At Marine Corps Base Camp Mujuk in Pohang, South Korea, the normally-empty temporary billeting for transient units are completely full as hundreds of U.S. Marines now occupy them. Forces from across III Marine Expeditionary Force reside either temporarily or for the duration of their time in Korea at Camp Mujuk, where they participate in bilateral exercises between the Marines and their Republic of Korea Marine Corps counterparts. With the naval piers and airports nearby, Camp Mujuk acts as a staging and pre-transportation hub for a majority of III MEF forces and equipment, and the logistical considerations for housing them all.

And to feed them, 10 Marines work daily to do so.

Marines with the Food Service Company, Combat Logistics Regiment 37, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, staff the expeditionary chowhall aboard the base, where they receive, prepare, serve, and clean after half a thousand people who frequent the chowhall every day.

“With breakfast starting at 0600, our food service specialists are ready to begin working at 0400 to prep,” said Staff Sgt. David Charlot, mess chief with CLR-37, 3rd MLG. “After each meal, there’s an additional hour of cleaning and sanitation. We’re not just responsible for the food, but the facilities in which we serve it in.”

The expeditionary chowhall augments the Camp Mujuk chowhall for the transient forces. Due to the heavy logistical requirements for feeding such an increase in force size aboard the base, the 10 3rd MLG food service specialists take the burden off the installation. For breakfast and dinner, these Marines work to ensure everyone is provided a healthy meal with a variety of choices. To offset the differences in the forces’ work schedules, Meals, Ready-to-Eat are provided for lunch. Additionally, with the further increase in personnel aboard the base, messmen with the ROK Marine Corps recently joined the U.S. Marines to help with the workload.

“One could say, ‘why not have MRE’s for every meal, it’s a deployed exercise environment,’” said Charlot. “But we felt it was important to be able to have hot meals available for everyone, in addition to a dedicated place to sit and enjoy it. Their morale is better, their physical and mental performance is better, and they get to relax while eating with friends.”

III MEF forces are in South Korea to conduct exercises Freedom Banner 25 and the Korean Marine Exchange Program, training evolutions that strengthen warfighting and contingency response capabilities between the two countries.