European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 19, 1978, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Veterinarians Merle Jacobsen staff writer Germany when you Punk of veterinarians you think of sick right and animals youre thinking of the 79lh mod Del ass veterinary service Small Here and m similar army veterinary units in usar think according to Thomas who commands the u member care of animals accounts for a Small portion of his Haigs Mission is inspection of food bound for commissaries and mess Halls in the j a of Ammon Dond and a graduate of Purdue University school of veterinary science and has animal clinics one afternoon a week and surgery one morning a week for Pels of local he said fees Are assessed for care and drugs because care May not be subsidized through appropriated however food inspection service is his major his area is roughly Tor jeered by Hannover in the by the january the stars and stripes Pogo 9 not just doctors for military ailing they make sure commissary food is fresh within that Region Are 14 commercial firms approved to do business with the Haig and passing inspection Only makes the firm eligible to bid for the approved list for Europe includes about 700 Haig said firms must be inspected to insure compliance with Dod standards before doing business Wilh the and Are inspected at least annually some firms Are inspected More often than for a soft drink Plant is visited a slaughterhouse is checked and a Dairy is inspected if a Dairy provides milk to it has an enlisted food inspector permanently attached to conduct Laboratory inspections such As quarterly and monthly checks require a Veteri like Dairy plants have full time enlisted Haigs 10 staff include two cos in the office and eight enlisted food inspectors at commis Saries and food Haig said much of which comes from is inspected at the Plant by air Force after it is loaded on a refrigerator it is inspected at each Stop along the if a meat truck serves six the meat delivered to the last Stop undergoes seven Haig recalled an incident of Metal shavings showing up on carcasses in the meat More than just a careful 4 Jaa Wangen is one of usar eurs main lines of defense against the source of the shavings was traced to the tracks from which the car casses Hung in the tracing the source of the contamination was made easier because of the inspections at each the carcasses nearest the doors were nearly free of while those closest to the front of the truck because they travelled a greater distance on the tracks had the most Haig said products Are rejected for two principal reasons if they pose a health Hazard or if they fail to meet Dod Stan As an example of a standards discrepant Haig cited meat with too much he the egg lady shoddy foodstuffs reaching commis sary Wangen is a food inspector with the 79th med Del she is said the meat itself May be of the highest but inadequate trimming would make the product which Sells by the Pound a poor bargain and would not meet contract he said that in cases not involving his rejection of the product is actually Only a recommendation to the buyer commissary officer who May accept the product Al a reduced if meat Wilh excess fat is the commissary May sell it As is for a reduced Price or trim it to specifications and sell it for the Normal Haig says his personnel have a great Deal of responsibility for their he said a specialist 4 is solely responsible for shown hire inspecting eggs for fresh Ness by Light at the Glessen commis Sis photo by Jim Arwine inspecting food in a the 79lhs area includes commissaries in bad Fulda and bad in addition to checks of the products sold in Haigs unit also looks for proper rotation and sanitation plus health certification of the number of times food is inspected before consumption depends on How Peri Shable the product he is inspected at least upon receipt and Haig said dehydrated products if stored properly will remain Good virtually for Ever and Are inspected three times before arrival and quarterly army food inspectors in Job with a future by Merle Jacobsen staff writer Germany this is a unique my unit is concerned 100 per cent with inspection of food that the Mili tary according to the commander of the army veterinary Richard a Blue Heads a unit of four army 40 enlisted food inspectors and 10 local nationals in eight european Dean has personnel stationed in the Spain and in addition to his Headquarters staff he said his personnel also make toy trips to Romania and Yugoslavia when necessary to inspect food supplied to forces by those his he is also responsible for inspecting food in the area from to the danish the colonel said his unit and the 79th med Del veterinary services also located Are not in the same Chain of Dean said other agencies Are responsible for food inspection in the bal Ance of european countries with in the British for the air Force veterinary corps provides inspection the colonel said his unit was located Here at least 20 years ago because of gics Sens Central he also said person transportation and finance support Here Are Deans compared to a More typical is top the other four of two lieutenant a major and a Are based in Denmark Yugoslavia and the Allen listed personnel Are i or describing the Caliper of his Dean youve got to have people whose character and integrity Are beyond the he requires people in higher pay grades because of the Independent nature of the jobs and the High Cost of living away from commissaries and exchanges Are two of the units three primary Dean said the food inspected by his unit is Pur chased by defense subsistence Europe in cafes food lands and army clubs and the detachments local nationals Pri Marily inspect fresh fruit and vegetables or Are administrative Dean three he Are in Holland and there is one each in France and the Spanish Dean also inspects produce for naval personnel in Rota and for air Force people at Spanish one of the a Plant also doubles As an instructor to assure Standard inspection Dean the like several other personnel in the has served in the unit Dean was stationed with the unit As a major in we Brucken from its a Job that has a future to the 20 year Veteran Dean said Many person Nel in the Field retire and go to work for the department of agriculture or the food the colonel said his people get valuable experience in what he called a civilian oriented Job through their con tact Wilh Dean said about so percent of his person Nel ask for most of the people can speak the language fairly Well when they leave an because of their isolation from other he the colonel said some of his people Send their children to local schools in the Host country but thai efforts Are made to get personnel without Large families of school aged two stationed in Denmark and were assigned to the detachment in Dean who commanded the 110th medi Cal Del in Frankfurt before assuming his present command in june said his Job requires him to travel a Tot to visit the personnel of his far Flung i think people like to be stationed in this unit be cause they like the Independence of the he putting the Mission of his command into his own he said its responsibilities Are to protect the health of the military Consumers by assuring that the food originates from Sanita Rily approved secondary to health consider he the detachment is responsible for assuring that shoppers receive Quality purchases by seeing that contracts meet defense department in he there Are essentially seven suppliers of milk and milk products to Dean said five of the Dairy product suppliers come under his Cogoni other major food items inspected by the detachment Are carcass frown pork fish and Kaiserslautern cold stores is the major Supply depot for freeze and chill items in he adding that All services procure food