European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 27, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday March 27 2007 stars and stripes pages Field rations failing gis review finds res not providing enough calories for some by Aamer Madhani the Chicago Tribune Natick mass when it Dave Moore visited infantry units in the Remote rugged mountains of Afghanistan late last year the Navy medical officer was sur prised to hear from Many soldiers and marines that they had lost significant weight after conducting More than 150 interviews with medics offic ers and troops on the ground Moore concluded that the Porta ble rations called meals ready to eat Long derided by troops but valued by the Pentagon for their  were not doing the Job causing the soldiers to shed pounds that they very much needed the Standard Are does not provide adequate nutrition for Dis mounted operations in this Type of terrain said an excerpt of Moores classified report which was released by the Marine corps Center for lessons Learned Many marines and sol Diers lost 20 to 40 pounds of body weight during their deployment at least one Soldier was evacuated due to malnutrition and a 60pound weight loss Moores conclusions have raised concern among military leaders As Well As designers of the Field rations at the Natick sol Dier research development engineering Center outside bos ton Moore stressed in an interview that the service members he surveyed represented Only a Small portion of those fighting in Afghanistan infantry troops deployed to desolate locations where res and local cuisine were the Only none stars and stripes pfc Ryan Crissman of Cleveland left and pc Ira standing loud of Minneapolis eat meals ready to eat in 2004 the less he concluded that up to 1300calorie res were falling Short recognizing that the reports of weight loss Are serious the com Bat feeding directorate which designs the res is planning to ship about 4000 prototypes of a new meal called the first strike ration to Iraq and Afghanistan designed for limited use the ration contains about twice the Calo Ries of an Are while mess Halls in Afghani Stan and Iraq provide the troops at bases three Square meals a Day soldiers on the front lines often subsist for Long stretches on res these include entrees processed at High temperatures and kept in air sealed pouches to maintain a shelf life of three years other typical components include dehydrated beverage mixes and snacks like Peanut but Ter crackers and nuts dietitians recommend soldiers eat three res a Day the Are which costs the de sense department about per meal was first introduced in 1980 with a dozen different menus including a few that sol Diers deemed inedible such As Smoky Franks which soldiers called the four fingers of death or Chicken a la King which was known As Chicken a la death when the Are went to War in the Early 1990s it fared Little bet Ter with troops on the ground in Kuwait saudi Arabia and Iraq who derisively referred to the rations As meals refused by every one the Are developed such a poor reputation that former joint chiefs chairman Colin Powell or dered it overhauled in 1995 the National Academy of sciences found that troops were under con suming their rations by 1000 Calo Ries per Day relations with us Are of Italy says the associated press Rome italians relations remain Good despite washing tons disapproval of the release of Taliban militants in Exchange for an italian hostage in Afghanistan Italy foreign minister insisted in an interview published on Sun Day in the la Republica inter View Massimo Dalema also challenged conservative opposition Leader Silvio Berlusconi to sup port continued funding for Italy troops in Afghanistan saying that a no vote in the Senate on a funding Bill tuesday would be total political irresponsibility with Premier Romano Prodis Cente left coalition divided Over Italy role in nato peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan support from the former pre Miers Cente right opposition bloc could be crucial for the mis Sions continuing Dalema played Down reports that traditionally solid us ital Ian relations were strained Over the release earlier this month of five Taliban militants by the afghan government to secure the re lease of la Republica journalist Daniele Mastrogiacom who was kidnapped in Afghanistan the Mastrogiacom Case is closed Dalema was quoted say ing relations Between the two Al lies dont have to be Serene they have to be Good the minister said and they Are Good shortly after Mastrogi comos release us state department spokesman Sean Mccormack said the United states did not approve of the Deal our views Are very Clear we dont negotiate with terrorists we dont advise others to do so As Well Mccormack said Dalema in the interview said he wanted a discussion in nato Over rules of common conduct to govern once