In today’s post, I want to educate you about the Army 68R MOS, the Veterinary Food Inspection Specialist. We’re going to discuss the common duties, responsibilities and job description. We’ll also talk about the pre-requisites, AIT, career opportunities in the Army and life after the Army.
Although I have never served in this MOS myself, and have never met anyone who had this MOS, it sounds really cool tome. Personally, I love food, so I think I would do well in this MOS myself. In addition, this is definitely a MOS that can help you find a rewarding career after your time in the Army is up.
Duties, Responsibilities and Job Description
- Provide food safety, quality assurance and food defense
- Provide protection from intentional and unintentional contamination of food to all Department of Defense Activities
- Inspect all food items to ensure health and welfare of military personnel
- Prepare reports and correspondence
- Provide data entry
- Inspect all items to make sure they are in compliance with the contract
- Inspect meats, fruits and vegetables for freshness and check for damage during transit
- Evaluate labels, packaging and storage requirements
- Could work at a fixed facility or field unit
- Inspect and identify unsanitary conditions
Pre-requisites for the 68R MOS
To qualify for this MOS you must score a 95 or higher on the ST portion of the ASVAB test. No security clearance is required. Normal color vision is required. The strength requirement is moderately heavy. The physical profile requirement is 222221.
AIT for the 68R MOS
From what I found online, the AIT for this MOS is at Fort Sam Houston, Texas and is approximately 8 weeks long. During AIT, you will learn the following things:
- How to fill out reports
- How to inspect food
- How to enter data in computer programs
- How to identify unsanitary conditions
- How to operate and maintain inspection equipment
- And much more!
Career Opportunities in the Army
The 68R MOS offers a wide variety of career opportunities in the Army to include instructor, recruiter, career counselor, drill sergeant, staff NCO, and advisor. As you work your way up through the ranks, you can also take on leadership roles such as Squad Leader, Section NCOIC, or Platoon Sergeant. In addition, there are also opportunities to become a 640A Warrant Officer or commissioned officer.
Life After the Army
Once you decide to leave the Army, this MOS could prepare you for a wide variety of civilian jobs to include quality assurance, health inspector, agricultural inspector, or food laboratory technician. You could also work in a grocery store as a produce manager, department manager or store manager. Other opportunities include working with the state or federal government.
Final Thoughts
In summary, the Army 68R MOS is a great career choice for the right person. If you’re looking to learn a skill that you can use after you leave the Army, this might just be the perfect match for you. Just contact your local recruiter to find out what the current requirements and restrictions are.
On a side note, if you’ve ever served as a 68R before, I would love to hear from you. Please tell us what your experience at AIT was like, and what you did on a daily basis in the Army. Just leave a comment below to share your experience. Thanks.
Chuck Holmes
Former Army Major (resigned)
Publisher, Part-Time-Commander.com
Email: mrchuckholmes@gmail.com
Suggested Resources
Our Books & Training Courses
Recommended Reading List
I was a 91R20 before the designation change. I chose it because my older brother was also a 91 R. I was in one of the last AIT classes at Fort Sheridan before it was moved down to Fort Sam. I did go to Fort Sam two years later to attend the advanced level course. The things that made food inspection different were:
Most of the people you will be working with on a day to day basis will be civilians. This is the case we commissaries and most storage facilities. If you are assigned to I expect at a supplier you may even be living far from any base and may even be working in civilian cloths.
You are given a great deal of responsibility. A 50000 lb semi truck load of swinging beef can be rejected based on recommendation of a PFC.
At the time I was in AIT, about half of the people washed out by the end of 8 weeks. Lots and lots of memorization and hands on.
I think as a result of these things, all of the inspectors I worked with were very mature and intelligent. The last year I was in charge of an office of 3 Inspectors. Both had bachelor degrees before enlisting. I met many other inspectors in the advanced course and never met one I would not want to work with.
I would recommend the job to anyone which maturity, a good memory and the ability to work I dependently.
I served as an Army Veterinary Specialist (food inspector), MOS91R– now changed to 68R—- from 08/78 to 08/81. AIT is still at Ft Sam Houston, San Antonio TX. Excellent instructors, very intense 8 weeks of learning pretty much everything about food inspection—proper boxing/marking requirements of products, how to select samples for inspection, how to candle eggs, how to identify can defects, identify cuts of meats, how to inspect carcass beef, how to inspect fruits and vegetables, how to inspect fresh and frozen product, how to conduct sanitation inspection of food plants, and how to report any nonconformances, plus more. We were in class at Ft. Sam Houston from 7:00 am to around 4:00pm, lots of studying, we had a test every Friday. After class, it was free time, lots of fun things to do in San Antonio, so had to be sure to have discipline and study! Many civilian opportunities, I worked as a quality control inspector in a soup processing plant and in a produce plant, and then got a job with the USDA Dairy Branch as a butter and cheese inspector. There were several ex Army food inspectors already working in the USDA Dairy Branch as butter and cheese inspectors when I was hired! Army Veterinary Specialists—-great job!
Thanks for the input John.
You are quite welcome Greg.
I have selected this MOS and will be leaving for basic In about a month from what I have learned they not only work with food but are cross trained as veterinary assistants as one of my friends currently holds this mos as well. Its a great learning experience for if you like animals and working with food
We wish you the best.
Hey Jenna ,can you share with us your experience in basic training and experience in AIT for this MOS.
Nice description of an MOS that a lot of people do not know about. Food safety is incredibly important, and as anyone who has ever worked in a grocery store or restaurant knows, some people are willing to take shortcuts to maximize profits. We need intelligent people who are willing to conduct this work in order to keep our troops safe. Thanks for highlighting this career option.
This is such an important unit for American service members, as well as members of the public who visit Arlington and witness the real sacrifices of our military and their families. With advances in DNA, there are fewer and fewer unknown casualties. I recently read a news story that said the Pentagon was considering exhuming the remains of unknown sailors killed at Pearl Harbor so DNA identification could be made. Hundreds of these men were buried at Punchbowl National Cemetery in Honolulu, and although the Navy wants to preserve the sanctity of the graves, some family members want positive identification of their relatives. Apparently expense is an issue, but haven’t the sailors and their families already paid the price?