BODØ, Norway – Preparing three daily meals for almost 1000 additional exercise participants is a challenge. The Dining Facility at Bodø Air Base is mastering this challenge every day, providing an example of well-functioning Host Nation Support during NATO’s Exercise Trident Juncture 2018.

During normal operations approximately 200 personnel of the Royal Norwegian Air Force’s 132 Airwing are based at Bodø. During Trident Juncture about six times as many men and women from eight different nations are based at Bodø and nearly all of them need to be catered in the base’s Dining Facility. Due to the different shifts of the exercise participants, the facility is opened for 13 hours a day. Eight Chefs are working twelve-hour shifts, whereas during normal operations only three chefs work a normal seven-and-a-half-hour day.

Kitchen Chief Heidi Nilsen has been working at the Dining Facility for thirteen years. "First of all, we had to reinforce our capabilities especially for the duration of the exercise” she says. "Secondly we want to deliver a widespread and diverse menu, covering the different kind of tastes of our international guests to the best possible extend” she adds. Her and her team’s performance is well received by the daily consumers. "When you’re working on exercise shifts, it’s important to have a good meal in between” says Captain Sven Henrik Lindgren, member of the Swedish Air Force.

The biggest meal of the day is lunch, serving about 130 kilograms of meat. Every day, the kitchen serves roughly 100 liters of orange juice, 50 liters of apple juice, 100 loafs of bread, 300 rolls, 8 kilograms of cheese and about 30 kilograms of pears, apples and bananas respectively.

Story by Allied Air Command Public Affairs Office