By BARRY LOBERFELDASSOCIATE EDITOR

MCB Camp Lejeune, N.C., is reducing the en-ergy and water consumed in its dining halls while continuing to prepare meals that

power Marines with the capacity for vigorous action.Camp Lejeune’s Mess Hall Rifl e Range 135 (RR135)

is the fi rst in a series of new energy-effi cient messes being built across the base to replace older facilities in a campaign to achieve conservation in buildings and the appliances used.

All of the messes must have at least a “silver” LEED rating. The LEED green building certifi cation program, according to Washington, D.C.,-based U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), encourages and accelerates global adoption of sustainable green building and development practices through a suite of rating systems that recognize projects that imple-ment strategies for better environmental and health performance. The “silver” level requires a building project to earn 33 to 38 points of a possible 69.

“We’re actually looking at solar energy, either as back-up or for our water-heating capability and other uses,” said Charlie E. Cone, CIV, regional contract-ing offi cers’ representative for the East Coast Govern-ment Food Service Contract. “Also, most of our new mess halls are smaller, more compact.”

An exception is one mess that is a two-story design modeled after Colorado State and other university cafeterias, which will feature campus-style feeding.

“What you really have to understand about the campus-style feeding concept,” explained Cone, “is

that it means fl exible hours and location, a percep-tion of brand names, a food court and convenience-type foods.

“The average age of the Marines who utilize our mess halls is the approximate age of the average col-lege student. In that regard it requires a fundamental change in the way we do business. Like their counter-parts, Marines are constantly on the go and want con-venience and the ability to eat when and what they want, hence the idea of adopting more of the feeding concepts used on campus to support our Marines.”

It is also going to have four different fast-food food-court concepts. On the top fl oor there will be standard buffet feeding, but there is also going to be an 8-foot-round Mongolian grill, which is something that has not been in any of the mess halls.

“We’re doing a lot of things with rotisserie chicken. I’ve never seen so many kids love rotisserie chicken

Modern Dining Halls Are Built to Conserve Resources

Camp LejeuneLejeuneLejeune

GOES GREEN

—Continued

GOVERNMENT FOOD SERVICE • JULY 201090

FACILITY PROFILE

Chefs Lance Cpl. Dustin W. Lewis and Staff Sgt. Jamil C. Hill from Mess Hall 122 participated with civilian chefs from the town of Wilmington, N.C., at the Second Annual Taste of Wilmington event.

SodexoSustainability.qxd:Layout 1 5/7/09 12:18 PM Page 1

time to replace them. The older mess halls are not energy effi cient. They’re labor and maintenance intensive.”

At the same time, the number of meals served has increased annually for the past few years. No one can be sure, however, if it is because of the changes in facilities and menus or the increase in end strength of the Marine Corps. Cone said he believes it is in

fact a result of both but acknowledged that that remains speculation.

NUTRITIONThe Marine Corps

is constantly updating menu items based on fo-cus group comments and customer surveys, and ex-citing new choices have been cooked up for Ma-rine patrons. The Ameri-can Grill, a sports-themed mess deck, serves a third-pound Angus burger and features a “toppings bar,” where the service mem-bers can pick what they want to put on that burg-

er. And the refreshed “submarine” sandwich concept offers both hot subs (e.g., Buffalo chicken and meat-ball) and made-to-order cold ones, including Italian and the classic BLT.

One of the primary purposes of the refreshing of the submarine program was to provide employee training in each of the facilities that offer this menu, thereby ensuring consistency and standardization. Another, Cone pointed out, was to add variety to the subs offered.

These carnivore delights are balanced by a new salad-and-smoothie program, which features entrée-sized prepackaged salads and a choice of smoothies (e.g., vegetable, protein). “We tried it in a couple of places and it works really well,” Cone commented.

This expanded roster of choices now comes with its own nutritional guide: Sodexo’s “FUEL For Life” healthy-meal identifi cation system. In line with the Department of Defense’s scientifi c approach to nutri-tion, the Marine Corps’ 21-day menu was analyzed and the best choices were identifi ed. These items have logo stickers next to them on the menu, and

before,” said Cone. “We’re doing a lot of things with combi-ovens, where you can steam and bake and do other things. In most cases the food is more appetizing and more healthy for the individuals.”

Cone added that these multi-tasking ovens elimi-nate some of the equipment that would otherwise be used, thereby saving not only procurement costs, but maintenance and energy costs as well.

MODERNIZATIONCamp Lejeune’s Mess Hall Rifl e Range 135 (RR135)

celebrated its Grand Opening on April 1. RR135 is responsible for feeding not only every Marine who goes through shooter training, but also the MARSOC elite training squad.

