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FORT BRAGG, N.C., April 2, 2009 – Army Sgt. Orlando Serna has a bone to pick with anyone who thinks cooking is nothing more than throwing a few ingredients together in a pot. Army Sgt. Orlando Serna represents Fort Bragg, N.C., in the Practical and Contemporary Patisserie event March 4, 2009, at the U.S. Army Culinary Arts Competition at Fort Lee, Va. Serna also will compete in the World Culinary Olympics in 2010. U.S. Army photo by Amy Perry  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “It’s a science. Everything is a formula,” said Serna, a cook with the 82nd...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE GARDEZ, Afghanistan, March 2, 2009 – I’ve eaten more lobster since I arrived here than I have in the past decade in the states. Army Spc. Kiana Mealey serves up lobster tails and crab legs at an Army-run dining facility nicknamed “Olive Gardez,” Feb. 21, 2009, at Forward Operating Base Gardez, Afghanistan. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Don’t tell my wife. She thinks I’m suffering. One of the few Army-run chow halls I have come across in my travels is located here. The base was too small when...

Say what you will about Rachael Ray, but the jaunty chef-next-door knows how to build a brand. She began winning audiences with catch phrases like "EVOO" (for extra-virgin olive oil) on her first Food Network show, 30 Minute Meals, in 2001. Today, she has four Food Network programs, including Tasty Travels and $40 a Day. Her nationally syndicated, Oprah-backed talk show, Rachael Ray, is averaging 2.6 million viewers this season, and her Every Day With Rachael Ray magazine has 1.5 million readers. She endorses Dunkin' Donuts too--all to the tune of $18 million a year. More established chefs also know...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE SHARANA, Afghanistan, April 1, 2008 – Army cooks from Task Force Pacemaker in Afghanistan are providing their own unique touch and a taste of home with each hot meal they serve to soldiers throughout Regional Command East. Cooks from Task Force Pacemaker, deployed from Fort Lewis Wash., prepare lunch for soldiers at the Reception, Staging, Onward Movements and Integration dining facility at Forward Operating Base Sharana, Afghanistan, March 4, 2008. Photo by Capt. Kenya V. Saenz, USA  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The Task Force Pacemaker Headquarters Support Company cooks, deployed from Fort Lewis, Wash.,...

LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan, Feb. 11, 2008 – The Afghan kitchen opened the sailor’s eyes and the smoke made them sting. Even fans that run 24 hours a day can’t keep up with the smoke from a dozen or more wood-burning stoves at the new Afghan National Army dining facility here. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class David Crabb, of Navy Embedded Training Team 3-205th Garrison, makes a suggestion to Abdul Sami, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the Afghan National Army’s Shorabak Garrison dining facility. Crabb advises Sami and other Afghan kitchen staff on sanitation, hygiene and proper food preparation...

Culinary Specialist Seaman Vannessa Robertson, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion-40 Detachment Horn of Africa culinary specialist, sprinkles seasoning on fish before putting it in the oven. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Mary Popejoy U.S. Navy Seaman Vannessa Robertson Culinary Specialist Serves up Food and Smiles By Petty Officer 1st Class Mary Popejoy CJTF-HOA Public Affairs CHARICHCHO, Ethiopia, Oct. 16, 2007 — Far away from the dining facility of Camp Lemonier, Djibouti, the Soldiers and Sailors of Forward Operating Location Charichcho look to Culinary Specialist Seaman Vannessa Robertson to serve up tasty treats that keep their bellies full...

Judges grade food prepared for the Iron Chef competition Aug. 16 at Forward Operating Base Hammer. Photo by Sgt. Natalie Rostek, 3rd HBCT Public Affairs. FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER — Food service personnel of the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team took part in the Sledgehammer version of the Iron Chef competition Aug. 16 at FOB Hammer. The idea came from the 3rd HBCT Food Service officer-in-charge, Chief Warrant Officer Ellen Magras, a Virgin Islands native, to honor the food service personnel with an Appreciation Day. “I wanted to honor all the food service professionals, past, present, and future,� she said....

Paratroopers Trade Shop Tools for Security Duty Mechanics, cooks, medics keep watch for VIPs, dignitaries. By Sgt. Timothy Dinneen Regional Command-East Public Affairs CHARIKAR, Afghanistan, March 5, 2007 -- Paratroopers that once spent their days making sure Humvees were ready for battle as mechanics at Fort Bragg, N.C., have exchanged their shop tools for M-4s and are now the driving force outside the wire as part of Task Force Gladius’ personal security detachment. "I trained with them and know what they can do, and they can do their jobs,"Army Cpl. Timothy Cozelos Mechanics, cooks, medics and other 82nd Airborne...

A woman who reported a vicious attack by an ad-hoc "modesty patrol" on a Jerusalem bus last month is now lining up support for her case and may be included in a petition to the High Court of Justice over the legality of sex-segregated buses. Miriam Shear says she was traveling to pray at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City early on November 24 when a group of ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) men attacked her for refusing to move to the back of the Egged No. 2 bus. She is now in touch with several legal advocacy and women's organizations, and...

Combat Cooks Keep Marines Energized, Happy Food Service specialists make sure everyone at Observation Post Falcons and other outposts have hot chow in their bellies. By Lance Cpl. Ray Lewis 1st Marine Division OBSERVATION POST FALCONS, Iraq, Sept. 29, 2006 -- If the Marines can’t come to the mess hall, then the mess hall will have to come to the Marines.Food service specialists assigned to 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment set up a field-food facility so Marines can have a daily hot meal here.“If Marines don’t get a good meal, they don’t have the energy to complete their tasks,”...

