The Power of Food: A Corporal's Perspective

As we stand here on the deck of the USS New York, I'm reminded of the importance of food in bringing people together. As a corporal in the Navy, I've had the privilege of serving alongside some of the most dedicated and hardworking individuals I've ever met. And it's not just about the food itself, but the camaraderie that comes with sharing meals together.

I'm currently working on a bean dish, something we like to call "big beans." It's a staple on our ship, and every day is different. Some days we have tacos, burgers, or even Italian food. But no matter what, it's always about feeding the guys and keeping their morale up. You know, when you're out at sea for six months, you start to appreciate the little things like a hot meal.

I've been in the military since I was 18 years old, straight out of high school. I joined because I loved cooking and traveling. And let me tell you, it's a bonus to be able to do what I love while serving my country. My job as a cook is just as important as anyone else on board. We're the backbone of this ship, providing for everyone's needs.

When I'm not in the kitchen, I'm on deck, taking in the sights and sounds of the city. As we pass by the Freedom Tower, it's hard not to feel a sense of pride and nostalgia. This ship is more than just a vessel – it's a symbol of hope and resilience. We're dedicated to honoring the memory of 9/11 and never forgetting the sacrifices made that day.

Fleet Week is an incredible experience, especially for those who don't understand what we do on a daily basis. It's our chance to explain the importance of our work and connect with the community. I grew up in New York, and seeing this ship sail into the harbor is like coming full circle. My father used to take me down to the waterfront, watching the fleet come in – it was always an event.

As we head into New York City, I'm struck by the complexity of our mission. We're not just sailors; we're a symbol of freedom and strength. And when you see the steel that was incorporated into the front of this ship as a reminder of 9/11, it's humbling. It's a reminder that even in the darkest moments, there's always hope.

I've had the chance to try some amazing food on board, from fresh asparagus and spinach to hormone-free meat. But let me tell you, working with these guys has given me a new perspective on life. They work hard every day, often under challenging conditions. And when they sit down to eat, it's not just about the food – it's about community.

The USS New York is more than just a ship; it's a family. We look out for each other, we support each other, and we work together as a team. And at the heart of that is good food. Whether it's a hearty meal or a simple snack, food brings us together.

As I take my first bite of this big bean dish, I'm reminded of why I love cooking so much. It's not just about following a recipe; it's about bringing people joy and comfort. And when you're serving in the military, that means even more. We may be far from home, but with good food and good company, we can face anything.

Our meal is coming together beautifully – the onions are caramelized, the bacon is crispy, and the ketchup and mustard add just the right amount of sweetness. It's a dish that might not sound impressive on paper, but trust me when I say it's delicious. And as we head into New York City for our homecoming, I know that this meal will be remembered by everyone on board.

I've been living on this ship for only 24 hours, but I can already tell that the food is going to be a highlight of my experience. From the burgers to the tacos, every meal is a surprise. And when you're out at sea for six months, it's not just about the food – it's about the memories we make together.

