JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. –
In order to maintain control of their air space, birds
of prey need to eat to stay healthy. The same is true for Joint Base
Langley-Eustis F-22 Raptors; it takes a team to maintain air dominance and
JBLE’s Raptor Café aims to make it easier for the Raptor team to have a quick meal
between flight line operations.
“The flight kitchen keeps us from pulling our Airmen
off the flight line, which keeps our planes in the air,” said U.S. Air Force Master
Sgt. William Olwig, 27th Aircraft Maintenance Unit support section chief. “Our
Airmen can have a hot-nutritious meal without leaving the area, thanks to the
Raptor Café; especially for the Airmen that live in the dorms and can’t bring a
cooked meal from home.”
A variety of meal options are offered on a 21-day
rotating menu for Airmen who wish to dine-in; these meals include main entrees, a self-serve
wrap bar, sandwich specials, soup and salad options, and desserts.
Its location next to the flight line also makes it
ideal for supporting the dining needs of pilots, maintainers and other flight
line support personnel. That being said, where the Raptor Café truly excels is in
its understanding and flexibility with the needs of flight line personnel.
“Pilots and maintainers are very hard workers and work
long hours,” said U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Zachary Heber, 633rd Force
Support Squadron Raptor Café storeroom manager. “Sometimes a supervisor or a
first sergeant will call, telling us that a plane needs a lot of work and the
maintainers can’t make it. So we keep grab and go meals, and flight meals
available after lunch hours, for those who didn’t get the chance to make our
lunch hours.”
Along with providing meal service on the flight line,
the café also ensures that warfighters heading to contingency, humanitarian or
other missions are energized with quick and on-the-go sustenance including
boxed lunches during their long flights.
“We make it possible for those Airmen to have the
nutrition they need to keep the mission moving forward,” said Heber. “At the
end of the day, every meal feeds the overarching mission to fly, fight and
win.”