3RD Heavy Brigade Combat Team Opens New Dining Facility

by Sgt. Natalie Rostek
3rd HBCT Public Affairs

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq – Soldiers and residents of FOB Hammer enjoyed their first meal at the new Hammer Dining Facility Monday..

Col. Wayne W. Grigsby, Jr., a Prince George’s County, Md., native and commander of the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, along with Command Sgt. Maj. James M. Pearson, from Philadelphia and the senior enlisted advisor to Grigsby, and Sgt. Nathan Gurganus, 25, Newport News, Va., 203rd Brigade Support Battalion cut the ribbon during the grand opening ceremony.

Gurganus, who is 6 feet 8 inches tall, was part of the ribbon cutting party because every time he walked into the old facility he had to duck his head, said Sgt. 1st Class Rory Williams, from Albany, Ga., and the non-commissioned officer in charge of the dining facility.

“We felt bad for him,” Williams said. “He was always bent over walking through the old chow tent. This new dining facility takes the tall Soldiers into consideration.”

The new facility, that Williams said took approximately one month to complete, is filled with improvements such as refrigerators, a deep fryer, a carving station, an ice machine, a television, and more efficient air conditioning.

“We had a problem in the other dining facility with the air conditioning going out,” said Arnie Munoz, a Houston native and the sous-chef and acting supervisor in charge of the dining facility, “especially in the hottest part of the day.”

The new facility also has other additions such as milkshakes, main line and short order foods and a larger salad bar with more variety.

In spite of the damaged building supplies that arrived at FOB Hammer, the facility came together nicely with the help of the Tamimi Contracting Company, which is comprised of workers from southern Asia to include India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, Munoz said. “They are a self-sufficient company,” Munoz said.

“They did everything from the electrical work to the plumbing to the carpentry work and the cooking. (Kellogg Brown and Root and the 3rd HBCT) just oversaw the effort. They are the ones that did all the ground work.”Munoz said the dining facility still needs some fine-tuning but, he, along with everyone else who has dined in the facility, is genuinely impressed.“It’s a morale booster,” he said. “I feel we are mission essential in that most units move on their stomachs. We try to help the Soldiers any way that we can, and I’ll go out of my way to provide in every way possible.”