UPDATED July 2007
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My, how things change... I got a couple of photos from a loadmaster friend, Jessical Flores, in the great state of Texas, who transited Hickam recently. Here's her photos & story... (MINE is blow the photos)
Quick update for Hickam AFB. Attached is what they are currently serving......and they SUCK! They did not even come in a box, but a plastic bag thrown into a large garbage bag!
The lunches cost around $3 and I do not think anyone on the entire Herk Crew finished even half of their sandwich. The meal pictured here is a chicken sandwich healthy meal. To be honest, after I heated the sandwich up in the oven, it turned it into rubber, and I did not even eat it. The flight kitchen offered chicken, roast beef and turkey sandwiches. The other LM ordered a turkey sandwich and was picking actual gristle out of it ~ No joke. Also...I personally did not even see a date stamp for when the meals were made considering they were in plastic sacks.
Worst meals ever!!!
At first I thought Jess had been living a nightmare. We all know the Air Force has standards which must be maintained, consistency thoughout the different bases, and the flight kitchen folks lucky enough to be stationed in that garden paradise muct certainly be doing a stellar job if they intend to extend their tour. Boy, was *I* wrong....
I found it ironic that Jess wrote when she did since I was on my way to Hickam enroute to Australia, so I vowed to PRESS-TO-TEST. My meal arrived in a box, clearly marked with my name, and date of manufacture. OK, I thought to myself, maybe Jess caught them on a bad day (or too many Mai-Tais of her own at Moose's the night prior)... Well, it turns out I ordered a lunch AFTER Australia when we came through Hickam and mine was served almost identiacal to hers! Same plastic Wal-Mart-style shopping bag, no dates, and the kicker was that my supplement had mixed fruit and pudding BUT NO SPOON. Jess, I apologize for doubting you. Apparently, YES, things in the Aloha state have gone to the dogs. If you're going to transit Hickam, take it from Jessica, RUN (don't walk) to the Shopette before getting to the flightline.