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Saturday, April 26, 2008

Support the troops by feeding them too!

Is hunger an issue at Camp Bucca?

Staff and wire reports
Posted : Friday Apr 25, 2008 12:23:38 EDT

Rep. Mary Fallin, R-Okla., said she is investigating allegations that members of the Oklahoma National Guard’s 45th Infantry Brigade are not being regularly fed in Iraq.

Fallin, R-Okla., placed a formal request Thursday for the Army to look into the accusations, her spokesman Alex Weintz said.

The father of an Oklahoma soldier notified Oklahoma City television station KOCO after receiving an e-mail from his daughter, Kristy Fleshman, a member of the Oklahoma National Guard serving in Iraq.

“I have the ultimate respect for our military and for the job they do and for the sacrifices they make for the well-being of all of us,” Howard Fleshman told KOCO. “And, so it’s only out of this concern and the concern for the well-being of Oklahoma soldiers that I’m raising this issue in the first place.”

Weintz said Fallin’s office was told that members of the 45th at Camp Bucca were working nine-hour shifts without being served lunch.

“Having heard those reports, our office contacted the Oklahoma National Guard, and Rep. Fallin herself contacted [Maj.] Gen. Galen Jackman at the Pentagon,” Weintz said.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/04/ap_nolunch_042508/

Why do I have a feeling this is another cover up?

2 comments:

  1. BLUF: Service members at Bucca have unlimited access to meals and drinks at no cost.

    Today the command at Bucca did a 100% scrub of feeding procedures. Here is what they report:

    - The DFAC is open 24/7 for our Service members.
    - Bottled water and cold beverages are on hand at every compound; access
    to ice is available with plenty of stock O/H.
    - All Service members have the opportunity to have 3 meals a day.
    - Most (almost all) eat in the DFAC prior to coming on shift. Many will also bring with them a snack (whether another clamshell meal/or fruit
    etc...) to eat while on shift.
    - Battalions have MREs available as well, while SMs are working.
    - During the guard shift, a clamshell meal is delivered (breakfast, lunch or dinner) depending on the shift and the subsequent shift changes. Compounds control their chow pickup times and meal selection (main line / sandwiches / salads) at request of the guard force members.

    - After shift, in all cases, Service members have the opportunity to eat (in the DFAC), if they chose to.

    As for actions taken today, the commander at Camp Bucca issued the following letter today:

    Fellow Bucca Troops,

    One of the quality of life improvements that Team Bucca has been striving to make is to ensure that every troop has adequate access to quality food that is both appetizing and compliant with food sanitation regulations.

    When I arrived in December, the DFAC was not doing that. Instead, they were loading 2500 styrofoam containers at every meal with food that was often cold when it arrived, and did not meet any established standard of sanitation. The food was exposed to dirt, heat and flies during transportation, and much of it was simply thrown out once it got to the TIF.

    I took a new direction. I opened the DFAC for 24-hour operation, and I am in the process of developing an alternative food delivery method using Mermite containers. The troops at the hospital stepped up this week to help me work through some of the growing pains, and as soon as an adequate number of containers are on ground, we will switch entirely to Mermite feeding in the TIF.

    I understand that change is difficult, and that any new programs come with some start-up costs. I ask your understanding and cooperation to help me work through them. To mitigate the issue, I am taking the following measures:

    - I have directed compound leadership to release MREs to any troop that wants one to tide them over if they are hungry.

    - I am reinstituting styrofoam-packed meals for one week to allow TIF leadership an opportunity to adjust schedules and to train troops on meal alternatives and where we are headed.

    - Additionally, I want to remind you that any troop can go through the chow line, eat, then go back through to load up a syrofoam clamshell with snack foods or a sandwich if they can't make it through their shift.

    You may wonder why we can't just go back to THE OLD WAY. Every time we threw styrofoam packs in the back of a dirty HummVee in 120-degree temperatures, I was risking the health of one (or many) of you. You deserve better than that.

    As we work through the issues of mermite feeding, there are bound to be more growing pains. Keep in mind what the goal is, and let me know what we can do to improve the practice.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for the comment and sharing the changes you've made. I wish I knew who you were so that people can check out what you said, but I'm taking your word it's true. Most people who post, even under anonymous, are truthful.

    I pray you are telling the truth on this. I also pray for all who serve but honestly, there is so much that goes on when they are not being taken care of that it concerns me greatly. Too many reports coming out and if we ignore any of this, we do so at their expense and your's. Please feel free to post or email me anytime. There is always more than one side to every story.

    ReplyDelete

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