An insider with the Michigan National Guard is reporting that the meals being served to servicemen are subpar and dangerous.
On Sunday, 75 meals were thrown out after "metal shavings" were found in them. Other meals arrived undercooked, putting servicemen at potential risk of food poisoning.
The unnamed whistleblower told 7 Action News in Detroit that these issues are not isolated. Food quality is poor all across the board, which is a sad testament to the treatment of our soldiers.
"Yesterday, for instance, there were 74 different meals found with raw beef in them," the sergeant said. "Just yesterday, the lunches were, soldiers had found metal shavings in their food."
For breakfast, the sergeant added, soldiers are not receiving properly balanced meals that contain needed protein. Instead, they are being given junk food at amounts far too low to provide them with the energy and strength they need to do their jobs.
"You were getting maybe a Danish and some sort of juice," this person told the media. "And then we had certain days where it was clearly a dinner roll and Sunny D."
More than a dozen soldiers were sickened by undercooked meals, several of whom had to be rushed to the hospital for treatment. All the way up the chain of command there were problems, especially after changes were made to the food boxes being delivered.
"They said, 'alright, we're going to make sure we spot check them, and we're also going to start having them add temperatures to it,'" the whistleblower added.
"At 140 (degrees), you cook that chicken, undercook it to 140, and now you're telling ... you're telling us that it's ... a 30-minute drive. This is what they say on the little placard that's (inaudible) good for four hours," were the words uttered in an audio recording of a discourse about one of the issues.
"No, it's not," this same person went on to say. "It wasn't good from the start and now it's had hours to become even more dangerous."
Gretchen Whitmer says National Guard food is "unacceptable"
Upon receiving word of the issues, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer pronounced that the National Guard's rations are "unacceptable." Rep. Brenda Lawrence's office did the same, with Lawrence promising to personally eat with the National Guard to see for herself the quality of the food.
"The men and women of the [Michigan National Guard] are in D.C. protecting the Capitol: the very symbol of our Democracy," tweeted Sen. Gary Peters.
"This is completely outrageous and unacceptable. It must be fixed – immediately – and I'll be looking into this as a member of [the Senate Armed Services Committee]."
On Monday, the whistleblower provided an update that the Michigan National Guard was instructed not to eat any more provided meals for the following two days because they are unsafe. Instead, the Guard was given MREs (meals ready to eat), which are typically administered on the battlefield.
Servicemen who want to eat real food are having to pay for it out of pocket, the whistleblower says.
"The Michigan National Guard finds the reports of undercooked and poorly prepared food provided to our service members in Washington, D.C. very concerning," reads a statement from the National Guard.
"The firsthand accounts and pictures of undercooked food being served clearly shows that what is being given to Michigan's service members is unacceptable."
The statement went on to explain that Whitmer and others are "engaged at the highest levels of the federal government" to try to get to the bottom of the situation.
"Every assurance was given that the issue would be addressed and corrected," the statement further reads.
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