Field kitchen put to the test during Combat Dining In Published July 19, 2007 By Senior Airman Chris Bolen 434th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs Office GRISSOM AIR RESERVE BASE, Ind., -- SPEK, short for Single Pallet Expeditionary Kitchen, is the latest development in systems aimed at improving the lives of expeditionary force personnel at deployed locations. "This kitchen provides deployed personnel food for the first few weeks," said Tech. Sgt. Robert Berkstresser, of the 434th Services Flight. "You can consider this the easy bake oven of the Air Force," added Tech. Sgt. Logan Phillippe, also of the 434th SVF. Designed to feed roughly 250 people, the kitchen can flex upward to perhaps 550. The kitchen also satisfies the Air Force requirement for a mobile, temporary kitchen for use at remote and undeveloped sites. The entire kitchen fits on a single pallet for transport by cargo aircraft. It is designed to be set up by a minimum of 12 personnel, in less than 2 hours. "It only takes 4 people to feed up to 250 when necessary," Sergeant Phillippe added. The kitchen got its first large-scale test during the Combat Dining In. Participants were fed in a 'field environment' with the kitchen, and gave unit members a 'taste' of what deploying with SPEK would be like.
