By Seaman Jah’mai Stokes
USS Wasp Public Affairs

USS WASP, At Sea – For more than 72 hours culinary specialists on the amphibious assault ship USS WASP have been keeping sailors and Marines spirits high one meal at a time while underway in the Atlantic Ocean.

WASP and 27 other Naval Station Norfolk-based ships sortied east into the Atlantic Ocean August 25 to avoid any ill-effects of Hurricane Irene.

While sailors and Marines embarked on WASP are prepared and focused to aid in a coordinated national relief effort if called upon, being away from friends and family can sometimes add and element of stress. Therefore, to keep spirits high, WASP has employed the help of their secret weapon…the food service department.

“I feel like it is my job as a CS to maintain and keep the morale of the ship at the highest point possible,” said Seaman Apprentice Carvell Wingfield, culinary specialist. “Sailors in other ratings are the ones preparing and making sure WASP is ready to respond to the call of duty, and since it is their job to take care of America, it is my duty… our duty as a food service professionals, to take care of them.”

According to Wingfield, the meals prepared by WASP’s team of culinary specialists - especially the baked deserts - leaves service members aboard the ship craving for more.

“When the cookies come out the morale from the crew definitely goes up,” said Seaman Cristobal Garcia, personnel specialist. “Everyone loves the cookies even me, especially the ones with the macadamian nuts they are so good, after I am done eating them I am left with the feeling that I have to go workout. Of course, I will gladly go workout if it means more of those cookies.”

“This food tastes better than the base galley,” said Seaman Jay Bell, steel worker constructionman, from Amphibious Construction Battalion II, Disaster Relief Team I embarked on WASP as a result of the hurricane sortie. “The food on base is good, but it was something about that first day when I came aboard WASP, and my favorite dish of beef tips and noodles was being served, it was great. I am really happy that the food on WASP is good, because if it wasn’t it would make for a very long ride.”

In order to combat sailors’ stress levels and to take their minds off of negative things Wingfield and other CS’ distribute cookies or snacks out to the crew on the mess decks.

“When I bake or the other CS’s cook, we do it to help lift the spirits of our shipmates. said Wingfield. Sometimes our shipmates have stressful days and our meals could be the solution needed to improve their day. This is why we take our job very seriously. Even now being out to sea, our shipmates had to leave their families back home as Hurricane Irene approaches; this raises their stress levels and personally for me, I will not allow that...the CS’ will not allow Hurricane Irene to affect our sailors or their families.”