184th Force Support members support thousands, one meal at a time Published Oct. 3, 2010 By Capt. Nancy Harper 184th Force Support Squadron al Udeid Air Base, Southwest Asia-- -- The late Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte is credited with creating the motto, "An army marches on its stomach." However, it was the endless number of military and civilian cooks who, throughout the centuries, put those words into action. Many services personnel from different armed forces continue the tradition of providing meals to scores of deployed military members. Master Sergeant Edgar Salazar-Aguirre and Staff Sergeant Christopher Guild, members of the 184th Force Support Squadron, are currently providing that same service to thousands of US service members and coalition forces at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar. Sergeant Salazar-Aguirre is a facility manager at one of the many dining facilities while Sergeant Guild overseas daily operations at the food distribution warehouse. The multi-million dollar facility includes dry goods storage, giant freezer and refrigerator sections that house produce, dairy and meats and conexes used to store frozen items like ice cream, fried foods, meat, fish and ice. The food items are later transported to the dining facilities and served to thousands of military members, civilians and contractors. Major Steven Shook, 184th Force Support Operations Officer, praised the sergeants for their achievements overseas. "Sergeants Salazar-Aguirre and Guild were eager to volunteer for the deployment to Qatar. The skills and expertise they take with them to the field will continue to demonstrate the dedication and commitment that Air Guardsmen offer the total force efforts around the world." Sergeant Guild has had to overcome weather and electrical issues while maintaining the warehouse. "It's been reaching 120 degrees here, since we're in charge of the conex freezers with all the food in it's been a constant battle with the heat trying to keep the food at safe temperatures to where it doesn't spoil. We've had about five conexes go down in week, so some days I get pulled out of bed before sunrise to move product and avoid incredibly large monetary losses. All of our conexes are over-heating trying to keep the food frozen." Sergeant Guild was also on hand to assist the grand re-opening of the Fox Sports Sky Box in June 2010. The sports bar, funded in part by the Fox Network, was renovated within five months. While the base also hosts franchise eateries like Baskin Robbins, Green Bean Coffee, and Burger King, the Al Udeid dining facilities continue to serve over 500,000 meals a month. Sergeant Guild's daily tasks are to ensure food and ice deliveries have a timely arrival to food storage facilities in theater. While both Sergeants Salazar-Aguirre and Guild miss their families and friends, they are motivated to provide first-class service to their customers. Sergeant Guild reflected on the importance of his job. "I'd say that without me the food wouldn't get to the base and we wouldn't have all the amenities that remind people of home. I guess I would just like people to know how much Force Support does and how critical we are to base standard of living." Sergeant Guild's daily tasks are to ensure food and ice deliveries have a timely arrival to food storage facilities in theater.