Page 28 - gfs0917_Magazine

ADVERTORIAL

New Container Kitchens,

Sanitation System

Succeed in Operation

Northern Strike

Military readers of Government Food Service will readily The current Army Container Kitchen (CK) was intro-
recognize Babington Technology of Rocky Mount, N.C., as duced to Army Food Service in the late 1990’s. It features
the developer of uniquely efficient field feeding systems. appliances heated by the open flame Modern Burner Unit.
Although the CK has met the Army field feeding mission
The Babington Airtronic burner introduced heat-on- for nearly 20 years, the kitchens are prone to overheating.
the-move capability when the Marine Corps adopted the Kitchen temperatures exceeding 140 degrees are not un-
Babington Tray Ration Heating System in 1995. Since then, common. Food service soldiers must be constantly aware
the Army adopted the Airtronic and Tray Ration Heater for of the dangers of heat stress as well as the potential for
its Assault Kitchen, and the Air Force acquired the Single carbon monoxide (CO). Babington and AAR combined
Pallet Expeditionary Kitchen (SPEK). their expertise to reduce the heat, quiet the noise and
eliminate any possibility of CO exposure.
In2013, the Air National Guard acquired a fleet of Disas-
ter Relief Mobile Kitchen Trailers (DRMKT), making it the The CKe features a full-sized convection oven, modular
first ever diesel-fired closed combustion mobile kitchen. griddle, stock pot station, tray ration heater, heated serv-
The concept has proven so successful at removing heat ing line, two reach-in refrigerators, a heated hand wash
and noise from the kitchen’s interior, Babington Technol- sink and a production prep sink. The appliances line up in
ogy and AAR Mobility teamed to employ it to new con- the center aisle for transport (Figure 2) and deploy into an
tainerized solutions. open floorplan arrangement shown in Figure 3. Soldiers
consistently requested a heated holding cabinet be added
Babington Technology and AAR Mobility successfully
tested three new jointly developed containerized solu- to the standard appliance suite. This, along with a second
stock pot station, will be forthcoming.
tions during Operation Northern Strike. The 1073 Main-
rd
tenance Support Company of the Michigan Army National All cooks and visitors commented on the spaciousness
Guard volunteered to operate the new systems to provide of the kitchen, the quiet operation and the lack of oppres-
field feeding support to the Operation forces. The first sive heat. During a prior operational field test in Fort Hood,
meal was served on 29 July and the final meal was pre- Texas, the CKe averaged 50 degrees cooler than the conven-
pared and served on the morning of 9 August 2017. tional CK. Michigan Army National Guard soldiers comment-
ed frequently on the comfortable working environment
Operation Northern Strike was the perfect venue to
field test the new systems: the Container Kitchen En- delivered by the CKe during Operation Northern Strike.
hanced (CKe), the Flex Kitchen and the Containerized Food The high-profile air frame canvas wing assembly is 200
Sanitation Center (CFSC). Figure 1 shows all three systems pounds lighter than the traditional canvas with framing,
deployed on a single trailer. The CKe is shown on the right, and rapidly inflates with a small air compressor. Inflation
the CFSC in the middle and the Flex Kitchen on the far left. was timed at 6.5 minutes per side. Dual extractor fans on
the roof immediately clear any steam, heat or humidity
Figure 1. Figure 2. Figure 3.