The USS New York represents something special – a symbol of hope and resilience in the face of adversity. As I look around at my fellow sailors, I know that we're all in this together. We're a team, bound by our shared experiences and our love of good food. And as we head into New York City, I'm excited to see what the future holds for us – as individuals and as a crew.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en20 19 Fleet Week right now we're on the USS New York heading into New York City when you get on land what's the first thing that you want to go I know you guys are used to me I've been to a pizzeria but today we didn't go out to see jump on a Navy ship and see what it takes to live the day in the life of an animal reach I've experienced as a line cook and a pizzeria is but I really don't think that that's going to compare it to what I'm about to see right now cook up for over a thousand troops in the middle of the ocean I mean I just want to see where the food is with all this cooking going on when is the food come from comes from our storerooms down below below decks around the fourth and fifth - ok so if you like follow me and we'll go down there and you can have a look at where the magic starts let's do it we're in the second deck now I'm gonna keep going down Wow there's ain't decks here and the ships you guys are gonna build up an appetite going up and down ladders here Wow all your dry provisions are all laid out right here so this is almost like the grocery store you guys from the kitchen order from upstairs the order comes down and then they gather everything up for you and someone comes and picks it up alright you put it in the elevator and shoot it up we want to treat our food service as if it was our restaurant right so almost just like a French Brigade system at all right yes sir and we have the front of the house in the back of the house it's like you guys do in the civilian sector this is the chill box where all our impression food vegetables and dairy products are in alright this is what you got all right here Wow pretty low right now but I mean these guys getting ready to pull in so and their estimate this is pretty low but just this wall Ilona's pallets and pallets of fresh eggs you have stacks of onions pineapples melons just the stuff that everybody needs is to get the basic meals hooked we checked everything out down here but we got to make it upstairs to eat thank you so we just walked into the galley and right away I saw something that's really unique and it's these huge tilt skillets this is equipment to cook for many people you could make huge batches of soft huge batches of rice you only see these at big restaurants or our culinary school so pretty cool to see these here and how they use them these Blodgett ovens are obviously set up with big hotel pans inside of them okay behind behind so today the two main things in the menu was a blackened catfish and the roast beef correct how many roast beef rounds will you cultivate roughly about 600 pounds is it right by jump on the slicer huh all right so we got a slicer on this piece actually looks delicious and then kind of catch it this is slicing like butter it's been cooked perfectly it's a nice thickness that you know you can imagine on your plate where maybe some potatoes or some carrots and peas really the nice piece of meat but when you guys go out how many months are usually out for at a time we go rank winner from seven months of 10 months at a time we love being out there are you anxious to get home Oh bittersweet yeah it's like a free cruise yeah see in different places learning different cultures right hey but you leave your family at home so that's the bitter part big sacrifice so you're in charge for doing all the catfish tonight unfortunately for me yes it seems like the catfish is a hot item on the ticket right now not so much the roast beef because I'm bitter okay can I help you you want me there we go do you think so much longer than you expect some yeah definitely it's not like you can wait for the perfect here I've never seen anybody for this many people first time doing it was like whoo but you know as you doing more get easier yeah how does it grind here does it get you after a while like working the 16 hours a day you gotta find a way to have fun while you're doing it I would say you gotta find like the funky why you in there playing you know fine right but still make sure you get the movies done and done correctly out on time my prints have a little piece of the fish and a little piece of the meat if you do that thank you guys I appreciate it well chef did you cook this I can't take credit but I will say this is really not just spice on its delicious flavorful powerful mm-hmm what is the overall mission for this ship so the overall mission of the class of ship that the New York is is to carry Marines to where they need to go for the fight with their gear with their vehicles that they need and basically we're the uber for the Marine Corps taking where they need drop them off and then come back and pick them up once we get the call yeah when I look around the ship we just see so many young faces you know so many young silly men and women the average age of a sailor marine airman soldier is 18 to 22 years old so that's what drives this that's what drives our military what's next for you after this after serving 32 years and some change I