and for All the responses of governments in cases of kidnappings of their citizens i charged in Bank in and stripes rangers  fort f v s a 26yearold army staff ser Geant who was scheduled to de ploy to Iraq in april has been charged win robbing the same Tacoma Bank twice this month according to a report Seattle times the times cites Tacoma police As saying that Christopher b Thompson who is stationed at fort was arrested at his South Tacoma apart Nerit thursday night Witt Tete and Bank surveillance video helped  to detectives Money a i teens in robberies of a key Bank Branch Maich 5 and Tacoma police Detec Tive Gretchen Ellis told the Fri special agent Larry Carr last year from the current investigation it does appear he was work Carr said Thompson was arraigned Fri Day a Bierce county Superior court of two Cornfo of first de Gree the times wrote he was a member of the 38th Engineer company 4th Bri Gade 2nd infantry division abased at fort Lewis and was scheduled deploy next month Joe Hitt a base spokes Man told the paper four  at fort Lewis have been charged in connection with the aug 7 robbery at the Bank of America Branch on South Tacoma Way three have pleaded guilty and the fourth alleged robbery Mastermind Julie so Ramero Peachland fighting extradition to the states Safe drinking water found lacking in Iraq by Shafika Mattar the associated press Amman Jordan a shortage of Safe drinking water in Iraq is threatening to increase diarrhoea a leading killer of children in the country the United nations said thursday violence makes it difficult to protect iraqi water officials and repair pipes damaged by Sabo Tage but in officials partly blamed inadequate funding both for iraqi water systems and the world body own operations a Lack of Money forced Unicof to halt its water Tanker service this month that delivered clean water to tens of thousands of people in Baghdad a in state ment said the majority of iraqi families rely on municipal systems that pipe water into their Homes but Many Mains Are damaged and infested with dangerous water borne diseases that can cause diarrhoea the second highest cause of child illness and death in Iraq Claire Hajj a Unicof official based in Jordan said Unic efs program to assist Iraq with water sanitation and Hygiene is Short million because the Agency had assumed iraqis would not need such assistance by now some million would be needed to provide water Tanker deliver ies for the rest of the year we Are still needed because Iraq has not been Able to meet the needs of All its people with re Spect to water she told the associated press the iraqi government has acknowledged local water systems will not be Able to meet the coun try needs for at least 18 More months the in statement said investment is not yet at the level where it should be Hajj said adding that the ministry for municipalities and Public works needed to spend much More an official in Iraq Public works ministry defended its fund ing level saying the government had promised to provide Mil lion for improving water systems the official spoke on condition of anonymity because he did not want to be seen disagreeing with the in in the in statement Roger Wright the Unicof representative for Iraq said diarrhoea cases have been increasing calling that a troubling development because the diarrhoea season Doest Usu ally Start until june Hajj said she could not provide precise Fig ures clash near american base kills at least 12 militants in Afghanistan stars and stripes at least 12 insurgents Are dead after an attempted attack on a us combat base along the Afghanistan Pakistan Border overnight saturday us military and afghan officials said sunday two american soldiers and two afghan troops were wounded in the attack officials said one of the afghans was medically evacuated for treatment at a us military Hospital but the other three were treated at the scene and returned to duty according to the us military command in Afghanistan the clash occurred when militants gathered to attack fire base Tillman in Patika province american and afghan troops called in aviation support and indirect artillery fire to support the defense of the fire base a news release read As the continued efforts of the military and civil leaders on both sides of the Bor Der takes a toll on the insurgents free Dom of movement they will continue to be come More desperate As the people work with the military and other leaders to rid themselves of these criminals army maj Donald a Korpi a spokesman for task Force fury which operates in the area was quoted As saying while direct attacks by insurgents in Afghanistan Are not common there have been instances in the past year in which Large numbers of suspected Taliban Mili Tants stage assaults on us and afghan bases with Winter ending us and nato Mili tary analysts expect the fighting to pick up