Video Feeding the 5,000 aboard the USS Carl Vinson carrier.

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1. 11-thousand square foot (1-thousand square metre) freezer

2. Food in the freezer

3. Various of food taken from freezer to kitchen

4. Various of food preparation

5. Prepared food taken to mess hall

6. SOUNDBITE: (English) Moises, mess specialist chef

"Well, 5-thousand sailors on board. I would say we are very, very happy if we can have some 99 percent (of the) crew that's smiling every time we go past through the serving line. Other than that we have one or two there that have small issues about the food."

7. Various of serving line

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Vox pop, Sailor

"It is not the greatest but it is not the worst either."

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Vox pop, Sailor

"Its all right. They do the best they can. For feeding 5,000 people they do what they have to do. Yeh, mess is all right."

10. Various of people eating in the mess


STORYLINE:


It's always said that an army marches on its stomach and, of course, that's also how the navy sails.


On the huge aircraft carrier the U-S-S Carl Vinson, feeding 5-thousand sailors is a daily challenge.


The challenge for the catering crew is to provide plenty of quantity and variety, even if the ship is at sea for weeks on end.


The USS Carl Vinson, which is launching bombing raids on Afghanistan from the northern Arabian Sea, has seven galleys ranging from the exclusive admiral's mess to the two huge eating areas for the enlisted men and women.


You name it, they've probably got it: from machines dispensing root beer and pink lemonade all the way to an expensive cappuccino maker.


The 140 cooks on board will fry up a hamburger, veggie burger or a grilled cheese sandwich.


Then there are taco bars, salad bars, a pasta bar, bagels, and hot dogs.


Many items are available round the clock.


The crew gets four meals a day: breakfast, lunch, dinner and a late-night offering called "mid rats."


That's short for 'midnight rations' and has nothing to do with the ingredients.


The immense freezer can hold 120 truckloads of food.


Its supplies include boxes of lobster tail and steak for a special dinner to celebrate the Navy's birthday, 226 years ago.


The specialist mess chef, Moises, whose full name cannot be used under military ground rules, says all but a few seem happy with the results.




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