RR135 is an example of the new messes that are being built across the base. Four are in various stages of construction, and several facilities are in the plan-ning stage, with construction expected to start in the next year or so — and with good reason.

“Keep in mind that the mess halls we’re replacing are ’40s vintage mess halls — ’42 and ’43,” Cone said. “Obviously, you can renovate and upgrade a struc-ture only so many times, and we’ve done that. It’s

A local Wing Zone visited the base to bring the taste of its signature wings to the troops.

The American Grill, a sports-themed mess deck, serves a third-pound Angus burger and features a “toppings bar,” where the service members can pick what they want to

put on that burger.

—Continued

The FUEL for Life symbol designates certain menu items that if eaten togeth-er provide a meal that has 925 calories or less, 30 grams of fat or less and around 45 grams of

protein.

GOVERNMENT FOOD SERVICE • JULY 201092

FACILITY PROFILE

See us at the DSCP Food Show Booths 810, 812, 911, 913

VISITING RESTAURANTSIn July, more than 500 Marines went to Mess Hall

9 one day to enjoy plates of savory wings provided by the Wing Zone, a 22-state restaurant chain with sever-al locations in North Carolina. It was the fi rst in what was supposed to be a series of restaurants scheduled to visit various mess halls in the consolidated food-service system consisting of 12 mess halls at Camp Lejeune and one at MCAS New River. This program was started in an effort to analyze the acceptability of branded-type concepts by the base’s Marines.

With fi ve fl avors to choose from — medium, gar-lic Parmesan, Thai chili, honey BBQ and “nuclear” — Marines ate their way through more than 6,400 wings over a two-hour period.

Many customers were making multiple trips through the long lines to taste more of the popular wings and sauce. The event even saw attendees from the command offi ce across the street.

Despite this success, the Visiting Restaurant pro-gram has been suspended.

Also in July, Chefs Lance Cpl. Dustin W. Lewis and Staff Sgt. Jamil C. Hill from Camp Lejeune’s Mess Hall 122, whose cook team was the winner at Lejeune’s last Culinary Team of the Quarter competi-tion, participated with civilian chefs from the town of Wilmington, N.C., at the Second Annual Taste of Wilmington event. Over 400 people tasted the team’s beef bourguignon in a vol-au-vent and crème brulée with a mint-and-raspberry garnish, both of which were prepared in the mess hall itself. The lat-ter earned the Marine cooks a second-place fi nish in the dessert competition.

—GFS

they are noted on the serving line.The items with the FUEL for Life

seal of approval combine to constitute a nutritionally balanced meal, which must have not more than 925 calories (less than a third of the recommended daily allowance), a maximum of 30 grams of fat and approximately 45 grams of protein.

“Most of the current nutrition in-formation is confusing, and this pro-gram is an attempt to make it easy to choose a healthy meal,” explained Cone. “We are also exploring other healthy menu options that will ben-efi t the Marines we serve.”

Sodexo now competes on the base against such popular commercial enti-ties as Burger King and Subway, a situ-ation that Cone does not fi nd daunting in the least.

“While we won’t wipe them out,” he conceded, “I think that with the new things we’re doing, we can give the majority of the young Marines what they want and make sure they’re healthy at the same time.”

To better compete, MCB Camp Lejeune also is fo-cused on sharpening the skills of its military food-service staff and stay current with civilian restaurant trends. The specifi cs include a Visiting Restaurant Se-ries, the Taste of Wilmington event and guest chefs.

GUEST CHEFSThe winner of the Wilmington event’s Chef Com-

petition was Matt Kahrs, executive chef at Wilm-ington’s Port City Chop House. Kahrs visited Camp Lejeune’s Mess Hall 411 on Sept. 15 as part of the guest chef program, which was started in 2009 with the pri-mary purpose of improving the skills of the Marine foodservice personnel who are studying culinary arts for a career in either the military or civilian life.

His menu featured Chicken Sorrentino; baked or-ange roughy with Greek spinach; spicy caulifl ower gratin; three-cheese potato casserole; and a sausage, potato and kale soup.

At the end of March, another guest chef, Charles Rousey, executive chef from the Run River Landing Country Club and The Mad Boar Restaurant in Wal-lace, N.C., worked with the Marine cooks at MCAS New River.

The meal included a roast pork loin crusted in rosemary mustard, seasoned corn and a gourmet variation on macaroni and cheese. Rousey said he planned the menu around what he would like if he were a Marine.

Matt Kahrs, executive chef at Wilmington’s Port City Chop House, visited Mess Hall 411on Sept. 15 as part of a program to improve the skills of Marine foodservice personnel study-

ing culinary arts for a career in either the military or civilian life.

GOVERNMENT FOOD SERVICE • JULY 201094

FACILITY PROFILE

See us at the DSCP Food Show Booth 900