When Soldiers at Contingency Operating Base Basra enter either of the two chow halls on post, they are greeted by bread alligators, garnished watermelons, culinary sculptures prepared daily by school-trained chefs from places as disparate as Sri Lanka and Nepal and Iraq. (U.S. Army Photo by Pfc. J. Princeville Lawrence)
When chefs at Contingency Operating Base Basra carve watermelons, they need a good carving knife, a cutting surface, an hour of time and a lot of patience. (U.S. Army Photo by Pfc. J. Princeville Lawrence)
The whole process took about an hour, but during holidays and special occasions, the chefs at Contingency Operating Base Basra sometimes spend up to eight hours carving watermelons and baking and shaping bread animals. (U.S. Army Photo by Pfc. J. Princeville Lawrence)
