[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

You're wrong on both counts. Meat processing requires a lot of skilled trades — even in normal times, there are shortages of qualified workers.

Troops are also skilled trades and not easily replaced. This situation could last for months. What effect would diverting thousands of troops have on preparedness? What would widespread infections do for preparedness. Longer term, how would misusing troops affect recruitment?

[Buckeye McFrog]

You're wrong on both counts. Meat processing requires a lot of skilled trades

Can't be too skilled based on what it pays. I am sure there is constant turnover and retraining going on in any case.

In the words of a Rosie the Riveter, "Those men had been sold a bill of goods. They were told their jobs required years of training, apprenticeships. But the truth is that you could be trained to do them quickly, and to do them very well, when the need was there."

[Flaming Conservative]

I’m not saying meat processing doesn’t involve skill. I realize that there are several skills involving meat cutting. But there are also lots of low skilled jobs involved that workers could pick up without too much effort.
And as far as troops go, number one, I wouldn’t expect them to have to be at this for too long a period. And number two, at least they know how to follow orders and follow good hygiene practices. And unless you’re living in a sealed box with no contact with your average government educated or uneducated person, you know how sloppy work ethics have become over the last few decades. Why else do they have to put signs in restrooms, reminding food workers they must wash their hands after using the toilet? If you think they all actually obey that sign, you’d be wrong.