From left: U.S Army Sgt. Gio Carter, Sgt. Aaron Hampton, and Pvt. Cody Harrison, all with Forward Support Company 507th Engineer Battalion, Michigan National Guard, provide security with U.S. Capitol Police officer Mitchell Dunay, near Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., Feb. 3, 2021. The National Guard has been requested to continue supporting federal law enforcement agencies with security, communications, medical evacuation, logistics, and safety support to state, district and federal agencies through mid-March. (Army National Guard photo by Capt. Joe Legros)

By   Gary  Raynaldo     DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

WASHINGTON  –  PENTAGON  –  The Pentagon denied reports that undercooked   food made more than a dozen Michigan National Guard troops guarding the U.S. Capitol sick, sending some to the hospital.  U.S. lawmakers send a letter to the  Pentagon alleging  the food was unacceptable , unhealthy  and/or harmful to the soldiers.  “There have been a cascade of reports describing the food being provided to our soldiers as poorly prepared, oftentimes inedible, and unacceptable,” the members’ letter to the Pentagon read. “This includes meals that are severely undercooked, moldy, and even filled with metal shavings.”  Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby said he met last week with the chief of the National Guard Bureau, Army Gen. Daniel R. Hokanson, and that the National Guard and its leaders have stepped up efforts to ensure that all guardsmen working on Capitol Hill are getting healthy meals. 

According to Kirby, no National Guard members have been hospitalized because of illness from food. Additionally, he said, of 26,000 who have been deployed, and of the 5,100 who remain on duty at the Capitol, about 50 have been treated for gastrointestinal complaints.

“Six of them were treated as outpatients at military treatment facilities, others were handled at an aid station set up as part of the task force,” he said.

(credit: Gary Raynaldo  /  ©Diplomatic  Times )   Pentagon Press Secretary John  Kirby briefs reporters at the Pentagon, Washington D.C.  March  5, 2021

“[Hokanson] and National Guard leaders are taking very seriously the need to make sure that the troops have safe and nutritious food,” Kirby said during a briefing today. “There’s routine inspections. He himself goes down there multiple times a week to eat with the National Guardsmen — to eat what they’re eating.”

The National Guard is working with the contractors who provide food to the guardsmen to address any concerns, and are also visiting the businesses supplying the food to assess the quality of meals being prepared, Kirby assured.

“We do spot check on meals for cooking temperature and overall quality,” Kirby said. “The vendor facilities have been inspected multiple times with no substantial … issues having been recorded. So again there [is] a lot of activity on this, a lot of visibility, and rightly so.”