The Navy is delving into the issue of whether to privatize some of its shore-based dining facilities while considering how such a move might disadvantage the service’s cooks, according to the Navy’s top enlisted sailor.
In a Dec. 11 interview, Task & Purpose asked Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy John Perryman if the Navy will continue to have sailors operate its dining facilities, known as galleys, or privatize them.
“I think that’s an open question,” Perryman said. “I think we’re trying to work our way through, which is the best way to do that.”
While at sea, galleys have long held a special place in Navy culture and are often considered the ‘heart of a ship.’ No plans are under consideration to privatize onboard facilities or crew. But, Perryman said, the Navy is considering options to privatize galleys onshore, which often serve large base populations and are training grounds for cooks between deployments. On-base galleys are also often the primary source of meals for junior sailors.
Top Stories This Week
The plans would in some ways follow the example of the Army, which already has plans to reduce the number of soldiers serving as cooks while bringing on private contractors to run dining facilities.
However, Perryman said he is concerned that privatizing galleys could affect the Navy’s cooks — formally known as culinary specialists — who prepare food and operate kitchens and dining facilities.
Perryman said he wants to make sure that culinary specialists do not face limitations on which galleys they can operate. All sailors should be able to do their jobs for which they are trained both at sea and ashore, he said.
He also said he’d like to see culinary specialists get additional opportunities for training from institutions such as The Culinary Institute of America.
“So if I privatize galleys, see then, what do I do with my culinary specialists, right?” Perryman said.
Therefore, Perryman said he thinks the Navy will continue to have culinary specialists in galleys, regardless of if they are run by the Navy or a private contractor.
“There’s probably some hybrid in there, depending on what galley you’re talking about, but I would like to maintain the ability for [culinary specialists] to go ashore and hone their craft,” Perryman said.
If the Navy opts to contract out some of its galleys, there could be both pros and cons for sailors, said Katherine Kuzminski, director of the Military, Veterans, and Society Program at the Center for a New American Security think tank in Washington, D.C.
On the one hand, the dining facilities could adapt quickly as culinary tastes evolve, but the chain of command would have less oversight of privatized galleys, Kuzminski told Task & Purpose.
Although Navy installation commanders would still be able to say whether dining services were unacceptable, that would be different from having commanders directly responsible for sailors who run galleys, she said.
“From the perspective of the sailor, who is the consumer, if something is going awry, their commander would have less authority than when it is in the formal chain of command,” Kuzminski said.
She added that junior sailors are more likely to rely on dining facilities than enlisted leaders and officers.
Separate from the issue of privatization, Perryman said he foresees that shore-based galleys in the future will look more like college campus dining halls, which offer a variety of options ranging from hamburgers to Mediterranean cuisine.
“College campuses generally can execute cheaper than what we do right now, with an improved level of quality in the food,” Perryman said.
