More waiting....

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… a constant fact of life. It actually boggles the mind to consider the complexity of arranging schedules, transportation, security, meals, water, supplies, equipment and more for a shifting portion of the 1500 people on board the USS Kearsarge. Groups are going to different locations and doing different tasks and almost all of it gets done, even if not in the most time-efficient manner. Engineers are going somewhere to build a school or repair a damaged clinic, medical teams are going to 3 different sites, sometimes with dental or optometry or dermatology or surgery or veterinary. All of them need the right equipment to go with them. I have to admit I’m glad it’s someone else’s job to see to the details.

My job today was to represent Project HOPE and present a donation of medical supplies and equipment to the Ministry of Health (MOH). Before the trip, Project HOPE contacted the MOH in each country to develop a ‘wish list’ of things they would like to receive. Today was the Colombian presentation. I met the very dynamic Secretary of Health for Santa Marta and the , Dra. Mari Garcia. I also got to spend time with the Kearsarge’s Commodore, Captain Ponds. After the presentation ceremony, we made a visit to a school to inspect a damaged roof and arrange for repair. That led to a lovely restaurant lunch including the local typical food of fried plantains, hosted by the local mayor.

That was my first non-Navy meal here. On board ship, the cafeteria opens early enough in the morning so I can get breakfast before those 5:30 am musters. Lunches off ship are MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) - an interesting collection of a variety of plastic-enclosed food. They come in a plastic pouch that can be peeled open, revealing 2 cardboard boxes and a number of smaller plastic pouches. Today’s meal for example: 1 box held a plastic pouch with the entrée, vegetable lasagna. The other had a pouch of diced pears in thickened sugary syrup. Both of these can be heated in another plastic bag - zip off the top, insert the food pouch, add a small amount of water and voila - instant heat. Put the bag and pouch back into the box to avoid burning fingers. The chemical reaction producing the heat continues for a while and will heat the 2nd pouch and a beverage (today’s was some kind of flavored coffee - add water to the powder). While waiting for heating, one can open the packet of crackers and squeeze something out of a tube onto them (today - creamy peanut butter; I’ve also seen chunky peanut butter and cheese spread). For dessert - a packet with a generous portion of spiced pound cake. The last packet contains a collection of things - non-sodium seasoning, iodized salt, matches, tissues and 2 pieces of gum (which some claim is a laxative). In some MREs the hot beverage is found in this last packet - powdered spiced cider - yum! (or not!). All told - ~ 1500 calories, but it feels like much more! I’ve been sharing with our Colombian army guards or just putting much of it into the ‘trading box’ in our makeshift lunchroom. Not much danger of starvation here.

I hope everyone had a nice Labor Day holiday. I apologize that I haven't been able to include more pictures. Internet access (when I can get it) is extremely slow! More to follow….

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Comments

[Noel Groves]

Different perspective on MRE's
Nancy, I chuckled over your comment about the MRE seeming like more than 1500 calories. That's not the perspective I've heard from Jacob about MRE's during his army summer training. The logistics details do sound mind-boggling. Thanks for sharing!