Dinner in Iraq

Boarding school food is bland—I know this firsthand. Military food, however, is a special kind of bland. It’s food as sustenance, as opposed to, say, experience. 

In their brilliant book, Made to Stick, the Heath brothers relate a story about army food that illustrates the importance of value creation. As it turns out, it pays to know what business you’re in—not just what business other people think you’re in.

While most army dining facilities in Iraq serve bland food, the Pegasus chow hall has a reputation for being different. So different, in fact, that soldiers travel from the Green Zone (the protected, Americanized part of Baghdad) through treacherous roads for a meal at Pegasus.

Why? 

What’s so different about Pegasus? After all, it uses exactly the same ingredients from exactly the same suppliers as other dining halls. 

A major part of the difference is that dinner at Pegasus is an experience. The meals are not bland plates of carbohydrates. They’re delicious. The prime rib is marinated for two days. The fruit assortments include fresh kiwis, blueberries and watermelon. The dessert tray features five different kinds of cake.

Instead of plain white walls, there are sports banners that remind soldiers of home. The windows are treated with gold curtains, and the tables are covered with green table cloths. The chefs wear long, white chef hats. Before every opening, the chefs get into a sports-like huddle, cheer up and proceed to serve their guests with a great attitude.

But, the food and the environment are products. They’re a result of a much broader effort behind the scene.

What truly separates Pegasus from other dining halls is attitude. It starts with the leader, a man named Floyd Lee. Lee, a retired Marine corp veteran and army cook, came out of retirement to help feed American troops. 

Lee and his team recognize how important food is to soldiers. Imagine working 18 hours a day, seven days a week with the constant threat of danger looming, and still having to eat bland food. Lee would have none of that. He wants these dedicated women and men to enjoy the very best available. 

So, he and his staff take time to pick out the best of the berries, tossing out the bad ones. They take care to make sure that the dining hall has a clean and friendly atmosphere for their customers. 

“As I see it, I’m not just in charge of food service; I’m in charge of morale.”

“I’m in charge of morale.” 

Lee understands what business he’s in. 

Other mess halls are in the food business. Lee is in the morale business. 

The requirements are different. 

And so are the results.