Camp Adair Sentry
Thursday, May 20,1943.
Tent City Commando
Mother Earth's Oven
Page Thr^e
Bakers— Bake In Slit Trenches
EM of QM Combine
Baking, Soldiering
Men Receive Rigorous Training;
Work; Make Bread; Dig Fox Holes
By Pvt. Harry O. Klissner
The Tent City QM bakers are located South of E and 10th st. -et
South. 1 here are two outfits of them—real he-men who have been
trained to bake and defend themselves under all conditions. It make«
no difference whether these tent dwellers are forced to do their bakimr
in a tent, fox hole, or slit trench. As long as they have the ingredients,
the bakers can turn out the finished product— and delicious, tasty
bread, too!
These men have completed their*.........................................
-
basic and technical training and are adequate baking equipment avail
now undergoing tactical instruc able.
It takes a whole day to build this type of improvised oven. Pictured in this photo are (read
tion
under supervision of their
ing left to right) Pfc. William T. Chaney and S Sgt. Frank Stanulonis who are baking under regular
With the technical training over,
commanding officer, Major Jessie tactical study follows. This is what
field conditions while Lt. Stanley Friedman supervises the work. Pfc. Vern Whitlock is shown
building a hearth for another oven while 7 5 Wilbert Calhoun and T 5 Wentiford Durham are shown
D. Bell.
these men are now undergoing at
mixing the ingredients. In a steep bank, these QM bakers have improvised an oven with makeshift
This
organization,
which is a
equipment. This oven can produce two-thirds the quantity of a regular field range or that made by a
Tent City. This means advanced
provisional battalion, is comprised I learning in which the men are
modern city bakery using the latest and best obtainable.
of quartermaster units—refrigera
taught to bake under makeshift
tion, salvage, repair, and laundry,1
conditions
as immediate circum
Check and Double-Check
and besides, the two bakery com stances may allow.
panies. Lt. Edwin C. Toxen and
The various officers are always
Lt. Marvin Smith are in charge of experimenting with ways to bake
the bakery company’s training.
if it is not possible to have a GI
Mr. Wolff Says
range. He built an improvised oven
Warrant Officer Charles E. | which can be used in an emergency.
Wolff, who handles the personnel It is a makeshift affair, and Moth
Tent City Contests
administration at Tent City, says er Earth is used as a foundation.
Among Bakers Bring
that learning how to be good sol
Most practice is obtained when
diers as well as good army bakers the men go on bivouacs. They con
Out New Methods of
is some of the material stressed.
tinue their basic in this way—also
Producing in Action
In technical training, instruction get an insight in how to protect
is given in baking. Some phases themselves in actual warfare. They
The Bakers of Tent City strive I
are taught by means of the class i take this training under simulated
to come as close to the ideal as is
room; other features are brought conditions—building slit trenches
humanly possible. There is much [
out by practical experience. Many and fox holes.
• competition and rivalry between
of <.hese men have been graduated
During these bivouacs, the QM
sections, platoons and companies as
from American Institute of Bak bakers are given an opportunity to
to who makes the best bread.
ing. This is the same baking school
use their ingenuity in solving bak
The perfect loaf of bread ? —
which trains men for such large
ing difficulties. This is where gen
authorities claim that it has never t
concerns as the Continental hakers
uine
problems arise.
been baked.
and the Van de Kamp Holland
c
At times the set-up for field
Since bread is pretty well estab-'
Dutch Bakery. The government
J
ranges
is poor—wind may be blow,
■ lished as the staff of -(G.I.-?) life J
does everything in its power to get
ing
against
the flame—part of the
and therefore of interest to all-of
experts who in turn are responsible
equipment missing. Whether storm,
■ us, it may come as an amazing bit
This illustration shows the extreme care that is taken to
for training enlisted men.
insure
that
the
bread
is
up
to
GI
standard.
Here
w«
see
Lt.
H.
C.
’ of information to know that there
During the technical training, rain, or shine, the men are always
Goring,
instructor,
rechecking
carefully
the
baked
bread
produced
are upward of umpteen chances to
baking under ideal conditions is • able to overcome the situation, and
by M r mea, both technicians. Reading left to right they are Pfcs.
spoil a loaf of bread in the making.
easy for men who develop into real | the bread is at all times up to GI
John Reed and Hebert Fey. It makes no difference what job the
Each man is instructed in the ( men are doing; an officer always makes the final check!
technicians in a short time with ¡standard as attested by inspections
mode by staff officers of the Dead
‘ duties of every other man in the |
eye
and Timber Wolf divisions.
section, as under battle conditions, [
Oven
—
In
a
Slit
Trench!
