322 



DIET 



Pacific theater approximately $280 worth 

 of food had to be discarded at the end of 

 each patrol. If this food could be saved by 

 proper storage the gain would very likely 

 offset the expense involved. 



Well-planned loading operations would 

 provide for the location of the foods in those 

 parts of the submarine where least damage 

 would result from marked temperature var- 

 iations. Even among canned goods, some 

 foods are less affected by high temperature 

 than others. The same is true also of the 

 dry foods such as flour, oatmeal, cereals, 

 rice, sugar, and coffee. 



The present loading practices result, at 

 times, in the submarines' running short of 

 certain items before a cruise is completed. 

 This could be avoided if the food loading 

 were co-ordinated with a central menu 

 planning agency. The foods should be 

 stored in such a way that those items to be 

 used first would be most accessible. The 

 foods to be used next would be next in order. 

 By proper planning, the distribution and 

 arrangement of the foods in the various 

 storage compartments could be adjusted for 

 the different types of submarines. 



Central Menu-Planning Agency 



At present one member of the submarine 

 complement is assigned the duty of food 

 procurement. According to Leiter, "This 

 vitally important job is held to be an un- 

 desirable chore by most officers and they 

 usually waste no time in getting rid of it 

 the moment the opportunity presents itself. 

 Usually the opportunity is 'George', a brand 

 new ensign just out of Submarine School 

 . . . ." The food secured by this officer in 

 all probability bears no relation to the menus 

 planned by the cook, if the latter has done 

 any planning. 



Since a large component of the morale of 

 a submarine crew during a patrol depends 

 upon the maintenance of high dietary stand- 

 ards during the entire period away from the 

 base, every precaution should be taken to 



insure such a condition. One way that both 

 of the above problems could be solved would 

 be by means of a central menu-planning 

 group. Such an organization would 

 be charged with the responsibiUty of devis- 

 ing nutritionally adequate and appeal- 

 ing menus to cover the entire period of the 

 patrol. The menus obviously would have 

 to be planned only by individuals who had 

 intimate knowledge of, and experience with, 

 the foods acceptable to the men. It is likely, 

 however, that much greater variety and 

 selection would be possible than might ap- 

 pear on first thought. The menus could 

 then be used in planning for the procurement 

 and storage of the food. All of this work 

 would be done well in advance of the next 

 cruise. When the time came to load the 

 submarine, everything would be in order 

 for the proper storage of all items. 



A central menu-planning group might 

 serve a number of other purposes. In the 

 first place, it would permit a better integra- 

 tion between the cooking schools attended 

 by the new recruits and the actual working 

 procedures followed aboard the submarines. 

 Secondly, during an emergency when the 

 number of new cooks increases at a rapid 

 rate, the cook himself might be put in a 

 better position if he were armed with a 

 centrally issued menu. Leiter's report on 

 this point shows that new cooks are fre- 

 quently taunted by the crew to prepare the 

 best foods at the start of the patrol. Should 

 the cook give in to such appeals, he might 

 well run short of certain needed items before 

 the stocks could be replenished. A set of 

 "suggestions" from the central menu-plan- 

 ning agency would give him means for "stick- 

 ing to his guns" and distributing the various 

 foods over the entire period of the cruise. 

 This would go far to avoid those situations 

 in which the submarine crew was forced to 

 live on nothing much besides beans for weeks 

 at a time. Finally, an integrated system 

 of menu planning and food buying would 

 obviate the possibility of the commissary 



