Foodservice Project Manager

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Foodservice Project Manager

The project details the logistical processes that may go in into providing food and sustenance support to 100,000 mercenaries contracted to assist the United States ward off terrorists in the hostile territories of Iraq. Mercenaries manifest as hired professional soldiers carrying the purpose of working for the hiring facility without any interest in political, diplomatic, or military affiliation. This indicates that the hiring entity has to take care of all feeding and sustenance needs as the mercenaries require. The perspective also qualifies the business of hiring soldiers (mercenaries) as a project-driven initiative that absorbs the core principles held in project management. A country like the United States can elect to have mercenaries as single individuals carrying a gun and then take care of their sustenance costs, including food, lodging, clothing, allied amenities, and pay. The nation can hire contract private military firms and sign a contract detailing the amount of money payable to the company. Such initiatives come as complete projects, given that the US government must keep its word and commit to it. Feeding and sustaining mercenaries requires accurate logistical analysis, precise calculations, and proper budgetary planning.

The United States has relied on mercenaries for several special assignments. One, the country turned to mercenaries for its military missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Within 2006, the US government, through its department of defense, had approximately 100,000 mercenaries advancing its war offensive in Iraq (Cusumano, 2019). In terms of compensation, the US is on record paying private military contractors up to $200,000 per year for high-level mercenary operatives. Less skilled mercenaries took home approximately $20,000 having all other welfare packages taken care of. With a figure of 100,000 contracted soldiers, the US could have spent as much as $20 billion for a single year in Iraq (Cusumano, 2019). To that extent, it is clear that

Pentagon officials take up hiring mercenaries as independent projects based on the expected logistical requirements. At the center of every military project is adequate food supplies.

Security operations remain sensitive, a factor that may justify the extremely high military budget in the United States. For diplomatic assignments, the basic minimum a nation can do to its soldiers is to ensure they are well-fed and energetic enough to ward off the enemy. The cost of sustaining a mercenary on the battlefield remains constant regardless of the arrangement involved. While a private military company (PMC) may offer lower compensation packages than a direct defense department arrangement, food needs and basic requirements do not change (McFate, 2016). The military can use a mess framework, advance meal allowances, or provide packaged, ready-to-eat food. Military project managers must prioritize healthy menus with an emphasis on heart-friendly diets. The mercenaries can access the luxury of taking fruit cups and omelets for breakfast with the relevant side dishes—the entire feeding framework in the military works around constructing and sustaining healthy soldiers. Mercenaries’ call of duty is centered around battle fronts, and the mess arrangement makes logistical sense for extended assignments.

Ready-to-eat military meals are the most popular food arrangement in war environments. The most common components in this framework include entrees, side dishes, crackers, a spread of cheese, dessert, cocoa powders, and varied snacks. The military ready-to-eat (MRE) packages cost as low as $2 and can reach the high of $ 19 based on the packed components (Powers, 2019). With the configuration of at least two such packages for a single soldier each day, the MRE food cost of a mercenary can range from $4 to $38 every 24 hours. With a mercenary number of approximately 100,000 soldiers, it is clear that the US government can spend anything between

$400,000 to $3,800,000 feeding the mercenaries on each day of duty. Mercenaries are non- permanent soldiers, and the MRE feeding strategy has to be the most common and effective. It

eliminates the need to construct messes and chow halls (Powers, 2019). In any case, mercenaries do not attend to extremely lengthy operations creating the justification for MREs. The assignment- based work structure eliminates the need for a subsistence allowance as the soldiers only work when at the battlefront. A military project manager sorting out the food issues for mercenaries is best advised to consider the MRE option strongly.

A project manager, be it within a private military contractor (PMC) or retained at the Pentagon, has a prominent role in reference to food and sustenance support. One, they have to identify the nutritional needs of each soldier for a single day. For a project covering thousands of mercenaries, the project manager must work closely with nutritionists to realize accurate dietary assessment. The next step involves determining the precise number of soldiers and planning for the necessary resources to execute the food project. A food sustenance project is expected to include food crew personnel. This segment coordinates with the food providers on food delivery, quality assurance, and quantity relevance. In the case of a contract with a chosen food provider, the contracted company may have a liaison officer to ensure that the service interactions proceed smoothly. The project’s broader goal is to provide soldiers with the right food at the right time and quantity. The project manager must keep the defense department chiefs updated on all plans as food supplies are central in all military exercises carried out by the United States.

This specific endeavor cannot be the first one that does not have its own set of stakeholders, partners, and sponsors. Recognizing the US government is the goal of the nutrition and food supply initiative, which is directed toward the mercenaries contracted to perform military activities in Iraq. In retrospect, completing any part of the project that does not include financial backing is difficult. In this regard, the Department of Defense (DoD) submits budget proposals months before real projects, paving the way for thorough preparation (McFate, 2016). After gaining access to the

data on the number of mercenaries on duty and the anticipated duty schedule, the objective is to continue working toward disseminating the budget estimates on time.

It should be brought to everyone’s attention that the allowed duration of stay in Iraq is subject to alter at any moment. There are still preliminary emergency funds ready in case of a logistical nightmare, and the Department of Defense is kept abreast of such preparations. In addition, a Department of Defense (DoD) troop representative is a project team member, and the government is keen to receive weekly program reports. If the Department of Defense decides to collaborate with an MPC, the project team will be able to compile a report detailing the dietary requirements of the service members and make room for the MPC to contract with independent food suppliers. Food vendors who participated in the direct arrangement continue to be active partners. The project team anticipates that they will share reports regarding food availability, quality assurance, relevant quality, and expected delivery mechanisms at least one month before actual military assignments in Iraq.

