Email   Print   Share By Heather Graham-Ashley, Sentinel News Editor

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Sgt. 1st Class Kenneth Morgan, Fort Hood WTB, restocks ground beef at the Clear Creek Commissary. Morgan is completing an internship at the store’s meat department through Operation Warfighter, the WTB internship program. Heather Graham-Ashley, Sentinel News Editor

Morgan moves cartons of meat from the freezer and prepares to restock shelves and cases in the meat department at the commissary. His internship training included not only learning about cuts of meat and safe-handling procedures, but the business aspect as well. Heather Graham-Ashley, Sentinel News Editor

Sgt. 1st Class Kenneth Morgan organizes ground beef on the shelves at the Clear Creek Commissary. Morgan is learning skills critical to a career in meat cutting in hopes of opening his own shop in Flat following his transition out of the Fort Hood WTB. Heather Graham-Ashley, Sentinel News Editor

A Fort Hood warrior in transition is working toward his goal for his life after the Army while continuing to heal at the Warrior Transition Brigade, and he is pursuing a trade many take for granted.

“Not a lot of people do it anymore,” Sgt. 1st Class Kenneth Morgan, formerly a mortarman with 3rd Cavalry Regiment, said. “It’s one of those trades people don’t think about anymore.”

Morgan is currently working in the meat department at the Fort Hood Commissary through an internship with Operation Warfighter, the WTB’s internship program, and picking up some of the skills he will need to open and operate his meat market.

With modern technology and machinery, butchering, by many accounts, has become a dying trade.

But, it is a trade Morgan hopes to bring to Flat, a small Central Texas community off the installation’s northeast side.

Anthony Thomas, transition coordinator at the WTB, helped Morgan secure the internship through Operation Warfighter.

Thomas was conducting a briefing at III Corps last year and mentioned that the commissary was one of the agencies looking for interns. Afterward, Morgan approached Thomas and told him what he wanted to do.

“It turned out pretty good for him,” Thomas said. “This is a good stepping stone for what he wants to do.”

Morgan started working at the commissary in April and is the first intern to work in this capacity in any Defense Commissary Agency store, Patrice Funderburk, store director, Fort Hood Commissary, said.

Morgan was not looking to blaze a new trail. He simply wanted to pursue his dream.

While working at the commissary, Morgan has learned about cuts of meat, how to cut the meat and safe food handling procedures.

“It’s a time-consuming process,” he said.

While the commissary receives most of the meat prepackaged, some beef and pork can be cut to order. Morgan has learned those cuts.

He also has picked up some of the business side of the retail meat industry by learning codes and how to place, process and receive orders.

“He was adamant about learning everything,” Yvonne Ochoa, manager, meat department, said. “He just picked it up. He gets in there and takes off.”

Ochoa and her team in the meat department have even taught Morgan about tailored cuts of meat and price considerations. Ochoa has been a thorough mentor for the Soldier.

“She sits me down and explains different things,” Morgan said. “It’s been great seeing how others do things.”

He previously looked into schools that teach the meat processing trade, but Morgan said the on-the-job knowledge he is getting by actually doing the work has been great.

He is also seeing that the work is difficult and time-consuming.

“It’s not as easy as it looks,” Ochoa said.

Morgan said he wishes more people would show an interest in the trade.

“More people need to come do this,” Morgan said. “It definitely gives you a better appreciation of where food comes from and how it is prepared.”

Morgan, who grew up on farms and now owns his own in Flat, has always wanted to become a butcher.

He currently lives on a small farm with his wife and children. The Family raises chickens, ducks, pigs and goats. Some of their livestock ends up on the Family dining table.

My Family loves life on the farm, Morgan said.

Both he and his wife are from small towns and grew up on farms. Now, they are passing the life on to their children.

“The kids love it,” Morgan said. “We are teaching our kids how to feed themselves and be more self-reliant.”

The desire to eventually become a butcher seemed natural to Morgan, considering his rural upbringing. He has an uncle who is a butcher, and Morgan is comfortable with the meat processing environment.

“I think it makes me more inclined to do this,” he said. “I love getting dirty. It’s just something I always wanted to do.”

With his medical board process winding down, Morgan is looking harder at life after the Army and possibly working at the commissary.

“I love everyone here,” he said.

Ochoa is hoping that future includes him joining the team in the meat department, even if it is part-time work.

“He is already trained, and he works hard,” she said. “He knows the guidelines and safety procedures.”