ANA dining area
After we inspected the serving line and dining tables, I wanted to focus more on sanitary conditions. I inquired whether bleach was used and if we could see a sample. The ANA Captain showed me the bottle of bleach they used. The decorative label had some catchy American name, but after closer examination I determined it was manufactured in Karachi, Pakistan. My wife will tell you that I am really sensitive to a strong bleach smell and it bothers me. But today my sensory receptacles just weren’t working or something was wrong. Note: Please don’t do this at home. I unscrewed the lid off the bottle and couldn’t detect any odor. This seemed very peculiar so I placed the bottle closer to my nostrils and still nothing. By now I have a curious audience and they watched as I placed the opening of the bottle next to my nose and inhaled. I detected a slight aroma of chlorine. The ANA Captain inquired through the interpreter so I handed him the bottle and he mimicked my actions. Where was the bleach? The AF SSgt smelled it and concluded until it was tested with litmus strips, we couldn’t be certain.
ANA dish & tray washing station
Our last stop was the dish and tray washing station. The Portuguese sergeant mentioned they would not follow his advice about washing the dishes. So I had to see the station with my own eyes. It wasn’t anything fancy. Inside a small room were two giant metal tubs and a water hose. According to the ANA captain the problem was lack of hot water. The Portuguese mentor insisted it was a process and the soldiers were not washing dishes during times of hot water. Well this curiosity led me to the boiler room. I was informed a hot water heater was installed specifically for the dishwater station. Upon further examination it was determined the piping connected to the entire DFAC. As a result, the hot water was consumed in a small amount of time. Perhaps this was the root cause of the food poisoning.
Although these past entries might read like a good mystery suspense novel, I’m not certain we will ever pinpoint the root cause of the sickness. The water source and unpasteurized items could also be the source. It didn’t take long for the word to disseminate and the Taliban exploited it on the Afghan Freedom Radio. The insurgents took credit for sabotaging the food. Although I haven’t ruled this out as a cause, I don’t give much weight to the enemy’s propaganda. Any one of the potential unsanitary conditions I depicted could have caused the sickness. Fortunately it wasn’t as serious as it could have been. The soldiers will just have to stay in the proximity of a restroom for the next day or so. The food samples were sent off to a lab for testing. For OPSEC reasons, I may not be able to divulge the findings.
On a positive note and as a result of our tour, our AF SSgt is going to be assigned to the Bakery and DFAC on a semi-permanent basis. I’m confident in his abilities and expect to see some great improvements in the near future. Rome wasn’t built in a day and nor will the ANA change their mindset or processes. Mentoring and adopting change is a slow methodical process.
It’s been a whole week since I’ve been out on a convoy mission. It feels rather strange to stay within the confines of the barbed wire. Today my team is out on a mission delivering a pallet of Meals-Ready-To-Eat (MRE) to the soldiers at a FOB. This will be a good opportunity for the newest members to familiarize themselves with part of our Area of Responsibility (AOR). I am currently working on some goodwill stories and hope to update my readers in the near future.
Filed under: Food and living conditions | Tagged: Afghan National Army, Afghanistan, Deployment, ETT, military training, photography, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, war
I wanted to offer this inexpensive suggestion for the fly situation – I saw it being used in Mexico and there is other evidence that it works. I googled “plastic bag water flies”. Good luck!
Fill a sandwich-size Ziploc bag about half full of water. Tape the top of the bag to the outside of your door. Replenish the water as needed.
I also saw a non-ziploc plastic bag twisted closed hung at the top of the door frame.
“The water bags do drive houseflies away. Houseflies, being highly defenseless, are nervous types and don’t like to sit still when they see something moving nearby, because it could be a predator. The water bag acts like a lens in which the movements of people in the area are reflected. Even if the fly is too far from the action to see it directly, it can see a shifting of light and dark in the water bag, which it interprets as nearby movement, and it will fly away from the bag. The reason it doesn’t work on any other insects is that the other insects don’t have as highly developed ocular senses. I have used this bag o’ water trick in two different locations which were inundated with flies and can testify that it does work, and there is scientific reasoning that can be used to collaborate”
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/07/12/HO256701.DTL
Your blog about the food poisoning does read like a mystery novel. I really enjoy your insights. I lived in Asia for several years in rural areas, for the most part. It’s hard not to get dysentery when there’s no hot water. Everyone should make sure their gamma globulin shots are all current (to prevent hepatitis), persons handling food should wear gloves, especially in a country where water is traditionally used to cleanse after using the bathroom. And all utensils should spend at least 30 seconds in hot water (my choice of length of time). Stay safe and please continue writing.
I really wanted to see this .
The Thunder Run has linked to this post in the blog post From the Front: 07/15/2009 News and Personal dispatches from the front and the home front.
Old habits die hard, but they do die faster when incentivized.
Ew.
…
Ew.
…
Gloves. Yes and no. I’ve seen the Them at Subway proceed to use their gloved hand to operate the cash register and then go right back to making food. *sigh* And if you *say* anything, get ready for attitude super-sized. At least they have to fix your food in front of you. It’s something. I don’t eat out much.
*blinks at shovels*
*blinks at food tubs on ground*
*contemplate– stops*
The chopping recycled wood planks are, well, Okaaaay… as long as different boards are used for meat. That all are scrubbed with real bleach between meals. I had heard while volunteering in rescue kennels that adding soap to bleach solutions weakens its germ killing properties. *shrug* I dunno’ for sure.
I just apply the bleach, leave it alone while I silently sing happy birthday to myself, follow it with a soapy wash and then a lengthy rinse. Do the locals have any happy-ish tunes that would work?
I have a question for whenever you got time, some day: just for argument’s sake, when a contractor lies to you about a material fact, e.g., the source and purpose of the water heater, are there material consequences?
To me, as an American and a tax-payer, the health of My Troops is already at risk. Potable water is non-negotiable.
Until again soon, thank you for the posts, very much. God love and keep you and Liisa. (And the furry ones, of course.)
Yes it could be any, an all thing that may have caused this illness.it seem that the afghans,may try to do a good job. but they have their own way of doing things. And we know they don’t like having a foreigner telling them, how to do something that they have done all their lives. I can see this is going to be a long, uphill battle. I think you’re doing a good job.
I don’t even want to know what goes on in there during the winter when everyone has the sniffles. I’m sure the sanitation is no better. Ewww.
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