Photo By Christina Bhatti | Boxes of fresh fruit and vegetables sit in a refrigerated container at food supply...... read more read more
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By Sgt. 1st Class Christina Bhatti
2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – Feeding approximately 2,200 Soldiers at 14 different sites which span an approximate 1,300 square mile area is a daunting task.
But every week the six Soldiers from the 225th Brigade Support Battalion, "Mongoose," 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, "Warrior," 25th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad who work in the food supply warehouse fill the "shopping lists given to them by battalion cooks," said Staff Sgt. Christopher Dent, a native Chesapeake, Va., and food supply warehouse non-commissioned officer in charge, 225th BSB.
The Warrior warehouse is reminiscent of popular wholesale stores with pallets from floor to ceiling. Soldiers bustle about putting together supplies for the battalions of 2nd SBCT.
The Soldiers load pallets and boxes with everything from spices, sports drinks, snack foods and meat to fresh fruits and vegetables.
Once those lists are filled, the food supplies are sent to the 225th BSB Forward Area Support Teams for distribution to every Joint Security Station and Combat Outpost in the Warrior area of operations.
These supplies go out to the Soldiers to keep their bellies full and their bodies healthy for the long missions in the severe climate of Iraq.
While Soldiers have a voice in what menus they receive, it ultimately comes down to what is in stock in Kuwait, said Capt. Alburto Pantoja, a native of Miami and commander Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 225th BSB.
Not only does stock play a factor in what goes out, the weather is also an important factor. All of the supplies are driven in from Kuwait, Dent said. If weather is bad, then perishable food goes bad and must be thrown away.
"It can be difficult," said Pantoja referring to the weather. "We get only so much in quantity of fresh fruits and vegetables and if the weather is bad then they sit on trucks for too long. So when it gets here, we have to distribute what is good to all of the sites, and that limits the amount everyone gets."
But despite those issues, the warehouse Soldiers constantly ensure the Soldiers only get the best.
"We do everything we can to get the Soldiers what they need and want," Pantoja said. "This is a hard job and these Soldiers do great things."
Working in the warehouse is hard work, but for Sgt. Richard Hunt, a native of Mesa, Ariz., and food supply specialist, 225th BSB, the time was worth it.
"Working here for the last month was a great experience," he said. "I really got to learn what is out here for the Soldiers."
Hunt will soon leave the warehouse to rejoin a battalion as a cook, but is now armed with new knowledge so he can better provide for the Soldiers.
"I now have a new respect for what these Soldiers do," he said, "and it is definitely something I will keep in mind when I am back out with the Soldiers."
| Date Taken: | 09.22.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 09.22.2008 12:37 |
| Story ID: | 23994 |
| Location: | TAJI, IQ |
| Web Views: | 243 |
| Downloads: | 229 |
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