Photo By Marc Loi | U.S. soldiers drink nonalcoholic beer during a Super Bowl party at Forward Operating...... read more read more
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BAGRAM, Afghanistan - As millions of Americans gather in their living rooms Super Bowl Sunday, they’ll be joined in spirit by thousands of U.S. service members deployed half a world away in Afghanistan.
But it won’t be just the game they’re sharing. Service members will feast on the same snack food items as their friends and family back home, thanks to the efforts of Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support Subsistence employees.
“Watching the Super Bowl is a uniquely American tradition,” said Anthony Amendolia, DLA Troop Support Subsistence chief of customer operations for the Europe and the Middle East regions. “We can’t bring them to the living room, so at least we can bring a little bit of the living room to them.”
Service members will enjoy traditional game-day items such as chicken wings, mozzarella sticks, jalapeño poppers and a variety of pizzas while they watch the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks battle it out on the gridiron, he added.
But while the NFL teams only have two weeks to prepare for the big game, Amendolia said his team of subsistence logisticians has been planning for months.
“We typically start planning six months in advance for these meals,” he said, adding that DLA Troop Support also provides special meals for Easter, Passover, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Amendolia stressed that while special emphasis is placed on holiday and special event meals, subsistence employees work diligently to ensure service members have the same level of traditional and tasty meals all year-round.
For the military members, it’s not just about the snacks and football, it’s about keeping an American tradition alive while overseas, said Army Brig. Gen Steven Shapiro, DLA Troop Support commander.
“This is just another way [DLA] Troop Support is keeping those family traditions alive within the military family,” he said. “That plate full of chicken wings doesn’t just keep up morale, it helps keep that connection to their family and friends back home.”
Shapiro, who returned from a deployment to Afghanistan last year, said he knows how important that connection is. He added he’s proud to lead the organization that keeps that tradition alive.
“The dedicated folks here at Troop Support have never failed to deliver on that promise to deliver a little piece of home to those service members down range,” he said. “I can tell them from personal experience, it’s appreciated by the men and women in uniform.”
| Date Taken: | 01.31.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 02.06.2014 13:49 |
| Story ID: | 120206 |
| Location: | AF |
| Web Views: | 33 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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