On day one of health and veterinary services at the Innovative Readiness Training (IRT) Operation Wellness CNMI mission in Saipan, service members were surprised with a lunchtime delivery from local business Triple J Saipan.

“In the spirit of gratitude, we extend our hospitality to our service members who have traveled far to fulfill their duty to our country and to our islands. We hope these meals replenish their strength, comfort their souls, and express our deepest appreciation for their selfless service,”

said Triple J Senior Vice President, Robert Daniel Murrell.

Breakfast and dinner for service members on Saipan were to be provided via the Air Force’s newly issued kitchen platform, the Expandable 3-in-1 Expeditionary Flex Kitchen (E-SPEK), leaving Meals-Ready-to-Eat (MREs) for lunch.

The E-SPEK, coming from the 254th Force Support Squadron (FSS), Guam Air National Guard, requires about 100 gallons of potable water to feed 350 service members at one meal. But unfortunately, due to a contract error for water services and the water delivery truck breaking down, the E-SPEK was not operational until Wednesday evening, leaving two days of MREs for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Master Sgt. Dexter Diaz, the 254th FSS training and deployment manager who is serving as the IRT food operations and logistics NCO, explained that their unit is only the second unit in the Air Force to receive the E-SPEK out of production and shipped it via commercial cargo ship to Saipan to help with the life support mission.

Diaz and his team only received training on the kitchen platform about two weeks ago.

“The E-SPEK was actually recommended by NGB [National Guard Bureau] to come out here and partner…to provide the service…and see it in action,” said Diaz.

“Because the E-SPEK is such a new platform, and the Air Force is all about training, we wanted to pull as many service members on this IRT as possible because the IRT is [focused on] training,” said Maj. Amy Johnson, from the 176th Medical Group out of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, who serves as the IRT’s Air Force/Air National Guard officer in charge of life support services.

The 116th FSS from Robins Air Force Base, Ga., also sent eight airmen to augment the life support mission.

“Our unit only has the SPEK and DRMKT [Disaster Relief Mobile Kitchen Trailer]…having this training as early as it is…we got a heads-up on a lot of other units that don’t have it,” stated Master Sgt. Daniel McMahon, services superintendent for the 116th FSS and IRT services NCOIC.

The Air National Guard is slowly phasing out some of their other kitchens and rolling out the E-SPEK by region at the cost of close to $500,00 per platform beginning in FY23.

“It’s a mobile kitchen…that can be airlifted by helicopter, by plane or shipped by boat,” said Diaz, emphasizing its expeditionary capabilities and versatility versus the MKT (Mobile Kitchen Trailer).

Requiring only a minimum of four airmen to operate and maximum of six, Diaz’s team of five and McMahon’s team of eight work rotating shifts in the E-SPEK and have even been able to provide hot meals at lunch for service members in addition to breakfast and dinner.

“We wanted to do fresh rations but due to the limited restrictions on the amount of supplies DLA [Defense Logistics Agency] can supply locally, we had to go to UGRs [Utilized Group Rations] and MREs. But in the training aspect, when we have time, we would like to utilize the full spectrum of the unit to bake, cook rice, make stews…so the individuals can learn the difference between how it is in a regular facility kitchen and how it is to cook outside,” said Diaz.