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Food is a vital key for mission readiness

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Hannah Landeros
  • 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  Gen. Napoleon Bonaparte said, "An army marches on its stomach," and here at the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing the 379th Expeditionary Force Support Squadron rations team keeps service members moving by land, air and sea.

The rations team is the food distribution center for all of the dining facilities, receiving anywhere from three to five trucks of consumable products a day, six days a week.

Once food is delivered, rations de-palletizes it and prepares to send it out to the DFACs. As the consumers need more supplies, they send an order for more food, which is where the rations re-palletizes everything that needs to be restocked. During this process all items undergo an inspection before arriving to the DFAC.

"It's a huge force protection issue," said Senior Airman Terry Doane 379th EFSS food services rations team member, "We have foods coming in from the states and local vendors, we monitor where everything is coming from."

The rations team is divided into two different warehouses, frozen and dry foods. A major role and responsibility of rations is quality control to verify that food is fit to be eaten. As a part of their procedures, personnel check the product that is ordered, validate that the quantity is correct, and check to see if the item has been tampered with, ensuring nothing is broken or molded and that all products are fresh and sealed.

Approximately 18,000 meals a day are prepared at the 379th AEW. That's roughly 240,000 pounds of chicken breasts, 692,316 pounds of beef, 846,000 eggs and 1,011,516 pounds of fresh produce a year, costing nearly $3.6 million month in frozen and dry foods, Doane said.

Whether you are just passing through or deployed to the 379th AEW, you have to eat at some point during the day. Consuming fresh quality food is a vital key for mission readiness.

"We are the first line of defense for food borne illnesses," said Tech. Sgt. David Brier 379th EFSS food services NCO in charge, "A food borne illness could cripple the mission."

Doane said, "Napoleon was right, the food we eat and the environment in which we consume it secures our ability to Fly, Fight and Win."