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-- WITH PHOTO -- TO FOOD, NATIONAL, AND RELIGION EDITORS:
Matzo, palms among items Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support
provides for upcoming religious observances
PHILADELPHIA, April 17, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Warfighter
support for religious observances has come a long way since the Gulf
War, according to the Defense Logistics Agency's chaplain.
Army Col. Richard Quinn recalls driving hours into the Saudi Arabian
desert in 1991 to acquire basic items for Jewish service members
observing Passover.
"It wasn't much, just matzo and gefilte fish, but they were happy to
have it," he said.
Warfighters serving in Afghanistan and Kuwait today receive kosher
grape juice, shmura matzo and Passover Seder dinner kits, and palms
and special dinners for Easter, thanks to the efforts of two of DLA
Troop Support's supply chains.
According to DLA Troop Support Subsistence records, employees have
provided more than 6,100 lbs. of beef, 8,600 lbs. of Cornish hen,
6,400 lbs. of ham and nearly 12,000 pies and cakes in observance of
Easter to service members in Afghanistan.
More than 480 cases of kosher for Passover meals were provided to
military members serving across the globe.
DLA Troop Support Clothing and Textiles employees ensured service
members had everything they need for religious observances.
"We provide the U.S. military with worldwide support for their
religious needs or practices," Maryann Santos, an ecclesiastical team
customer account specialist said. "During the Passover and Easter
season, we are on high alert to provide them with these specialized
items which are highly perishable and hard to get items within Seder
kits."
A number of items included in the Seder kit are harder to procure due
to lack of demand, Santos said.
"The charoset is the most difficult," Santos said, referring to a
fruit and nut mixture. "The commercial industry does not find it
feasible to make since it is only used during Passover and is simple
to make at home."
DLA Troop Support Clothing and Textiles manages about 750
ecclesiastical or religious items, including Christian, Jewish and
Muslim perishable items, books, medals and clothing. Congregation
pews, lecterns, religious books, and Torah scrolls are examples of
some of the ecclesiastical and religious items the supply chain
provides. It begins taking orders for the religious items as early as
October, Santos said.
Providing for the religious needs of service members is a vital
mission, Quinn said. Whether at home or deployed, DLA Troop Support
provides needed items for Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines to
worship as they would at home.
DLA Troop Support supplies America's armed forces with $13 billion
annually of food, uniforms, protective equipment, medicine and medical
supplies, repair parts and construction and equipment.
As a Department of Defense combat support agency, DLA provides the
Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, other federal agencies, and joint
and allied forces with a variety of logistics, acquisition and
technical services. The agency sources and provides nearly 100 percent
of the consumable items America's military forces need to operate,
from food, fuel and energy, to uniforms, medical supplies, and
construction and barrier equipment. DLA also supplies more than 85
percent of the military's spare parts.
Headquartered at Fort Belvoir, Va., DLA has about 26,000 employees
worldwide and supports more than 2,300 weapon systems. For more
information about DLA, go to www.dla.mil, www.facebook.com/dla.mil or
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130918/MM82677LOGO
SOURCE Defense Logistics Agency
-0- 04/17/2014
/CONTACT: Bill Addison, 215-737-2348, william.addison@dla.mil or Stacey Hajdak, 215-737-2311, stacey.hajdak@dla.mil
/Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130918/MM82677LOGO
/Web Site: http://www.dla.mil
CO: Defense Logistics Agency
ST: Pennsylvania
IN: ARO FOD
SU: REL EXE
PRN
-- DC07971 --
0000 04/17/2014 17:37:00 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com
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