DLA helps service members celebrate Palm Sunday, Easter

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Mar 24, 2016, 01:20 ET

PHILADELPHIA, March 24, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Military service members around the world observed Palm Sunday and will celebrate Easter with some help from Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support.

More than 16,000 pounds of ham and 6,660 pounds of salmon were provided by the Subsistence supply chain for troops serving in Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait and Afghanistan in time to enjoy an Easter meal March 27, said Anthony Amendolia, Subsistence customer operations supervisor.

"It's a meal they can enjoy and is a little bit different than what they usually get," said Amendolia. "(We) do everything we can to make the day special and to provide a taste of home for the holidays."

Subsistence also ensured the delivery of 9,660 bottles of non-alcoholic sparkling juice, 12,312 pounds of shrimp and 4,336 pies, including coconut cream and lemon meringue pies.

The Clothing and Textiles supply chain delivered 270 bottles of grape juice and 83 cases of sacramental wine to be used during Easter services, said Earl Joyner, a contract specialist with C&T.

C&T also delivered 228 fan leaves of palms and 17,900 double strips of palm for service members in the U.S. and overseas to observe Palm Sunday March 20.

Joseph Roshinko, with C&T's ecclesiastical support team, worked closely with DLA Distribution to ensure that service members overseas received the palms.

"These men and women are deployed keeping our country safe," said Roshinko. "It is important to me that we support them for their respective holidays."

DLA Troop Support supplies America's armed forces with $13 billion annually of food, uniforms, protective equipment, medicine and medical supplies, repair parts, and construction and equipment. Its history, rooted in Philadelphia, began in 1800 with the construction of the Schuylkill Arsenal before the Civil War.

As a Department of Defense combat support agency, DLA provides the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, other federal agencies, and joint and allied forces with a variety of logistics, acquisition and technical services. The agency sources and provides nearly 100 percent of the consumable items America's military forces need to operate, from food, fuel and energy, to uniforms, medical supplies, and construction and barrier equipment. DLA also supplies more than 88 percent of the military's spare parts.

Headquartered at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, DLA has about 26,000 employees worldwide and supports more than 2,430 weapon systems. For more information about DLA, go to www.dla.mil, www.facebook.com/dla.mil or http://twitter.com/dlamil.

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SOURCE Defense Logistics Agency