think next year is time for me to hang it up and let these young folks take over and I don't want to stop but I so much like I need to so that way these guys can can grow I mean even for us in the food industry it's like I always looked for a mentor you know I always looked with someone that I loved what they did I love the way that they navigated through the industry and maybe maybe I can learn something from them everyone comes from there every different walks of life they come in and it's a big melting pot we as senior leaders and veterans at this we tend to help that and help tell them hey this is what you need to do see blue I see some ways it's time for me to go to bed not exactly the Ritz I think this is the first triple bunk but I've ever seen it's basically like almost 10 o'clock now we're gonna be up at 1:30 to to start prepping breakfast ship like this the kitchen doesn't stop just crazy basic god this is like a coffin feels like a little bit of a Kill Bill vibe in here but I come in and make it out of laughing good night morning it's about two o'clock I slept pretty shitty but we got a job to do now do me a favor and get the hell out so I could wash my face and get dressed they get things ready early good morning guys good how are you yeah good I'm here to help I keep seeing the cooks like cracked a little smile and we're gonna put them on the grill if you put me on the grill let's go like I'm worth dating station before all right so let's get this party started we don't got time to waste on testing this we're just gonna make them so you get busy over here you're cooking the baby station all eggs some water so whatever anybody wants you make for them pretty much comedian get these guys out my way first that's it scrambled chops I put in this Center yeah my omelet chops go up top regular eggs unlike the chief got I'll just leave that spot open and come back to it breakfast is coming quick the boys are out here they want to eat I'm gonna get a towel I want to clean up the station a little bit get them organized set the mise applause and we'll bang out the prep and breakfast watching watch out real quick yeah yeah my fault I asked your ready about the towels let me see you I can find some fresh towels I can tell that there are hot commodity around here oh you got one you're the man thank you this is very important every cook needs his fresh towel did you guys already scramble with cheese to scramble with cheese and pour scrambled is one ladle one scoop yeah there you go sir enjoy your meal sausage and onion wait what did he said I'm a tomato omelette no onion and this was this was a different order and I know I'm wit no onion no cheese oh so that means everything everything there's no onions in Oh cute all right and then we have another omelette with everything okay enjoy thank you good for right now but once we get a rush he's gonna have to keep the grill real organized that's why I teach all my Marines to do it a certain way because once we get a rush for other mediums these are the ones you don't want to screw up at first I was a little overwhelmed I wasn't really feeling the music blast setup but now I see the vision you don't have much to work with you got to work with what you got you know you don't have extra tables you don't have extra refrigeration will have extra here yeah we enjoy that not too shabby and try it yeah exhalation on any job is intense but here it's especially intense you know you serving the people that you work with and you want to make sure that they're fed well in a timely manner this man right here takes his job very serious and he's very good at it props to you my man you're getting it done and teaching a lot of young guys how to do it and how to carry on her tradition so that's great we're getting ready for lunch just got finished on the egg station here in the kitchen it's nonstop I'm a corporal Briggs here we're about to do the tiniest Oh big bean is our big beans I don't have this recipe and my grandmother's recipe book but I might learn something new today so first we got the onions and a bacon okay we're gonna saute these you want to spin it makes it sure why not you know this is interesting this is like cattle that you use like big stocks and big pieces of equipment like steam kettles like this they don't even have the aluminum ones yeah these are like the steel one you use a heavy does it give you a workout we're gonna add ketchup mustard yeah Tara to give it a sweetness you know we're coming together it's coming together we're looking interesting it's looking good corporal Briggs is doing a great job of cooking it we got definitely a mix of some stuff that I normally went throw together in a bean dish but we're on a ship we have to feed a lot of people and this is what we have what matters is getting these guys fed and keeping their morale up keeping them happy battalion big beans make them happy what up so every day's a set meal Tuesday's Taco Tuesdays right now if her Wednesday yeah yeah yeah so all the burgers are right here all right man so how we typically do it is we just load them all up on the grill throw the cheese on top of it get the juice going that way it melt the cheese faster yup as far as like just being out to sea for six months at a time do you get stir-crazy or you lose your mind low key but yeah you know people on the ship you talk to them you hang out with them you get to know