KBR Feeds Troops Garbage: Transcript Available

The transcript of the video testimony of Rory Mayberry is now available at http://democrats.senate.gov/dpc/hearings/hearing22/mayberry.pdf. Read it and get angry at these war profiteers! A few excerpts after the jump....

"First, KBR was supposed to feed 600 Turkish and Filipino workers meals according to their custom. Although KBR charged the government for this service, it didn't prepare the meals. Instead, these workers were given leftover food in boxes and garbage bags after the troops ate. Sometimes there were no leftovers to give them."

"Second, KBR charged the government for meals it never served to the troops. Until late 2003, Anaconda was a transition site for army personnel. Because there could be large numbers of extra personnel passing through everyday, KBR would charge for a surge capacity of 5,000 troops per meal. However, KBR continued to charge for the extra headcount even after Anaconda was no longer a transition site."

"Food items were being brought into the base that were outdated or expired as much as a year. We were told by the KBR food service managers to use these items anyway. This food was fed to the troops. A lot of these were frozen foods: chicken, beef, fish, and ice cream. For trucks that were hit by convoy fire and bombings, we were told to go into the trucks and remove the food items and use them after removing the bullets and any shrapnel from the bad food that was hit. We were told to turn the removed bullets over to the managers for souvenirs. When I had the military check some of the food shipments, they would turn the food items away. But there wasn't any marking of the record, so KBR just sent the food to another base for use. The problem with expired food was actually worsened with the switch to PWC because it took longer for the food items to get to the base as they were shipped from the U.S. to a warehouse in Kuwait.

"KBR also paid for spoiled food. When Tamimi dropped off food, there was often no place to put it in to the freezers or refrigeration. Food would stay in the refrigeration and freezer trucks until they ran out of fuel. KBR wouldn't refuel the trucks so the food would spoil. This happened quite a bit.

"In addition, KBR would cater events for KBR employees, like management parties and barbecues. This happened about 3 times a week. As a result, there were shortages of certain food items, such as beef, chicken, pork, salads, dressings, and sodas for the troops."

•  Bad food

  is what killed more U.S. troops in Cuba during 1898 than actual combat.

  That was one of the impetuses for Sinclair's "The Jungle" I believe.

  Lemme ask my friend the 2nd Lt. if his food is supplied by KBR.

  This is goddam treasonous.

  by keirdubois on Thu Jun 30, 2005 at 11:41:30 AM PDT