Iwakuni Marines, sailors are eager
to say goodbye to mess duty
By Greg Tyler, Sasebo
bureau chief
Greg Tyler / Stars and Stripes
Pfc. Joseph Mascagni, a member of Iwakuni Marine Corps Air Station's Headquarters and
Headquarters Squadron, hands over hot meals to hungry Marines during his 30 days of mess
hall duty. |
IWAKUNI MARINE CORPS AIR STATION, Japan — Just when newly arrived Marine Pfc.
Christopher Littlejohn started to get familiar with his firefighting job, he had a new
assignment: mess hall duty.
Marines and sailors like Littlejohn have been forced to work 30-day stints in the two
Iwakuni mess halls. That will soon change as officials hire 54 Japanese workers.
That won’t be soon enough for Littlejohn, 19, of Barnesville, Ga., who said
he’d like to return to his regular job with the 3rd Aircraft Rescue Firefighters.
"The main idea is to get the Marines back in the hands of the commanders to
perform the duties they are here to do in the first place," said Marine Chief Warrant
Officer Fred Newlin, Iwakuni’s food services officer.
About 55 to 60 enlisted Marines and enlisted sailors here are pulled from their regular
commands each month for mess duty.
"They do all the jobs associated with running the mess halls like cleaning,
mopping, washing pots, working on the serving line … except the cooking, which is
done by Marines actually classified as cooks," said Marine Master Sgt. Rodney
Sprawling, the base’s food technician.
Newlin and Sprawling are responsible for the manning, ordering and upkeep of the
facilities — called the Northside and Southside mess halls — which serve an
average of 2,500 meals a day.
"In the past, what I’ve done is write a letter to each commander every month
asking them for a certain number of personnel to work in the mess halls for a 30-day
period," Newlin said.
The Northside Mess Hall uses 28 Marines and sailors per month on mess duty, while the
Southside uses 32. The new employees will replace these troops.
"For Marines, [mess duty] gives some a needed break," said Lance Cpl. Jerome
Brooks, recently on mess duty, and a member of Marine Wing Support Squadron 171. "But
I think [hiring Japanese employees is] a good idea, since they already have civilians
working in mess halls in the States.
"But I don’t really like it. It’s long hours; we work about 15 hours a
day Monday through Friday, and about 12 on weekends," the 26-year-old Kailua, Hawaii,
native added. "A good thing is that the atmosphere seems a little more relaxed in
here."
Littlejohn said it would be like "starting all over" when he returns to his
firefighting job.
"The work in here is not all that bad, but sometimes it seems like the NCOs in
here think we are supposed to be running this place," he said. "The way I see
it, we’re helping them."
The United States will fund the new mess hall positions. The government of Japan will
administer the paychecks, and at the end of the year the base will settle the account from
$1.1 million set aside for this purpose. If the salaries prove to be higher at the end of
the year, the difference will be settled, said John Kinley, installation business
management officer.
About 150 local residents have applied for the jobs.
Despite the security conditions following the terrorist attacks on the United States,
the employees are expected to be working by Nov. 1 in the Northside Mess Hall and by Jan.
1 in the Southside Mess Hall, said Marine Capt. Jeff Sammons, base spokesman.
Along with the mess hall managers and their assistants, a couple of Marines will still
serve on mess duty in each location. Servicemembers will operate the cash registers and
verify customers’ identifications.
Even though the new employees will be on board soon, Newlin said, "I do want to
say that I think the Marines here we’ve used in the past have always done a great
job."
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