one another better right it makes you feel better right they're like a second family you take a second man 18 years old right out of high school and finish it and what made you make that decision to the joy the military so young travel game from a small town you know if one of you an out there see the world yeah so how did you end up in the kitchen and working as a cook so all my jobs before in the military while I was in high school they were all surrounded by the food industry yeah and I mean I love cooking so you joined the military to tell you you could be a cook while traveling let's bonus on bonus right there amen it's all about fun that passion that thing you love to do you know you get paid for doing it it's even better you guys put a little water on there to steam it up so the cheese melts yeah it's a fun part right this is my third meal since I've got on this chip it's been just about 24 hours that I've been on here you guys have treated me very well I can't wait to share this burger with my homey this ship represents a lot of fun 9/11 was and what happened but also rebuilding after the tragedy there's unique steel that was built into the front of this ship from the tragedy cuts through all the waves just to see the Chambers Street Station sign here it makes you feel at home especially being a New Yorker never forget absolutely right now we're on the USS New York heading into New York City living in Bensonhurst Bay Ridge Dyker Heights everyone knows Fleet Week because we're right by the water and we're used to seeing these boats come in what is Fleet Week exactly Fleet Week is pretty much the Navy going back and explaining to everyone in the community exactly what it is that we do so it's just bridging the gap some people understand what our day-to-day is like here on board the ship just went under the Verrazano Bridge to me it's totally full circle my father used to bring me down here into the Bell Parkway and watched the fleet come in this ship sails all around the world and right now it's having its homecoming moment this is really special I grew up in New York I'm on the USS New York we're heading into New York for its homecoming here passing the Freedom Tower right now and this ship is basically a dedication to 9/11 and to never forgetting the memory of 9/11 to be able to see how a ship like this is run from the food point of view it's unbelievable you know it doesn't get much bigger working with these guys gives you perspective on your life and how comfortable things are in a perfect world I would be serving you know fresh asparagus and spinach and hormone-free meat to these guys because there are military and I believe that they deserve that it's not an easy job I saw in my own eyes I'm exhausted you know being on this boat just like it made me think different it gave me a new level of respect for the guys that are on it badass and I'll be seeing you guys again soon20 19 Fleet Week right now we're on the USS New York heading into New York City when you get on land what's the first thing that you want to go I know you guys are used to me I've been to a pizzeria but today we didn't go out to see jump on a Navy ship and see what it takes to live the day in the life of an animal reach I've experienced as a line cook and a pizzeria is but I really don't think that that's going to compare it to what I'm about to see right now cook up for over a thousand troops in the middle of the ocean I mean I just want to see where the food is with all this cooking going on when is the food come from comes from our storerooms down below below decks around the fourth and fifth - ok so if you like follow me and we'll go down there and you can have a look at where the magic starts let's do it we're in the second deck now I'm gonna keep going down Wow there's ain't decks here and the ships you guys are gonna build up an appetite going up and down ladders here Wow all your dry provisions are all laid out right here so this is almost like the grocery store you guys from the kitchen order from upstairs the order comes down and then they gather everything up for you and someone comes and picks it up alright you put it in the elevator and shoot it up we want to treat our food service as if it was our restaurant right so almost just like a French Brigade system at all right yes sir and we have the front of the house in the back of the house it's like you guys do in the civilian sector this is the chill box where all our impression food vegetables and dairy products are in alright this is what you got all right here Wow pretty low right now but I mean these guys getting ready to pull in so and their estimate this is pretty low but just this wall Ilona's pallets and pallets of fresh eggs you have stacks of onions pineapples melons just the stuff that everybody needs is to get the basic meals hooked we checked everything out down here but we got to make it upstairs to eat thank you so we just walked into the galley and right away I saw something that's really unique and it's these huge tilt skillets this is equipment to cook for many people you could make huge batches of soft huge batches of rice you only see these at big restaurants or our culinary school so pretty cool to see these here and how they use them these Blodgett ovens are obviously set up with big hotel pans inside of them okay behind behind so today the two main things in the menu was a blackened