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Charleston AFB delivers the goods for U.S. embassies

CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. (USTCNS) --- When military members and their families assigned to the 32 embassies in Africa and Central and South America sit down to eat a holiday meal, they can give thanks to Charleston Air Force Base. That's because, more than likely, the base was responsible for delivering their groceries.

It is all part of Charleston's Defense Commissary Agency overseas program that flies food items to the embassies every month. The staff of the Charleston commissary orders the food items. Tractor-trailer trucks from the 437th Transportation Squadron picks up the orders and delivers three truckloads daily to the 437th Aerial Port Squadron for shipment by military airlift.

Food items consist of everything from meat and produce to canned goods. The Charleston commissary is the only commissary on the East Coast that provides these groceries to the embassies in these countries.

"We work closely with the supply person from each embassy to discuss any discrepancies in our orders," said Charleston commissary store director Eddie Williams. "We make sure the 15 to 20 people in each embassy get what they ordered. We pull all the items together to send down to these embassies."

Military members and families in the embassies go grocery shopping by looking through a monthly DECA catalog with prices and item descriptions. Commissary officials estimate more than $1.2 million of food items were shipped last year.

"Any embassy can order items that we carry," Williams said. "We receive their consolidated orders by email and we go and order the items. There are no limits on the quantity for their monthly orders. The commissary offers 14,593 items that they can purchase."

Elizabeth Mazell, lead overseas support technician, said, "They can order anything that we carry. Most of the purchases are in case lots.

"Military members and their families really appreciate the opportunity to order their groceries," she continued. "For some, the local economy does not provide the same quality and selection of groceries that they are used to in the states. We are the only commissary that allows people to shop for their groceries like this. We bend over backwards to fill these orders because we know how important it is for them."

Mazell said the holidays are busy because the embassies will order lots of turkeys, hams and other traditional foods.

"We had an order of 175 turkeys last thanksgiving," said Mazell. "It is very common for increased orders of certain ethnic and religious foods during Easter and Passover. There are always lots of orders for ice cream, and we also get lots of orders for breakfast cereals for kids."

The orders are usually sent out on Sundays and Tuesdays depending on the country. Each embassy order can range from 2,000 to 12,000 pounds of groceries per country.

The men and women of the 437th APS unload the trucks, palletize the shipment, weigh the pallets and store perishable items in massive refrigerators until they are loaded on C-17s or other aircraft the next day. The process can take about four to five hours for a full load.

"If only people knew how important this mission was for the families and military members; they depend upon us to get them these groceries, especially during the holidays when they are separated from their loved ones but are still doing our nation's business," said Maj. Darren Baker, 437th APS operations officer. "If these shipments are delayed because of bad weather or other uncontrollable factors, you can see the tremendous drop in their morale."

Besides direct flights to select U.S. embassies, there is also a new hub-and-spoke operation where DECA and other general cargo is sent to Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico, and Soto Canto, Honduras.

"From there they run it out to the embassies in Central and South America using U.S. Southern Command C-130 aircraft," said Senior Master Sgt. Randy Shallenberger, superintendent of the Air Freight Flight, 437th APS. "Only Charleston provides continuous support for Central and South America." (FROM AIR MOBILITY COMMAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS).

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