Navos said.

Michael Wiseman, program general manager with KBR for the Djibouti BOS contract on the base, recently congratulated the galley staff on their re-accreditation.

“I would like to express my congratulations to the entire galley staff for their fifth straight year in receiving a five-star rating,” Wiseman said. “Five years in a row is a great accomplishment in itself and to earn this one with a significantly reduced staff [due to COVID] is a huge accomplishment. This shows the commitment and dedication the galley employees have in ensuring they offer the best service available regardless of the current situation.”

The Proof is in the Pudding

In Bahrain, similar practices are used at Isa Air Base and NSA. Sherwin Sykes is the KBR senior galley manager at Isa for their four galleys: The Paradisa Café and three other sites. KBR galley teams stay informed about the work and lifestyles of those they serve, and maintain strong preparation strategies, like storing medical sample plates in case there is a foodborne illness or outbreak.

“We ensure our food service leads and chefs are aware of all upcoming missions, increased headcounts, or unusual meal requests in order to adjust food service items that may be needed,” Sykes said. “We care deeply about customer service and serving comfort foods whenever possible to give the military members a taste of home.”

KBR’s NSA project manager Molly Bach says the G4G initiatives within the galleys over the years have only continued to improve.

“KBR utilizes color-coded placards – red, yellow and green – next to the food to show service members what the best, healthiest choices are on the menu so they can maintain a healthy lifestyle, body weight and stay fit for duty,” she says. “For each section of the menu we make sure to have a healthy choice.”

NSA’s galley is only two-years old and because of that, this was their first try for the five-star accreditation. “It takes hard work, dedication and 100% teamwork participation. I’m really proud of our staff because it is rare for a galley to be accorded five-stars on their first attempt,” Bach said.

In fact, in 2019, the galley won “Best Food Service Establishment” on NSA, a peer-voted award.

“We were in competition with more than 10 food service establishments on base including big names, such as Taco Bell and A&W,” she said. “It was a big honor for the KBR team to win.”

Since the major onset of COVID-19 in March, the galley has seen an increase in monthly meal numbers due to 14-day isolation periods for new arrivals.

“The galley provides three meals a day for these sailors,” Bach said. “Navy leadership personally thanked our staff for supporting these service members and rising to meet the added requirements and workload over the past several months.”

Like dough, KBR’s teams may rise to meet a challenge, but at the end of the day, the truth lies in how the bread settles. Luckily at KBR, settling for less than five-stars is just not an option for America’s men and women in uniform.