Navy Food Management Team training continues in spite of pandemic

SAN DIEGO – The COVID-19 pandemic forced the immediate halt of numerous military courses and training, but now that restrictions have begun to ease and more people are taking necessary precautions, training has recommenced.

For the NAVSUP Fleet Logistics Center San Diego’s Navy Food Management Team, revitalizing training for officers and enlisted Sailors presented an opportunity to reinforce some of the lessons that were taught prior to the pandemic about accountability, sanitation and food handling safety. One of the most critical courses required for food management personnel, the Food Service Management (FSM) Seminar, was reinstated October 27, 2020, to get them back on track with their required training. To ensure safety of students and instructors, the class resumed with several limitations. Class sizes have been limited to eight students and two instructors; prior to March 2020, up to 18 students were allowed per class. All personnel must pass a temperature screening prior to entering the building and must wear face masks at all times, while also maintaining socially distanced seating in the classroom, and daily use of hand sanitizer and disinfecting cleaning supplies is mandatory. So far, there have been no new cases of infection among students or instructors.

“This is one of those classes that culinary specialists need in order to understand food service accountability because having that comprehension sets the foundation for their career, so we are doing everything necessary to continue training while also keeping our people safe,” CWO-5 Harrison Wright, NAVSUP FLC San Diego NFMT director stated.

The FSM seminar provides students with hands on experience of the computer-based FSM system that tracks culinary inventory, receiving food supplies, and tracks monetary expenditures. Students learn the basics of the food service management program, while providing a hands on experience to perform all administrative and records keeping functions related to the daily operations of a general mess, along with understanding the detailed processes related to collecting, storing, reviewing and reporting food service-related data. Students also learn to generate and review financial reports required by higher authority.

Although the computer-based system has been the standard operating platform for food service management since the mid-1990s, the program and instruction are regularly updated to reflect the current needs of the Navy, modern technology, and tools of the trade.

As the FLC San Diego NFMT continues to keep officers and enlisted Sailors trained on the most up-to-date requirements in support of the Navy’s mission, they are determined to do so even during a pandemic, while masked, sanitized and putting safety first.

NAVSUP FLC San Diego is one of eight FLCs under Commander, NAVSUP. Headquartered in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, and employing a diverse, worldwide workforce of more than 22,500 military and civilian personnel, NAVSUP’s mission is to provide supplies, services, and quality-of-life support to the Navy and joint warfighter. Learn more at www.navsup.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/navsup and https://twitter.com/navsupsyscom.