YOKOSUKA, JAPAN - Upon arriving to his assignment aboard the already underway USS George Washington, Petty Officer 3rd Class Walt Morris made Navy history by becoming the first ever non-Filipino Culinary Specialist.
After finishing the basic course at the Joint Culinary Center of Excellence in Ft. Lee, VA, he arrived on the George Washington and met the rest of the galley staff, whom he described as being "polite" and "curious" about his presence.
Culinary Specialists are responsible for operating and managing Navy messes and living quarters. But to hungry sailors, their most important functions are preparing and serving meals.
For breaking the galley's color barrier, Navy officials are hailing the multiracial Morris — who describes himself as "a true American mutt" with a "mix of white, some kind of Spanish, and 1/16th Cherokee" — as the "Jackie Robinson of the Navy."