Time
and time again, the men have
it may fall on him to take over
proved that as long as the ingredi
additional duties at any time. He
ents
are present, they can prepare
must know bread formulas, how to
bread
—whether they have the re
mix, how to mould good loaves,
quired GI equipment or not.
how to service the fire units so the
I*raise The Lord
ovens will be at the proper tem
peratures, how to tell when the j
Their slogan is “Praise the Lord
bread is properly baked, and many (
and Pass the Ammunition; QM
other things.
Bakers Will Furnish the Nutri-
He must know- how to take th< <
tion!” After tasting the bread,
best care of his equipment and in
your reporter can safely state that
gredients as replacements may not'
even under these conditions the
always be available. However, if
bread is very good to eat.
necessity arises, he may use im
Many problems confront the men
provised equipment, constructing
in making bread. The type of
ovens from scrap metal or special
water, fuel and equipment at hand
ly built trenches.
must always be taken into consid
One type of improvised oven is
eration by these versatile baker«.
made by digging a fire pit several (
Here photographer Pvt. Herbert N'iemeth of the Signal Corps snapped the Tent City bakers in | A sudden change-over from =oft
the process of baking bread in an improvised oven—working under actual field conditions. Reading left
feet deep into the ground. Over the
to hard water or vice-versa may
to right in this picture are S Sgt. Frank Traska. Lt. Douglas Coleman, Sgt. Kenneth Fall, Pvt. James
cause a mental pabulum—certain
pit is set the baking chamber,
Adams, and T 5 Rollin Furry. A slit trench has been converted into an oven. This demonstrates that
which may be made from scrap
the bakers can produce bread under all conditions. If this batch is a sample of bread turned out by [chemicals in the water are some
times a problem.
similar field units in Africa and the Solomons, soldiers have nothing to kick about. Your reporter had
metal. The pit is so constructed
a slice, and it tastes as good as city “bought” bread. Lt. Douglas Coleman is the officer in charge
Also to be taken into considera
that a space of about 3 inches is
inspecting the finished product turned out by his bakery platoon. Under this improvised system,
< left between the chamber and the
tion
«re methods of heating. Some
it requires one hour and a half to make a setup and get prepared for the actual baking. While one
outside wall as a flue. It is by this
fuels bake dough faster; others
batch is in the oven, the boys are digging another slit-trench in order to increase their quantity
output.
means that the heat is circulated
slower but more thoroughly. The
evenly throughout the oven, giving {
type of flame used is no excuse for
sections. They consist of:
yards crawling on all fours on back. a poor batch of bread. The tent
the bread a good even bake. The
Section 1 — approximately 20 Rump must be off the ground.
material used for the oven may be j
dwellers are taught to turn out
; yards at a dead run finished by hit-
Section 7 — Rough and tumble edible loaves whether they use coal,
brick, scrap metal, or something
similar w’hich is a good conductor
jtmg the dirt and landing on all for 35 yards with the nearest op wood, gas, or electricity
1 fours..
ponent for a period of two minutes.
• of heat. Helmets may even be used
The bakers must at all times be
Warrant
Officer
Charles
Wolff.
I
Section 2 — Approximately
Coaches stimulate action continual on the alert, and as it is the duty
• in place of pans.
v
Other types of improvised ovens in charge of personnel adminis yards running on all fours.
of a line soldier to make the best
ly.
Section 8 — Approximately 20 of a bad situation; so it is the duty
Section 3 — Approximately 15
• used by Army field bakeries are tration at Tent City reports that
pit ovens, dug into a bank, or mud Major Jessie Bell, commanding of yards of crawling with locked el* yards in which one man forces the of the line baker to make bread
other by the science of Judo, drag with all kinds of water, any type of
• and clay ovens, whereby the oven ficer of the “Open Air” QM locat bows.
Section 4 — Approximately 15 ging, carrying, or pushing him.
oven, and under varied conditions.
. is constructed and formed by using ed South of South St. 10th and E,
has
worked
out
a
conditioning
yards
of
duck*
walking.
Section
9
—
Same
ac
section
8
1
Demolition of Bakery Equipment
• stit ks and grasses and covered with
*• clay. When a fire is built, the course for his boys which supple-j Section 5 — Approximately 10 with the opponents reversed. Op-jto conform with modern warfare
I positions in section 9 and 8 must (if absolutely necessary) is taught
sticks » burn
*»■-«*»> away
— -v and at the same . ments calisthenics.
* yards of somersaults.
tiro« the mud -ar clay is hardened.’ 1 The-course is divided into nine
Section 6 — Approximately 10 be intense.
t these men aa well.
Army Bakeries
Vary in Field
Jeni Boys Keep Fit
Dedares Mr. Wolff