Uncle Sam Wants to Buy YOU Some Gefilte Fish

Camouflage tallit, Shabbat candles, Gefilte Fish, and even a Torah scroll. These are a few of the things you can actually order from the Defense Logistics Agency.

More specifically, you can order the items through The Chaplains’ Corner, on the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia (DSCP) website. It’s no Amazon.com, so it is a little more complicated that just logging on and placing an order. It involves a little work on your part, but it can be well worth it, if you can get the items you need (at no personal cost). I’ll try and explain what you need to do and provide some tips that make things a little easier.

Read on for the details.

Who Can Order

First off, not everyone can directly place an order. Just like anything Uncle Sam foots the bill for, a supply officer has to approve of the order and he or she will actually place the order with DSCP.

If your supply officer is not familiar with DSCP, there are detailed instructions on how to set up an account and place an order HERE. You can also contact Maryann Bonk at (215) 737-3192 or DSN 444-3192 or by email at. She is the official point of contact for Jewish supply items. I found her to be very helpful, so don’t hesitate to call her if you have any questions or run into any problems.

Another important thing to consider is that the money to pay for these items will come out of your unit’s supply budget. This may or may not be a limiting factor for you, but either way you should be reasonable with your demand for items. In other words, don’t ask to order enough items to rebuild The Temple if you are the only Jew in your unit. Chaplains and lay leaders obviously have a greater pull in what they can order, but this shouldn’t stop individuals from placing an order as well.

How Do I Get What I Need

Here is my recommendation of how an individual should place an order:

1. Browse the online catalog. Take a look at what they have to offer, and make up your own “order form”. (Click on the NSN number to view item details). Write down the item description, the NSN number, and the price. Also be sure to pass on Ms. Bonk’s contact information (from above) to the supply officer.
2. Go see your unit’s supply officer. Explain to him or her what you want to order and why you need/want the items. You should prepare what you are going to say before you go do this. You also may want to speak with others in your chain of command to get prior approval for the order as well. The order will eventually require some approval from above anyway, so you may want to go that route first.
3. Getting the order. Make sure your supply officer knows exactly where the order will be delivered and how they can find it when it arrives. The DSCP told me that this is the biggest problem they run into. It can be a big issue when you are ordering perishable or time-critical items. Once the order is placed, the contractors have 14 days to get it to you. Obviously, these times may be extended when shipping overseas, so be sure to plan ahead if you are ordering holiday items.

Additional Info

All of these great items provided by DSCP actually come from a Judaica company located in Brooklyn, NY called Judaica Treasures. They started out offering only 20 items, but have more than doubled the items available for order. If you have a need for something that isn’t available in the DSCP catalog, you can probably still get it. You should contact Ms. Bonk from DSCP and Devorah Drach from Judaica Treasures at 800-359-5578 or by email ator. Both women are very helpful and enthusiastic about helping out our Jewish troops.

This process may seem a little intimidating the first time you place an order. However, you have to consider that the DOD has gone through all this trouble to set up a way for Jewish troops to get the religious items we need. It would be a shame if someone missed out because they didn’t take advantage of it. I promise you that everyone on the supply side of things is willing to bend over backwards for you.  If you run into any problems within your command, speak with a chaplain (Jewish or not) and he or she should be able to help out.

If anyone has had any experiences (positive or negative) ordering Jewish supplies through DSCP, please post a comment below.