catfish and the roast beef correct how many roast beef rounds will you cultivate roughly about 600 pounds is it right by jump on the slicer huh all right so we got a slicer on this piece actually looks delicious and then kind of catch it this is slicing like butter it's been cooked perfectly it's a nice thickness that you know you can imagine on your plate where maybe some potatoes or some carrots and peas really the nice piece of meat but when you guys go out how many months are usually out for at a time we go rank winner from seven months of 10 months at a time we love being out there are you anxious to get home Oh bittersweet yeah it's like a free cruise yeah see in different places learning different cultures right hey but you leave your family at home so that's the bitter part big sacrifice so you're in charge for doing all the catfish tonight unfortunately for me yes it seems like the catfish is a hot item on the ticket right now not so much the roast beef because I'm bitter okay can I help you you want me there we go do you think so much longer than you expect some yeah definitely it's not like you can wait for the perfect here I've never seen anybody for this many people first time doing it was like whoo but you know as you doing more get easier yeah how does it grind here does it get you after a while like working the 16 hours a day you gotta find a way to have fun while you're doing it I would say you gotta find like the funky why you in there playing you know fine right but still make sure you get the movies done and done correctly out on time my prints have a little piece of the fish and a little piece of the meat if you do that thank you guys I appreciate it well chef did you cook this I can't take credit but I will say this is really not just spice on its delicious flavorful powerful mm-hmm what is the overall mission for this ship so the overall mission of the class of ship that the New York is is to carry Marines to where they need to go for the fight with their gear with their vehicles that they need and basically we're the uber for the Marine Corps taking where they need drop them off and then come back and pick them up once we get the call yeah when I look around the ship we just see so many young faces you know so many young silly men and women the average age of a sailor marine airman soldier is 18 to 22 years old so that's what drives this that's what drives our military what's next for you after this after serving 32 years and some change I think next year is time for me to hang it up and let these young folks take over and I don't want to stop but I so much like I need to so that way these guys can can grow I mean even for us in the food industry it's like I always looked for a mentor you know I always looked with someone that I loved what they did I love the way that they navigated through the industry and maybe maybe I can learn something from them everyone comes from there every different walks of life they come in and it's a big melting pot we as senior leaders and veterans at this we tend to help that and help tell them hey this is what you need to do see blue I see some ways it's time for me to go to bed not exactly the Ritz I think this is the first triple bunk but I've ever seen it's basically like almost 10 o'clock now we're gonna be up at 1:30 to to start prepping breakfast ship like this the kitchen doesn't stop just crazy basic god this is like a coffin feels like a little bit of a Kill Bill vibe in here but I come in and make it out of laughing good night morning it's about two o'clock I slept pretty shitty but we got a job to do now do me a favor and get the hell out so I could wash my face and get dressed they get things ready early good morning guys good how are you yeah good I'm here to help I keep seeing the cooks like cracked a little smile and we're gonna put them on the grill if you put me on the grill let's go like I'm worth dating station before all right so let's get this party started we don't got time to waste on testing this we're just gonna make them so you get busy over here you're cooking the baby station all eggs some water so whatever anybody wants you make for them pretty much comedian get these guys out my way first that's it scrambled chops I put in this Center yeah my omelet chops go up top regular eggs unlike the chief got I'll just leave that spot open and come back to it breakfast is coming quick the boys are out here they want to eat I'm gonna get a towel I want to clean up the station a little bit get them organized set the mise applause and we'll bang out the prep and breakfast watching watch out real quick yeah yeah my fault I asked your ready about the towels let me see you I can find some fresh towels I can tell that there are hot commodity around here oh you got one you're the man thank you this is very important every cook needs his fresh towel did you guys already scramble with cheese to scramble with cheese and pour scrambled is one ladle one scoop yeah there you go sir enjoy your meal sausage and onion wait what did he said I'm a tomato omelette no onion and this was this was a different order and I know I'm wit no onion no cheese oh so that means everything everything there's no onions in Oh cute all right and then we have another omelette with everything okay enjoy thank you good for right now but once we get a rush he's gonna have to keep the grill real organized that's