File photo. Members of the National Guard are seen on the East Front of the U.S. Capitol Building on March 2, 2021, in Washington, D.C.
Multiple Michigan National Guard members stationed at the U.S. Capitol were sickened after they were served food that was raw, moldy, undercooked and even filled with metal shavings, the state’s congressional delegation said in a letter.
Guard members who have served at the Capitol for weeks in the wake of the Jan. 6 riot recently reported being served meals that were “poorly prepared, oftentimes inedible and highly inadequate,” 14 members of Congress said Tuesday in a letter to the chief of the National Guard Bureau. It’s “completely unacceptable,” they said.
“The members of the National Guard have served honorably throughout the duration of this operation. We must never turn our backs on our soldiers, especially as they have demonstrated time and time again that haven’t turned our backs on us,” the letter said.
About 50 Guard members have been treated for gastrointestinal complaints since the riot, the National Guard Bureau said in a statement Wednesday. Six members were treated as outpatients at military treatment facilities; others were treated at a Guard aid station. No members were hospitalized, the bureau said.
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“The National Guard continues to closely monitor the quality and safety of meals provided to its personnel,” a spokesman said in a statement.
The food was provided by a contractor, the letter from members of Congress said. They asked for either a new food provider or per diem funds so Guard members can buy their own meals.
