National Healthcare Foodservice Workers Week<br>Retired NCO's food service commitment reflected in civilian nutritional medicine job

Published Oct. 6, 2010
By Steve Pivnick
81st Medical Group Public Affairs

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- National Healthcare Foodservice Workers Week is an annual event being celebrated this week to recognize the important role food service staff has in keeping patients and hospital staff well-nourished and healthy.

Michael Trahan epitomizes that philosophy. Having spent most of his active-duty Air Force career in the nutritional medicine field, he was determined to continue in the field following retirement. He currently supervises nine civilian members of the 81st Diagnostics and Therapeutics Squadron nutritional medicine flight.

Mr. Trahan served more than 21 years in the Air Force, retiring in August 2005 as a master sergeant.

"I spent my first 4½ years as a plumbing specialist in civil engineering," he recounted. "I retrained into diet therapy in 1988. I attended the six-week basic food service school at Lowry Air Force Base, Colo., and then went to diet therapy school at Sheppard AFB, Texas."

In November 1988, Mr. Trahan reported to Keesler to begin work in his new career field as a diet therapy technician. In 2001, he moved to Royal Air Force Lakenheath, United Kingdom, for three years before being reassigned to F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo., in 2004.

"We left Wyoming in June 2005 when I began my terminal leave," he said. "I was looking forward to starting work in the Keesler hospital in October, but then Katrina hit and, of course, that put a hold on things so I did electrical work in the local community until a cook position opened up in October 2006."

Mr. Trahan has been in his current position for two years.

Retired NCO’s food service commitment reflected in civilian nutritional medicine job