why I teach all my Marines to do it a certain way because once we get a rush for other mediums these are the ones you don't want to screw up at first I was a little overwhelmed I wasn't really feeling the music blast setup but now I see the vision you don't have much to work with you got to work with what you got you know you don't have extra tables you don't have extra refrigeration will have extra here yeah we enjoy that not too shabby and try it yeah exhalation on any job is intense but here it's especially intense you know you serving the people that you work with and you want to make sure that they're fed well in a timely manner this man right here takes his job very serious and he's very good at it props to you my man you're getting it done and teaching a lot of young guys how to do it and how to carry on her tradition so that's great we're getting ready for lunch just got finished on the egg station here in the kitchen it's nonstop I'm a corporal Briggs here we're about to do the tiniest Oh big bean is our big beans I don't have this recipe and my grandmother's recipe book but I might learn something new today so first we got the onions and a bacon okay we're gonna saute these you want to spin it makes it sure why not you know this is interesting this is like cattle that you use like big stocks and big pieces of equipment like steam kettles like this they don't even have the aluminum ones yeah these are like the steel one you use a heavy does it give you a workout we're gonna add ketchup mustard yeah Tara to give it a sweetness you know we're coming together it's coming together we're looking interesting it's looking good corporal Briggs is doing a great job of cooking it we got definitely a mix of some stuff that I normally went throw together in a bean dish but we're on a ship we have to feed a lot of people and this is what we have what matters is getting these guys fed and keeping their morale up keeping them happy battalion big beans make them happy what up so every day's a set meal Tuesday's Taco Tuesdays right now if her Wednesday yeah yeah yeah so all the burgers are right here all right man so how we typically do it is we just load them all up on the grill throw the cheese on top of it get the juice going that way it melt the cheese faster yup as far as like just being out to sea for six months at a time do you get stir-crazy or you lose your mind low key but yeah you know people on the ship you talk to them you hang out with them you get to know one another better right it makes you feel better right they're like a second family you take a second man 18 years old right out of high school and finish it and what made you make that decision to the joy the military so young travel game from a small town you know if one of you an out there see the world yeah so how did you end up in the kitchen and working as a cook so all my jobs before in the military while I was in high school they were all surrounded by the food industry yeah and I mean I love cooking so you joined the military to tell you you could be a cook while traveling let's bonus on bonus right there amen it's all about fun that passion that thing you love to do you know you get paid for doing it it's even better you guys put a little water on there to steam it up so the cheese melts yeah it's a fun part right this is my third meal since I've got on this chip it's been just about 24 hours that I've been on here you guys have treated me very well I can't wait to share this burger with my homey this ship represents a lot of fun 9/11 was and what happened but also rebuilding after the tragedy there's unique steel that was built into the front of this ship from the tragedy cuts through all the waves just to see the Chambers Street Station sign here it makes you feel at home especially being a New Yorker never forget absolutely right now we're on the USS New York heading into New York City living in Bensonhurst Bay Ridge Dyker Heights everyone knows Fleet Week because we're right by the water and we're used to seeing these boats come in what is Fleet Week exactly Fleet Week is pretty much the Navy going back and explaining to everyone in the community exactly what it is that we do so it's just bridging the gap some people understand what our day-to-day is like here on board the ship just went under the Verrazano Bridge to me it's totally full circle my father used to bring me down here into the Bell Parkway and watched the fleet come in this ship sails all around the world and right now it's having its homecoming moment this is really special I grew up in New York I'm on the USS New York we're heading into New York for its homecoming here passing the Freedom Tower right now and this ship is basically a dedication to 9/11 and to never forgetting the memory of 9/11 to be able to see how a ship like this is run from the food point of view it's unbelievable you know it doesn't get much bigger working with these guys gives you perspective on your life and how comfortable things are in a perfect world I would be serving you know fresh asparagus and spinach and hormone-free meat to these guys because there are military and I believe that they deserve that it's not an easy job I saw in my own eyes I'm exhausted you know being on this boat just like it made me think different it gave me a new level of respect for the guys that are on it badass and I'll be seeing you guys again soon\n"