Supporting the First Stryker Brigade in Iraq - Army Logistics ...

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Beginning in 2007, the assault kitchen will provide a better way to feed company-sized military
units in the field.
• Vertical, which coordinates training of a service
branch with a higher component and a lower
service branch.
• Integration, in which participants train in a joint
context to improve interoperability.
• Functional, which provides a joint training environment
for functional and complex warfighting.
Last year’s four training events were the Western
Range Complex Horizontal Training Event
04–1 in January; Combined Joint Task Force
Exercise 04–2, an integration event in June that
included forces from Canada, France, Germany,
Great Britain, The Netherlands, Norway, and
Peru; Determined Promise 04, a vertical event in
August that involved the U.S. Northern Command,
the Department of Homeland Security, and
local fire and emergency response agencies; and
Joint Readiness Training Center/Air Warrior II
04–09, another horizontal event in August that
incorporated virtual and constructive simulation
capabilities.
The JNTC is scheduled to achieve full operational
capability by 2009.
ASSAULT KITCHEN OFFERS
FASTER FIELD FEEDING
The assault kitchen (AK) developed by the
Food Service Equipment Team at the Army Soldier
Systems Center in Natick, Massachusetts, offers a
way to provide hot meals quickly to forwarddeployed
units. Beginning in 2007, the Army will
use the AK to feed company-sized units in the
field instead of the current kitchen, company-level
field feeding (KCLFF).
The AK consists of a high-mobility, multipurpose
wheeled vehicle (HMMWV) and trailer packed with
equipment that either eliminates, transfers, or
replaces the separate KCLFF components with a
mobile platform that holds all of its components.
Because of the lengthy setup time involved, frontline
troops often elect to take only certain components of
the KCLFF when they deploy. Included in the AK
are six insulated beverage containers, three pan carriers
to keep food trays warm, five insulated food
containers, a 5-gallon fuel can, a fire extinguisher, a
utensil box, a tray-ration heater to prepare unitized
group ration heat-and-serve tray packs or number 10
food-service cans, and a maintenance kit for the
tray-ration heater.
The towed trailer carries eight water cans, an ice
chest, three tables, cargo netting to hold tray-pack
boxes, stock pots, a cradle for preparing hot beverages,
and an awning to cover the serving area during
bad weather.
The AK’s tray-ration heater operates on common
battlefield fuels and draws electricity generated
from the HMMWV through a mounted power inverter.
Its portable, stainless steel water tank heats
up to 18 tray packs, 15 number 10 food service cans,
JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2005