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Reservists bring a taste of Europe to Charleston Air Force Base

  • Published
  • By Tech Sgt. Jeff Kelly
  • 315th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. --  If you have noticed long lines forming in front of the Base Exchange around lunch-time this week, it is probably because Charleston Air Force Base has a new doner kebab stand similar to those you can find in Europe and specifically Germany. The stand was opened by a group that includes two 315th Airlift Wing Reservists, and has been an immediate success. 

Lieutenant Colonel Keith Moore, 315th AW chief of safety, and Captain Nathan Childers of the 701st Airlift Squadron opened the doner kebab stand along with two other friends. 

The resemblance in taste between the doner kebabs served here at Charleston AFB, and the doner kebabs served in Europe is no coincidence. The two entrepreneur Reservists tallied thousands of miles researching their product. 

"For 22 years I have been flying to Germany and every crew member has always talked about needing to bring the doner kebab back," said Lt. Col. Moore. "We traveled to Munich, Germany and did a lot of research with the help of Mr. Dieter Felser. He pointed us to the many Turkish based doner shops and doner meat processing plants. We traveled to Wisconsin to visit Bakalars Bros Meats and Mr. Mike Bakalars, being a meat processor for 20 years, was a big help also. We also traveled to Toronto, Canada which has a large Turkish population to see how their doner business was run in the western world."

The research has apparently paid-off, as many of the customers have commented that the doner kebabs made here are very similar to the ones found in Europe.

"While TDY in Germany a few years back we would drive about 40 miles about three to four times a week to get a kebab at one of the Army bases," said Bailey Courson, a supply technician here at Charleston AFB. "The one I had today brought back some good memories. It was an excellent and filling meal, the taste was very much like the ones in Germany, and once they get that cheese in, they are going to be sitting on a small goldmine."

The doner kebab is a traditionally Turkish dish, and is the origin of other similar Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dishes such as the gyro. A version developed to suit German tastes has become one of Germany's most popular fast food dishes, but the doner kebab can be found across Europe, much to the pleasure of the many U.S. military members stationed there.