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by Pvt. Christopher Grammer
50th Public Affairs Detachment
The Soldiers of 949th Medical Detachment Veterinary Services inspects all the food distributed to Soldiers in the Third Army/U.S. Army Central area of operations. The food is transported into the country by convoy, boat and aircraft.
"Our mission is to provide quality food to troops throughout the theater and to ensure the food received is wholesome and serviceable," said Spc. Amanda Pence, a veterinary food inspection specialist with the 949th Med. Det.
Due to efforts by the U.S. Army and multiple charities back in the states, service members are provided with as many home comforts as possible, including favorite food items from back home.
When these items are purchased by the military for dissemination among the dining facilities in Kuwait and Iraq, they are inspected by the 949th Med. Det. food inspectors to ensure they are of the highest quality.
They are screened for any defects or spoilage that may occur during the long journey to the Third Army/U.S. Army Central area of operations, Pence said.
To check the food, the food inspectors take a small amount of the entire shipment as a sample. If any defects are detected, another sample is taken to find out if the defect was an isolated incident or if the entire shipment is defective, Pence said.
The decisions made by the 949th Med. Det. directly effect the health of service members because the food goes to every chow hall in areas the area of responsibility, said Staff Sgt. Christopher Mease, noncommissioned officer in charge of the 949th Med. Det.
The inspectors check two different types of supplies, prime vendor, and government furnished material.
Prime vendor supplies are purchased through a company that makes sure the suppliers meet the standards specified by the government and then sold to the military.
Government furnished material is food already purchased by the government and stored in a facility owned by the purchasing company off post. The purchasing company then ships the supplies ordered by the dining facilities to their respective locations, Mease said.
Having something to eat other than field rations is a way to make service members feel more at home when deployed overseas.
"The food is something the service members can look forward to," Mease said.
Without personnel to inspect the supplies coming into Kuwait and Iraq before it gets to the Soldiers, they might receive expired, damaged, tainted or low quality food. This would put them in unnecessary danger and could effect readiness of the troops.
| Date Taken: | 09.04.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 09.04.2007 08:42 |
| Story ID: | 12131 |
| Location: | KW |
| Web Views: | 59 |
| Downloads: | 33 |
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