ABOARD AL BASRAH OIL TERMINAL, Iraq-- Culinary specialists assigned to the amphibious transport dock USS Ogden (LPD 5) are cooking four daily meals aboard Iraq 's Al Basrah (ABOT) and Khawr Al Amaya (KAAOT) Oil Terminals for the Sailors assigned to Mobile Security Detachment (MSD) 71. While serving as an afloat forward staging base (AFSB) for Commander, Task Group (CTG) 158.1 in the Northern Arabian Gulf, Ogden sent the cooks to live aboard the oil terminals to supplement MSD 71's previous daily routine of “meals on keels.” Previously, nearby coalition ships in CTG 158.1 would cook food aboard ship and...

Dozens of ultra-Orthodox break into internet café, claiming place incites haredi community to commit sins Haim Levinson Religious dispute in Jerusalem: Dozens of riled up ultra-orthodox broke into a Jerusalem internet café Monday, broke the doors and shattered the computers, claiming the place incites the haredi community to commit sins. Police called to Shabbat Square were shocked to find dozens of ultra-Orthodox insulting memory of fallen soldiers – rioting, setting dumpsters on fire and blocking traffic; police say they view incident ‘with extreme gravity’ but fail to make any arrests On Monday night, the ultra-Orthodox crowd arrived at the internet...

Rabbi: Vote Shas or go to hell Member of Shas' Council of Torah Sages says during sermon at Jerusalem synagogue that PM Sharon had stroke because he went with Shinui, hurt religious services Ilan Marciano Rabbi Shimon Baadani, a member of Shas' Council of Torah Sages, provided on Saturday evening amazing explanations for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's illness. "Ariel Sharon had a stroke because he went with Shas and hurt religious services," Baadani explained during a sermon he gave at a Jerusalem synagogue. Rabbi Ovadia Yosef: 'Vote Shas, reach heaven' / Ilan Marciano Shas spiritual leader Ovadia Yosef speaks at...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HIT, Iraq (Jan. 5, 2006) -- While on a long deployment overseas, Marines look forward to from letters from home, the occasional phone call or photos sent from their loved ones. These are the times where it’s the little things that matter so much – showers, a warm place to sleep and hot chow. To add one more item to this list, Marines from the 2nd Marine Logistics Group’s Food Service Company recently set up a Field Food Service System to support the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) at the unit’s base of operations, Forward...

Remembering The Zebra Killings By James Lubinskas FrontPageMagazine.com | August 30, 2001 MOST SERIAL KILLINGS in America take on a life of their own through movies, books and documentaries. The crimes of Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer and The Son Sam are still well remembered years after they committed. Yet there is one set of serial killings that been almost completely forgotten and is rarely mentioned popular culture. The Zebra Killings occurred in the Francisco bay area between 1972 1974 and left 71 people dead. They were dubbed the Zebra because of the radio channel used the police investigating the case...

The Stars and Stripes has an article this morning about nurses working at the Ibn Sina Hospital in Baghdad. The hospital was once the private facility of Saddam and since the fall of Baghdad is the primary hospital in the area. The article paints a good picture of the difficulties the nurses face in having to take care of both our wounded and Iraqi insurgent wounded. The nurses emphasize that no matter what their personal feelings may be, once a patient enters the hospital they are all treated equally. Having worked in healthcare for 20 years I have nothing but...

Today, Monday, 9-13-04, I am taking a cue from kerry and flipping around, flipping channels that is, and stopped on CNN, a few minutes. During which I was (again) amazed. CNN was doing a piece on the recent polls showing Pres. Bush some percentage ahead. CNN proceeded to state and have their guest analyst (cant remember who) --demonstrate that the polls were not really good news for President Bush, because you have to take into account the fact that they were done using registered voters. Therefore, they said at CNN, you would have to have a similar poll taken with...

Cook's crew hid first Antarctica painting Rossella Lorenzi Discovery News Thursday, 8 July 2004 Captain James Cook's artist William Hodges didn't much care for icebergs, so painted over the image (Image: National Maritime Museum, London, Ministry of Defence Art Collection) One of Captain James Cook's official artists painted the first image of Antarctica, new x-ray analysis shows. But the painting had remained hidden for more than two centuries, as the artist had painted the landscape of a New Zealand bay over it. A depiction of the Antarctic icebergs in a rough sea, and the painting that obscured it, "A View...

EVANSVILLE- Reed Skelton was kicking back on Saturday night in his hotel room, sipping beer and watching porn when the methamphetamine he was brewing exploded in the bathroom.The flash fire blew out his room window and severley injured him. In the chaos that followed, 156 guest were evacuated from the Baymont Inn and the hotel's water sprinklers went off, contributing to about $120,000 in damage, said police Sgt. Mike Lauderdale.As the number of meth labs has spread in recent years from the West Coast and Southwest and infiltrated Midwest states such as Indiana and Kentucky, they are being found more...

Lord, Keep our Troops forever in Your care Give them victory over the enemy... Grant them a safe and swift return... Bless those who mourn the lost. . FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time. ...................................................................................... ........................................... U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues Where Duty, Honor and Countryare acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated. Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel...

O C I E T Y Busted! Drug dealers are planting pot farms all over our national parks, and the Park Service is struggling to root them out. TIME goes on a raid By MARGOT ROOSEVELT I AUBURN, CALIF. TODD BIGELOW/AURORA FOR TIME Going In: At dawn, Rangers search for a marijuana farm in Tahoe National Forest Sunday, Jul. 27, 2003 A blue-gray dawn tickles the tops of the ponderosa pines at the Sugar Pine Recreation Area in California's Tahoe National Forest. Campers slumber in lakeside tents; bikers have yet to hit the trails. But all is not quiet on...