Defense Logistics Agency provides Thanksgiving Day meal to American military in West Africa

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Nov 24, 2014, 10:38 ET

PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 24, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- American service members working to stop the spread of Ebola in West Africa may be away from home during the holidays, but they will still enjoy a Thanksgiving Day meal with all the trimmings thanks to the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support's Subsistence team.

More than 2,700 pounds of turkey, along with 375 pounds of cranberry sauce and 700 pies will be served to military members deployed to Liberia and Senegal, the Subsistence customer service branch chief for the Europe and Middle East regions said.

"Since they can't be home for the holidays, our team is dedicated to bringing the holidays to them," said Anthony Amendolia.

While the team typically starts planning to ship holiday meal items six months in advance, military operations in West Africa only began a two months ago. In order to meet those short requirements, DLA airlifted the Thanksgiving meal items from the United States into Liberia and Senegal.

DLA employees have also provided more than 78,000 pounds of turkey, 40,000 pounds of beef, 26,000 pounds of ham and 10,000 pies to service members deployed Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait and Jordan, said Amendolia.

"Whether they're stationed on a remote base in Afghanistan or a field hospital in West Africa, they'll be eating a traditional American Thanksgiving meal on November 27," Amendolia said.

DLA Troop Support supplies America's armed forces with $13 billion annually of food, uniforms, protective equipment, medicine and medical supplies, repair parts and construction and equipment. Its history, rooted in Philadelphia, began in 1800 with the construction of the Schuylkill Arsenal before the Civil War.

As a Department of Defense combat support agency, DLA provides the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, other federal agencies, and joint and allied forces with a variety of logistics, acquisition and technical services. The agency sources and provides nearly 100 percent of the consumable items America's military forces need to operate, from food, fuel and energy, to uniforms, medical supplies, and construction and barrier equipment. DLA also supplies more than 85 percent of the military's spare parts.

Headquartered at Fort Belvoir, Va., DLA has about 25,000 employees worldwide and supports more than 2,440 weapon systems. For more information about DLA, go to www.dla.mil, www.facebook.com/dla.mil or http://twitter.com/dlamil.

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SOURCE Defense Logistics Agency