It is necessary to note that mercenaries are hired individuals who may be withdrawn at any point. In any case, regardless of the contractual agreement, wars are centers of uncertainties, and many actions can lead to the termination of a war that involves an unarbitrary extent. The United States spent years in Afghanistan using its soldiers and mercenaries for their exit to take place at an unplanned moment. A solid project predicts such risks and crates alternatives. The food and sustenance project runs for three months before the conduct of an evaluation exercise. As stated, weekly reports have to be sent to the DoD on the state of food supplies. Equally, information on the state of the way is availed to the project team every week to ensure a reliable operational pattern. The food vendor, transport teams, and on-ground or on-combat food crews receive and share information appropriately. The fundamental objective of this collective liaison is to keep

every stakeholder alert to all possible happenings. With high-level situation awareness, it is possible to mitigate all forms of risks. The risks that emerge from the food project include ordering food that can go to waste, delivering food into the wrong areas, or getting food late to the soldiers. Pre-planning and on-time communication with all project actors can mitigate risks in this project.

In conclusion, this project’s outcomes may carry importance in food logistics for soldiers and mercenaries. Military food supplies are enormous projects, and the teams at hand must apply meticulous planning. Supplying food to 100,000 soldiers in a faraway nation cannot qualify as a simple project. Providing the right food will energize the soldiers, reduce the likelihood of food- related illnesses (including cardiac conditions), motivate the mercenaries, create operational sustainability and assist the soldiers in achieving their objectives. From a broader dimension, the United States will stand at a point of realizing its strategic military objectives. Projects always lay the foundation for the achievement of bigger collective goals. Nonetheless, the food project requires meticulous planning, a smooth supply chain and distribution networks, and financial resources to make it a success.

References

Cusumano, E. (2019). Outsourced Empire: How Militias, Mercenaries, and Contractors Support US Statecraft. By Andrew Thomson. London: Pluto Press, 2018. 256p. $99.00 cloth,

$29.00 paper. Perspectives On Politics, 17(02), 625-626. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1537592719000483

Hoeller, S. (2020). Photos show what military meals look like around the world. Insider. https://www.insider.com/military-meals-mre-reviews-photos-2020-6

McFate, S. (2016). America’s Addiction to Mercenaries. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/08/iraq-afghanistan-contractor-

pentagon-obama/495731/.

Powers, R. (2019). Military Chow Halls and Food Allowance Guide. The Balance Careers. https://www.thebalancecareers.com/what-the-recruiter-never-told-you-3332717.

Project Charter

Project	Food Service Project
Created By	Your Name	Date	Wednesday, October 5, 2022
Phone	Your Phone Number	Email	Your Email

Mission	The mission is to provide food support to 100,000 military contractors or mercenaries that operate in the Iraq military theater.
Objectives	As military contractors are usually hired for pay and are not affiliated otherwise – for example, as part of the diplomatic corps, or even the regular military – the institution that hires them has to ensure that support is forthcoming and complete at all times. Therefore, the United States must deliver on its promise and therefore understand that the mission can only be achieved if it comes as acomplete project without any open endings or any needs for ‘improvisation’ along the way.
Deliverables	Providing food in the form of military ready-to-eat packages (MREs), 2x daily per individual (approximately $21/person, i.e., $2,100,000 in total)Ensuring that the MREs conform to the dietary needs during battlefield operations; this means approximately 4,600 calories per mealPlanning for MRE delivery even during significant changes in the military projects; a week’s supply in MREs should always be kept as reserve at hand
Stakeholders	Project sponsor: United States Department of Defense (DoD)DoD ComptrollerUnder Secretaries of Defense: Personnel and Readiness, Acquisition and Sustainment, Research and EngineeringAssistant Secretaries of Defense: Health Affairs, Sustainment, Research and EngineeringDirectors: Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), Research and EngineeringNutrition committee membersFood delivery managers (“food crew personnel”)Project manager
Roles and Responsibilities	Under Secretaries: Establishment of standards and policiesAssistant Secretaries: Providing oversight and guidanceDirectors: Direct establishment and monitoring of protocolsComptroller: Establishment of meal rates and food budgetsProject manager: Establishing a project plan and ensuring that roles and responsibilities are clear; monitoring processFood delivery manager: Ensuring that food logistics are in place and delivery procedures are executed

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High-Level Work Breakdown Structure	Getting an overview of logistical needs: how many contractors will be active during which time and in which precise location?Calculating nutritional needs and establishing the needed number of MREs together with the nutritional committeeEstablishing a plan for food delivery and transport to the right locations at the right time; establishing a reserve that can be quickly delivered if local nutritional needs are not metGetting approval from directors and the comptrollerDrafting reports to senior management: Undersecretaries and Assistant Secretaries
Project Milestone	The establishment of the food delivery and transport plan for the next three months
In-scope and out of scope	Anything food- and delivery related is within the scope of the project. Optimizing the nutritional content of MREs, generating options for non-MRE food delivery, and general sustenance (clothing, lodging, etc.) are outside the scope of this project.
Assumptions	The assumption is that MREs will be sufficient to fill the mercenaries’ nutritional needs.
Communications	The team will meet once weekly for a progress report. Depending on personal availability, the meetings will be a mixture between in-person and video conferencing. Besides in-person interactions, email and SMS will be the main form of communication outside the weekly meetings. There may be delays if we need to communicate with service members and contractors that are inside a military theater. For that reason, we will ensure that there is always at least a week of food supplies at hand.
Risks	Communication could break down, and food supplies could be in jeopardy due to operations on the battlefield.
Documentation	We will use Google Docs and similar programs to document daily progress and keep up to date.
Boundaries	Lodging, pay, and medical supplies are out of scope.
Budget	$400 million for 100,000 contractors over three months