I experienced really bad kitchen cleanliness at Ft Riley, Kansas in the summer of 1968. I was there for my ROTC summer camp (ROTC’s version of basic training) from late June to mid August.

Temperatures generally topped out in the 100s with humidity not too far behind some days.

Ft Riley is one of the largest Army posts. Some days we rode on the back of a deuce and a half truck for one hour to our training sites.

One morning, after breakfast, I was feeling nauseous. It did not get any better on that long drive. I thought it was due to a combination of the bumpy ride, dust and diesel fumes.

When we arrived at the training site, we were seated in bleachers in the sun. It was another hot, humid day on the plains of Northeastern Kansas.

The Army had what was called the “wet bulb”. This was a measure of heat and humidity (similar to “wind chill” but in the summer instead of winter). At each training site there was a large thermometer that showed the current “wet bulb” reading. When it got to a certain number all physical activity had to stop. When it got a little higher all non-physical training in the sun had to be conducted in the shade. When it got a little higher all training had to stop.

We were given a fifteen minute break at mid-morning. My stomach was really rumbling by this time. We noticed the “wet bulb” showed training should no longer be in the bleachers but in the shade. They put us back in the bleachers anyway.

At noon training was stopped for lunch. The “wet bulb” was even higher. I went directly to the latrine, threw up and fell to the ground.

I’ll never forget that day. Several people came over to me. There were no medics there, only those with basic first aid training. They put me in a jeep and took me back to the post hospital. The doctor said it appeared I had food poisoning. He sent me back to my barracks and told me to go to bed.

All trainees had to be on KP at least twice during our training cycle. That evening, those in my platoon who were on KP, told me they spent much more time cleaning the kitchen than they ever had before. Several of us had noticed in earlier weeks that the metal trays and silverware that we picked up when going through the food line were greasy.

Those on KP were not waiting for the water to get hot in the dishwashers. The trays and silverware were being washed in water that was not hot enough to cut the grease. Those who were in charge of the kitchen were not properly supervising the trainees to make sure everything in the kitchen was clean.

A few days after this, one of the officer instructors from the University of South Dakota ROTC Department drove down to visit with us. He said he noticed I had a case of food poisoning the prior week. He said the Inspector General (IG) was investigating this.

I had heard of the IG but did not know what they did. They are the ones who investigate problems. The IG has a lot of power. No one wants to know that the IG is looking at them. I imagine the officer who was in charge at the training site, my Company Commander and the Sergeant In Charge of our kitchen all got into a lot of trouble over this.

I do not know if anyone else in my Company got food poisoning or had any problems like me. Generally no one would talk about that. I probably would not have either except it was not easy to ignore when throwing up. My stomach and intestines were very unhappy for several years after that.

Anytime I ate food that was prepared in an unclean kitchen my stomach told me. I never threw up again but I made sure I was near a bathroom for several minutes after eating someplace I was not familiar with.