Navy

Trondheim, Norway — U.S. Army Food Inspectors from Public Health Activity-Rheinland Pfalz recently travelled to Norway, in support of the U.S. Marine Corps Prepositioning Program-Norway to inspect out-of-date rations for shelf-life extension.

Sgt. Jose Jimenez and Staff Sgt. Lenee Williams, both veterinary food inspectors, were able to support sister services in Norway by extending over 23,000 cases of rations including over 19,000 cases of Meals Ready to Eat as well as over 4,000 Meals Cold Weather. These extensions continue to provide food and subsistence items to the war fighter and saves the U.S. government over 3.8 million dollars.

To determine if food rations are still safe to eat after the use-by date, there are several steps a food inspector needs to take.

“First, we determine a sample size lot of Meals-Ready-to-Eat and Meals-Cold- Weather to establish serviceability of the rations,” said Williams. “Additionally, we checked storage conditions by inspecting the time temperature Indicators located on each shipping container and checked for pest infestation by inspecting the storage containers and warehouse areas and the individual product boxes.”

Afterwards, the food inspectors performed a closed package inspection of the MRE and MCW, where they examined the outside of the shipping containers, product packages and packaging checking for various deficiencies.

“Lastly, we performed a destructive opened package inspection, where we open each component of the MRE and MCW and perform sensory testing on those components,” added Williams.

Organoleptic testing involves the assessment of flavor, odor, appearance, and mouthfeel of a food product.

“The use-by and sell-by (expiration date) is only the manufacturer’s recommendation for when the food item is at its peak quality,” said Williams. “It does not mean an individual will become sick from consuming the product. Additionally, the sell-by dates of a product can be used to determine food safety of that product regarding spoilage, wholesomeness and staleness that will likely follow sometime after the expiration date.”

According to Williams, extended shelf-life of a product is any timeframe that exceeds the expiration date. When veterinary food inspectors perform an inspection to extend the shelf life of a product, it is ultimately determined by using organoleptic testing, which involves all five senses. If the product still tastes and smells the same, there is no harm in extending the shelf-life.

Williams, who initially enlisted as a cargo transport specialist switched over to become veterinary food inspector in 2015. This was after talking to a battle buddy who was already in the career field.

“Being a veterinary food inspector sounded pretty cool, so I did some further research and thought medical food inspection is similar to health inspection and from there I decided to give it a shot,” said Williams.

Williams has not regretted her decision and is thankful for the variety of opportunities the veterinary food inspector career field has provided her.

“I would not change anything,” added Williams. “I have been able to work with other branches of the military, such as the Navy and the Marine Corps. Additionally, I was granted the opportunity to participate in the Ship Rider Program, where I accompanied a Navy Supply for 5 months visiting various ports in Europe performing receipt and surveillance inspections of various subsistence.”

Williams likes to consider herself a “foodie” so being a food inspector is a great fit.

“One part of being an Army food inspector is being required to actually sample the food items that you inspect and I really enjoy it,” said Williams.

As the Stuttgart Veterinary Treatment Facility branch noncommissioned officer in charge, Williams manages the branch where she oversees daily operations, supply management and ensures the VTF runs as smoothly.

As part of her duties, Williams oversees the VTF’s food protection program for 51 food facilities, the Food Recall Program and Installation Support Plan ensuring all agency directors are aware of the support that is provided to them daily.

The Stuttgart Army Veterinary Treatment Facility provides support to four different U.S. Army Installations in the greater Stuttgart area encompassing approximately 20,000 servicemembers, DOD Civilians/Contractors and DoD beneficiaries.

“On any given day, my food inspectors conduct five to six food facility inspections to include military sanitary inspections across four different installations,” said Williams. “They also perform two to three subsistence extensions at various facilities and conduct two to three receipt and surveillance inspections daily.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, Adm. Daryl Caudle, spoke at the Surface Navy Association’s 35th Annual National Symposium in Washington, D.C., Jan. 11.

Caudle shared his perspective as a fleet commander of what success looks like and how the surface force will continue to dominate at sea.

“Our imperative across the forge and the fleet is to field a hard hitting, resilient, agile fighting force that is consistently ready in peacetime, and deadly in combat,” said Caudle. “In everything we do, we must prepare ourselves, prepare our ships, and prepare our crews for war, both mentally and physically, as well as technically and tactically.”

During his remarks, Caudle didn’t shy away from the fact that today’s Navy faces a more dynamic maritime environment and near peer competition on a level not seen in decades.

“Without question, when our surface forces pass the final marker buoys and make way for international waters, they are doing so in one of the most dangerous maritime environments in history,” said Caudle. “The notion of ‘routine operations’ is a fleeting memory.”

Driving his point home, Caudle said in the last ten years maritime traffic has seen a 100-fold increase in merchants, competitors, offshore oil rigs, cable layers, windmills, fisherman and maritime militia. This dangerous environment, he said, leaves no room for commanders to make miscalculations or for the surface force to be behind the power curve.

To achieve this mission, Caudle outlined his priorities for maintaining lethality.

Foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement at every level

Move beyond fit to fill and critical NECs to a model that ensures ready manning

Continue to invest in Ready Relevant Learning and Future of Sailor Maintenance

Forge a combination of the right capabilities with the right quantities

Ordinance locations that are distributed, plentiful and built to rapidly return ships to the fight

Continue to improve shipyard availability times and the ship decommissioning process

Immediately following his remarks, Caudle fielded questions from the audience, where he was asked about supply chain issues. His response was a call to action to the defense industry that drew applause from the crowd.

“I’m not as forgiving of the defense industrial base, I’m just not,” said Caudle. “I’m not forgiving of the fact you’re not delivering the ordnance we need.”

He stressed the importance of on time delivery of ordnance to winning during strategic competition.

“We’re talking about warfighting, national security, and going against a competitor here, and a potential adversary, that is like nothing we’ve ever seen,” said Caudle. “It’s so essential to winning. And in my position, and for the people in the room in uniform, that’s all that matters and I can’t do that without the ordnance. That’s how we actually win.”

“Despite what we may read in the media about our adversary’s Navies or attempts to build some asymmetric gadget, or even the internal challenges we face with uncertain budgets, manning levels, or the challenges and pace of modernization – I can guarantee everyone listening today: Our surface warriors are feared; they are absolutely ready to take the fight to the enemy; and are an integrated part of a strong Navy that owns the maritime environment from the seabed to space – hands down, no exception,” said Caudle. “No adversary in their right mind wants to confront our surface fleet.”

USFFC is responsible for manning, training, equipping and employing more than 125 ships, 1,000 aircraft, and 103,000 active duty service members and government employees, and providing combat-ready forces forward to numbered fleets and combatant commanders around the globe in support of U.S. national interests. USFFC also serves as the Navy’s Service Component Commander to both U.S. Northern Command and U.S. Strategic Command, and providing naval forces in support of joint missions as Commander, Naval Forces Northern Command (NAVNORTH) and Commander, Naval Forces Strategic Command (NAVSTRAT). USFFC is the Strategic Command Joint Force Maritime Component Commander (JFMCC STRAT), and executes Task Force Atlantic in coordination with U.S. Naval Forces Europe.

Complete transcript of his remarks here: https://www.usff.navy.mil/Press-Room/Speeches/Article/3265058/surface-navy-association-national-symposium/

U.S. Navy Sailors attached to USS Mitscher (DDG 57) and USS Mahan (DDG 72) attended the Steering & Propulsion Control System (SPCS) Physical Throttle Training Summit at the DDG 51 Land Based Engineering Site (LBES) aboard Naval Surface Warfare Center, Philadelphia Division on Nov. 9, 2022.

Led by Cmdr. Dominic Kramer, the Sailors from DDG 57 who attended the event were Lt. J.G. James Tully, Lt. J.G. Henry Holbrook, Petty Officer 3rd Class Nicholas Lucierbenson, Petty Officer 2nd Class Bryan Pisarz, Petty Officer 3rd Class Roberto Cardenas-Guillen, and Petty Officer 3rd Class Bryan Crespo-Paloma.

During the week-long summit, the Sailors were in-briefed on the SPCS software upgrades that they will be receiving, participated in hands-on training in the lab, and provided their input during daily feedback sessions.

“The feedback that the Sailors are providing is essential to the success of each training summit and future software releases,” NSWCPD Ship Controls: DDG-51 Class Special Projects Director Stan Derevyanko said.

During this training, NSWCPD ensured the utmost safety for the Sailors and training instructors. The Sailors experienced hands-on training by walking through Engineering Operation Sequencing System (EOSS) and Maintenance Requirement Card (MRC) procedures to gain familiarity with the Physical Throttle hardware and SPCS software.

“The safety of the Sailors is the number one priority. Training summits like these offer great opportunities to expand on the pier-side and shipboard training that sailors currently receive, which will greatly benefit the fleet moving forward,” NSWCPD Ship Controls: DDG-51 Class DDG Physical Throttle Project Lead Tiffany Mosher said.

After the training summit, training instructors encouraged the Sailors to reach out to them if they had any concerns while at sea.

NSWCPD’s DDG 51 LBES also serves as a testbed for all new software rolling out to the fleet, as well as provides evaluation of new hardware and shipboard components. The site holds the DDG 51 propulsion system and provides a platform for immediate investigation, replication, analysis, and resolution of both fleet and new construction vessel operational and maintenance problems with no impact on ship schedules. The site is currently undergoing a significant upgrade to add DDG Flight III major components to support testing and validation of hardware and the Machinery Controls System (MCS) in support of this acquisition program.

Supporting the fleet for more than 30 years, NSWCPD’s DDG 51 LBES will continue to be useful as long as the DDG 51 ship class is in service.

NSWCPD employs approximately 2,800 civilian engineers, scientists, technicians, and support personnel. The NSWCPD team does the research and development, test and evaluation, acquisition support, and in-service and logistics engineering for the non-nuclear machinery, ship machinery systems, and related equipment and material for Navy surface ships and submarines. NSWCPD is also the lead organization providing cybersecurity for all ship systems.