MARINE CORPS AIR STATION YUMA, Ariz. -- The station mess hall is currently undergoing a remodeling of flooring and furniture, a project slated to be finished in September.
All flooring and furniture in the dining area will be replaced, which will look more appealing and last for a longer period of time, according to Gunnery Sgt. Earl G. Watie, food service officer-in-charge, station mess hall.
"The Marine Corps believes in the ‘whole room’ concept,” explained Watie. "If you think about it, it's actually a lot more cost effective to do it that way because of the fact that you replace stuff every six months (if you replace items individually), where if you just replace the whole (room) in one hit, then it cuts down on the cost, so you won't have to refurbish the mess hall for another five to seven years.
"The carpet is two to three years old and it's a high traffic area, so we're putting in ceramic tile," said Watie, a Denver, Colo., native. "It will look good and it will last from five to eight years."
The mess hall won three Maj. Gen. W.P.T. Hill Awards in a row, which is also another reason why it is remodeling, said Watie.
"It'll show the evaluator (from the Hill Award) that we're not complacent with the three W.P.T. Hill Awards,” said Watie. “We're not satisfied with what we've already done. We continue to strive to do better. The food is not the only thing we are improving."
The project is also being done to help keep the mess hall ahead of others in the Marine Corps so they can continue to be the best, said Alfred Schutt, station mess hall project manager.
The main reason for the new improvements is to keep up morale and keep Marines and sailors from spending their money on food outside the mess hall, said Sgt. Thomas J. Wright, training noncommissioned officer, station mess hall.
“It's to let them be in a better atmosphere when they're eating,” said Wright. “If you're in a dining facility where the carpet is torn up and the tables are falling apart, you're not really going to want to eat there and the chow isn't going to seem as good. If we make it an establishment where everything is new and people can relax while they eat their food and watch T.V., it's going to make it a lot better for them. They're not going to run somewhere else for every lunch meal."
"This is one of the oldest dining facilities in the Marine Corps,” said Watie. “It goes with the whole ambiance of what we're trying to accomplish here. We want to compete with the restaurants out in town to keep the Marines here and not have them spend their money out there. We don’t want them to spend their money on food."
In the future, new projects are planned for the mess hall such as installing air conditioning units in the salad room, new ovens and broilers for the fast-food line. Most importantly, Watie plans to get an entirely new mess hall because of the station’s development.
"We're taking one step at a time,” said Watie. “There are a lot of other things we'd like to do. Our Main goal is to get an entirely new dinning facility because of the way the base is growing. However, all they can say is no. But for a mess hall that won a W.P.T. Hill Award three years in a row, I don't think it's too much to ask for."