thedrifter
09-14-05, 04:25 PM
Teamwork can pay off in spades
Marine Forces Pacific
Story by Lance Cpl. R. Drew Hendricks
COMBINED MARINE FORCES COMMAND, CAMP BARAN, Korea (Sep. 14, 2005) -- After working and living together for an extended period of time, people start to form certain bonds. They start to see and understand qualities that they share and even learn to understand what the other is thinking.
If used correctly, this bond can form a very successful team.
Lance Cpl. Kentrell Allen and Lance Cpl Kalil Bruce, cousins and cooks in the Corps, have created just such a team.
Roommates before boot camp, today they share a stove in one of the Marine Corps’ galleys.
Having spent their entire careers and much of their lives together, they have had time to develop their own cooking style.
They have served up gourmet rations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait in support of Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom.
“There is a set 30-day-menu that we have to use,” said Allen a New Orleans, La. native. “We add our own spice to the recipe as often as we can, though.”
Adding their own flare to the normal Corps-style cooking has gained them a few liberties.
“If we make something well and the others like it, they allow us to get the supplies needed to make it and we get to add it to the menu,” said Bruce, a Brooklyn, N.Y. native.
According to Allen and Bruce, their hands are even more free to be creative with their cuisine during exercises and deployments like Ulchi Focus Lens-05.
In the rear, at the chow hall, we have to stick to the menu except for special occasions,” said Bruce. “Out here though, we get to do our own thing.”
With Bruce and Allen, there are only two chefs in the kitchen, and no one else.
“When it’s our turn to cook, no one else comes in our galley,” said Allen.
The buzz around the camp is one of satisfaction. “There aren’t too many complaints about the food, which is a rarity,” according to Cpl. Jeffrey Hlavaty, a mail clerk at Marine Corps Forces, Pacific, who volunteered to work as a messman during UFL-05.
“The food is surprisingly good. I enjoy it, it’s better than a lot of other chow I have eaten in the field,” said Hlavaty.
Besides being excellent cooks, Bruce and Allen have trounced everyone they have come against in spades.
From tournaments in the deserts of Kuwait to the bowels of the USS Essex (LHD-2), no one seems to be able to match their play.
“Now I can’t say we have never been beaten, but the last time I remember getting beat was in a best out of three, we lost one and won the other two,” Allen said between laughs.
Spades is a tradition here. It brings Marines of all ranks to the table, laughing, joking and trash talking.
“Chances are if Marines are playing spades here, Bruce and Allen have beaten them,” said Sgt. Wayne Welty, a security specialist Marine Corps Forces, Pacific.
According to Bruce and Allen, their success in both cooking and spades is due to their ability to work together as a team.
“The ability to understand your teammate perfectly is what makes you a success,” said Allen. “I can tell when Kalil is lying because he gets this stupid look on his face, and he knows what I’m going to do before I even do it.”
Everyone at Camp Baran who has challenged the boys from the Bronx and the Bayou has felt the sting of their teamwork.
“In spades you have to be able to understand your teammate, that’s the only way to win. Those two seem to be inside each other’s head,” said Welty.
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/2005914152653/$file/kentrelllow.jpg
Lance Cpl. Kalil Bruce, a New Orleans, La., native puts the finishing touches on his watermelon bouquet.
Bruce, who worked tireless hours at the chow hall during exercise Ulchi Focus Lens-05, Camp Baran, Korea, was awarded a Navy, Marine Corps Achievement Medal for his efforts.
Photo by: Lance Cpl. R. Drew Hendricks
Ellie
Marine Forces Pacific
Story by Lance Cpl. R. Drew Hendricks
COMBINED MARINE FORCES COMMAND, CAMP BARAN, Korea (Sep. 14, 2005) -- After working and living together for an extended period of time, people start to form certain bonds. They start to see and understand qualities that they share and even learn to understand what the other is thinking.
If used correctly, this bond can form a very successful team.
Lance Cpl. Kentrell Allen and Lance Cpl Kalil Bruce, cousins and cooks in the Corps, have created just such a team.
Roommates before boot camp, today they share a stove in one of the Marine Corps’ galleys.
Having spent their entire careers and much of their lives together, they have had time to develop their own cooking style.
They have served up gourmet rations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait in support of Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom.
“There is a set 30-day-menu that we have to use,” said Allen a New Orleans, La. native. “We add our own spice to the recipe as often as we can, though.”
Adding their own flare to the normal Corps-style cooking has gained them a few liberties.
“If we make something well and the others like it, they allow us to get the supplies needed to make it and we get to add it to the menu,” said Bruce, a Brooklyn, N.Y. native.
According to Allen and Bruce, their hands are even more free to be creative with their cuisine during exercises and deployments like Ulchi Focus Lens-05.
In the rear, at the chow hall, we have to stick to the menu except for special occasions,” said Bruce. “Out here though, we get to do our own thing.”
With Bruce and Allen, there are only two chefs in the kitchen, and no one else.
“When it’s our turn to cook, no one else comes in our galley,” said Allen.
The buzz around the camp is one of satisfaction. “There aren’t too many complaints about the food, which is a rarity,” according to Cpl. Jeffrey Hlavaty, a mail clerk at Marine Corps Forces, Pacific, who volunteered to work as a messman during UFL-05.
“The food is surprisingly good. I enjoy it, it’s better than a lot of other chow I have eaten in the field,” said Hlavaty.
Besides being excellent cooks, Bruce and Allen have trounced everyone they have come against in spades.
From tournaments in the deserts of Kuwait to the bowels of the USS Essex (LHD-2), no one seems to be able to match their play.
“Now I can’t say we have never been beaten, but the last time I remember getting beat was in a best out of three, we lost one and won the other two,” Allen said between laughs.
Spades is a tradition here. It brings Marines of all ranks to the table, laughing, joking and trash talking.
“Chances are if Marines are playing spades here, Bruce and Allen have beaten them,” said Sgt. Wayne Welty, a security specialist Marine Corps Forces, Pacific.
According to Bruce and Allen, their success in both cooking and spades is due to their ability to work together as a team.
“The ability to understand your teammate perfectly is what makes you a success,” said Allen. “I can tell when Kalil is lying because he gets this stupid look on his face, and he knows what I’m going to do before I even do it.”
Everyone at Camp Baran who has challenged the boys from the Bronx and the Bayou has felt the sting of their teamwork.
“In spades you have to be able to understand your teammate, that’s the only way to win. Those two seem to be inside each other’s head,” said Welty.
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/2005914152653/$file/kentrelllow.jpg
Lance Cpl. Kalil Bruce, a New Orleans, La., native puts the finishing touches on his watermelon bouquet.
Bruce, who worked tireless hours at the chow hall during exercise Ulchi Focus Lens-05, Camp Baran, Korea, was awarded a Navy, Marine Corps Achievement Medal for his efforts.
Photo by: Lance Cpl. R. Drew Hendricks
Ellie