NAVSUP Serves Up Excellence at Sea Air Space Expo 2012

From NAVSUP Corporate Communications

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md, (NNS) -- Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP) demonstrated one of its top quality-of-life responsibilities at the Navy League's annual Sea-Air-Space Expo, which runs April 16-18.

Through food cooking and preparation demonstrations, Navy culinary specialists (CSs) worked together to serve samplings of a variety of dishes, ranging from chicken saltimbocca with mushroom asparagus and herb linguini to oriental pepper steak to country collard greens.

CSs who took top awards at the March 2012 Annual Military Culinary Arts Competition in Fort Lee, Va.- the largest culinary competition in North America-brought their award-winning dishes back for an encore presentation at the symposium.

"It's great to be able to go to a show like this and meet some of the young enlisted men and woman who are responsible for providing the quality of life afloat and ashore in these expeditionary environments that our Sailors need to be effective. They provide day to day warfighting readiness through their skills," said NAVSUP Commander and Chief of Supply Corps Rear Adm. Mark Heinrich.

"It's an honor and a blessing to be here," said Culinary Specialist 3rd Class Cameron Johnson, currently stationed at Naval Station Norfolk Galley. "A lot of people don't get an opportunity to do something like this and I'm proud to be here for the Navy and representing my culinary team. I love being a CS and cooking for others."

NAVSUP's exhibit features five daily cooking demonstrations, accompanied by twice-daily educational sessions on the Navy Operational Fitness and Fueling Series (NOFFS) by NAVSUP Nutrition Program Manager and Registered Dietician Jennifer Person-Whippo.

"Healthy and nutritious meals made from scratch that are also great tasting...that's what's going to fuel our Sailors out at sea and keep them motivated and keep them going," said Cmdr. Danny King, Navy Food Service director for NAVSUP. "This Expo is a great opportunity to show off the combination of our registered dietician, our corporate chef, representatives from our Navy Food Management Teams, and our CSs...it's bringing all the great roles together."

"I think this Expo is a great opportunity to introduce people to the Operational Fueling and Fitness Program," said Person-Whippo. "The fueling program gives service members knowledge on portion size, which foods they should eat, and actually designs a program for them according to their weight and their goals."

"We're really excited to be able to provide this kind of information at this year's Sea-Air-Space Expo," said NAVSUP Corporate Chef Michael Harants. "There are more than 7,300 CSs throughout the Navy and CSs deployed around the globe feed on average more than 92.5 million wholesome and nutritious meals per year, ensuring the Navy's fighting forces operate at peak performance and are ready to respond to threats worldwide. CSs have a huge impact every day. This is a big responsibility and we are very proud to provide support and manage the Navy's food service."

The Navy League holds its annual Sea-Air-Space (SAS) Exposition April 16-18, at the Gaylord National Harbor Convention Center in National Harbor, Md. As the largest maritime symposium in the world, SAS attracts approximately 10,000 attendees. It features more than 150 defense industry exhibits and professional seminars with top civilian and military leaders from the U.S. Department of Defense, Homeland Security, Maritime Administration and the defense industry who provide up-to-the-minute developments on policy and programs of the maritime services.

NAVSUP's primary mission is to provide U.S. naval forces with quality supplies and services. With headquarters in Mechanicsburg, Pa., and employing a diverse, worldwide workforce of more than 22,500 military and civilian personnel, NAVSUP oversees logistics programs in the areas of supply operations, conventional ordnance, contracting, resale, fuel, transportation, and security assistance. In addition, NAVSUP is responsible for quality of life issues for our naval forces, including food service, postal services, Navy Exchanges, and movement of household goods.