080709-M-1855J-002-LR
RAMADI, Iraq (July 9, 2008) Lance Cpl. Alfred Lindquist, a food service specialist with 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, who is currently cooking for the Marines at a joint security station inside the city, carries a box of beef to the areas cooking space in preparation for dinner June 16. A Marines morale is regularly a direct reflection of the food service specialists job performance. During a deployment, the meals the food service specialists, or cook as theyre more commonly called, whip up are usually the only guaranteed freshly cooked meal. Without the cooks, the Marines would be subjected to the notorious Meals-Ready-to-Eat, or MREs, as a source of food. (Official U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Casey Jones) (RELEASED)