Navy Support Facility (NSF) Deveselu, Romania held a grand opening to debut their new galley on base Aug. 10.

"You see the difference on everyone's face, not just the Sailors, but the civilians working here, too," said Senior Chief Culinary Specialist Ramon M. Lang, senior enlisted advisor and food services officer at NSF Deveselu. "All together, everything has been a plus, and you can sense it from the vibes from everybody here."

The previous temporary galley was a hut connected to two shipping containers, or CONEX (container express) boxes, that had become old and decrepit, said Electronics Technician 2nd Class Darian Kulp. The structure was not intended to withstand the rain and other weather conditions for long. The new galley, however, has greatly improved cooking and dining spaces.

"It's a great advantage for the people who work in there because it's much bigger," said Lang. "I would say three times the size [of] the row-hut galley. It's more open, and it doesn't look cluttered. You've got these large windows with a view. Before, everything was just closed."

The previous temporary galley strained Sailors because of the inconvenient location and transportation required for each meal.

"We had to take shuttles and we had Sailors driving the shuttles, so there was a watchbill," said Lang. "Now we can lose the watchbill, and we don't have to lose Sailors to driving. And that was Monday through Sunday, every day, three meals a day. It was a hassle."

The Sailors at NSF Deveselu are now showing up for more meals and cooks have the opportunity to prepare more, better-quality meals.

"The convenience factor hugely boosted the morale of our guys," said Kulp. "They're able to get their food and then go workout and not have to work out the logistics of how to catch a shuttle. The meals themselves have improved greatly, and the cooks are happier."

With the inauguration of the new galley, Sailors are establishing new customs at NSF Deveselu, like Mongolian Barbecue Night.

"We had Mongolian Barbecue Night, which seems silly, but all the guys are insanely happy about it -- running down the hallways knocking on doors [saying] 'Hey, you know, the dinner's good!'" said Kulp. "You never heard that before. Usually they just grabbed food, put it in a Styrofoam box, walked off to their room and depressively ate. Now they're all interacting with each other."

"We're glad it opened and we felt like it was one of the last things we needed to accomplish to feel complete here on base," said Lang.

NSF Deveselu is the first Aegis Ashore Missile Defense Facility in Europe and is part of Phase II of the European Phased Adaptive Approach to ballistic missile defense. It is Navy Region Europe, Africa, and Southwest Asia's (EURAFSWA) latest tool for providing efficient and effective shore service support to United States and allied forces operating in Europe. Navy Region EURAFSWA is the critical enabler of naval forces to operate forward to deter conflict and if necessary fight and win.

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For more news from Commander, Navy Region Europe, Africa, Southwest Asia, visit http://www.navy.mil/.