This term is another one of those borrowed from the British. It is the person whose sole job it is to break out the stores fro the ships galley. It is said to have originated with the British Navy. A "Jack," is a Royal Navy sailor, who worked in the bakery and was covered with flower dust.

On the galley watch bill they had this actually listed as a position. Head cook, Second cook, Salad Bar, and Jack of the Dust. I would guess 90% of the time this goes to a junior enlisted person or the guy nobody likes in the kitchen. He spends his days digging out cases of peaches, green beans, and frozen foods to be taken to the galley. He will also make sure certain groups are taken care of on the side. These groups are, the officers, of course, the Chiefs mess, and everybody’s red headed step children, the engineers.

Engineers made sure the refers were keeping things frozen or cool and the JOD made sure we had a few extras, fruit, juices, or crackers. Also in turn the JOD might get the engineers to keep his passage way sweep, mopped, and waxed. Trade offs are a way of life in the military. Help a guy out and he helps you. Keeping his passage way clean was a simple task. Getting a case of canned peaches or pears was a small price to pay. Getting 5 lbs salami was not unheard of either.

During my time in the galley I worked with the JOD for a few weeks. We had it so easy with two of us working in the store rooms. We did bust our humps when we loaded food stores while in port. But with two of us searching for the daily supplies it went much faster. The worst part was getting food out of the freezer, that was COLD!

Crawling on your belly at the top of a mountain of canned food wasn’t all that fun either. Neither was fitting into places that a 6’5” person shouldn’t be in. But come 6:00(1800) we were done for the day while the galley crew was just hitting the dinner service.