Usher is also heading new proposals that he says will streamline meal delivery to Belizean soldiers and make the food delivery system more transparent, cost-effective, and efficient.
We first mentioned it on the Beef on Monday where we learned that in November of this year, there will no longer be kitchen staff at the mess. The catering will be outsourced and civilian staff will cook for the soldiers. The soldiers would then pay for each meal from an allowance given to them. Usher says mentioning it on the Beef caused panic in the ranks and he offered to explain this new system today:
Francis Usher, CEO - DEFENCE
"What you glanced over on the Beef on Monday was a proposal that, one of many proposals to make it simpler and more transparent and increase the level not that there is not accountability but to increase the level of accountability when it comes to feeding soldiers. So there are three different conditions in which soldiers are to be fed. The first is they are on camp, that can be any of the various camps, whether it be Price Barracks, Camp Belizario, Fairweather Camp, Isles Camp or some of the smaller camps like Williamson or Isles Camp or Dangriga Drill Hall or whether it be a volunteer or regular force element. So all of these are important distinctions. So when they are on camp there is a daily food entitlement for the BDF which is $13.50. I will be the first to admit that, that number has not been adjusted in some time and does not account for inflation and we know that inflation with the various wars and with the cost of living was gone up however that is a separate thing that needs to be looked at and that will be looked at, a adjustment of the figure but the current figure is $13.50 per day, per soldier. If you are to pay each soldier their daily entitlement it would come up to roughly in the ballpark of 8 million dollars there will still be about 4 million dollars remaining"
Reporter
"8 million annually?"
Francis Usher, CEO - DEFENCE
"Yes, 8 million dollars correct. If you were to pay $13.50 a day times the amount of soldiers times 365 days per year that would add up to approximately 8 million dollars annually for regular force soldiers."
"Then you will have about 4 million dollars in the approved budget remaining annually. What you then do is you buy US grade-now there are various different brands but US grade MREs which are meals ready to eat which have a five-year shelf life. The reason we do that is because of the flexibility of the shelf life and also the fact that they are compressed they come with a built-in stove, they have various different menus or flavors and they are actually a favorite of the soldiers, we have some that we have been using for deployed soldiers when you are walking in or walking out and they have proven to be very convenient in the jungle you don't have to worry about things getting spoiled and stuff like that that so you buy enough MREs for all the deployed soldiers, 365 days a year. Now I did my own analysis using, and I met with some of the BDF staff using the amount of observation posts we have, the amount of special patrols we have and the amount of soldiers we assign to each other location 365 days a year plus the special patrols and I came up with a number of MREs needed and so if you are deployed operationally you will receive MREs to feed you in addition to you will still be getting your $13.50 across the board everyone will get that. It is just those deployed operationally will be fed as well. So that number for me based on the current market price of MREs came up to about 2.5 million dollars and the remaining is for the various not events, but the various activities that happen throughout the year. Whether it be the BDF Day, Sports Day, the recruits passing out, the regimental dinners in either the officers' mess or the sergeant's mess those various events there is enough to be able to host those events left over."
"Now you might be saying okay well $13.50 can't buy you three meals a day, agreed. So what you do with the remaining amount after all of that? And it would be more than $1 million, based on my calculation, is that you put out to open tender to run the kitchen like a catering service or not a restaurant, but you know, a professional catering service to run the kitchen, subsidize that service with the remaining amount and set caps on what they can charge per meal. So just based on my estimation, if you charge $3, you say the maximum you can charge to provide a quality meal being subsidized is $3 for breakfast, $5 for lunch, and $4 for dinner, for example. That comes up to $12, you would still have $1.50 remaining. Not a lot, but I'm just saying that by subsidizing it, what is allocated per day, it would be possible. Now with this proposal and I have to stress it is just a proposal needs to be fleshed out a little bit more. But it's not a novel idea. It's being done around the world in various militaries, and it actually lends toward better service, better meals and increased transparency, which is why, I will admit, I was the one that proposed it. Not approved as yet. If you're asking me if it should be, if we can lock down all the details, I believe it should be approved. I believe that it's a step in the right direction. But it's it's just a proposal on the table currently, and we're working with the smarter heads, the more intelligent minds on the subject matter experts in the BDF, to be able to figure this out. And of course, if we're able to lock it down in the BDF, we're going to roll it out in the Coast Guard as well."
