As the world becomes smaller, the presence of U.S. military forces in foreign countries is likely to continue. The ongoing military engagements in both Iraq and Afghanistan have taught us that U.S. troops stationed abroad are attractive targets for hostile governments, organizations, and individuals. A safe food supply is a core cap ability required for sustaining a military presence in a foreign country. While there are limited examples of attempts to poison the military food supply, 1,2 one cannot ignore the fact that contaminated food could rapidly and effectively reduce the combat readiness of American forces.

Over the past 35 years, dozens of new and frightening diseases have been identified, among them hepatitis C virus, Ebola and other hemorrhagic viruses, Legionnaires' disease, Nipahencephalitis, H5N1 influenza, SARS, the new arenavirus Lujo, which causes hemorrhagic fever in its victim s, and, most pervasively, the hum an immunodeficiency virus (HIV/AIDS). The emergence of H5N1 avian flu in 1996, coupled with the recent declaration of an H1N1 influenza pandemic, demonstrate the urgent need for countries to have pandemic preparedness plans in place. For nations that are unprepared, a pandemic could result in devastating social, economic, and health consequences, including a high number of fatalities. Nowhere is this more so the case than in countries with underdeveloped health care systems.