Troops get taste of holiday

PHILADELPHIA – Far from the family Thanksgiving table and miles from Mom’s turkey and stuffing, American troops deployed overseas during the holidays can still get a taste of home on Thanksgiving.

A military center in Philadelphia operated by the Defense Logistics Agency is responsible for providing food rations to troops stationed in Iraq, Afghanistan and other parts of the world.

In southwest Asia alone, the shopping list this year includes approximately 80,000 pounds of boneless turkeys; 7,000 pounds of whole turkeys; 14,040 cans of cranberry sauce; 48,500 bags of cornbread stuffing mix; 5,200 cans of mashed potatoes; and 3,000 cases of corn on the cob.

It’s enough to feed an army a quintessentially American meal.

“Obviously, food is a big morale-builder every day of the week. When people out in the field can get a hot meal, that’s something special,” said Rich Faso, the center’s chief of operational rations business units.

When turkey and gravy replace ordinary rations for Thanksgiving, it’s even more significant, he said.

The Philadelphia supply facility is one of three major purchasing centers in the country, said Defense Logistics Agency spokesman Jack Hooper. The other two are in Richmond, Va., and Columbus, Ohio.

The food – prepared either by the food-service organizations, the military itself or private contractors – is routinely transported aboard a commercial ocean freighter and then delivered to soldiers via truck, Faso said.

In Iraq, about a dozen U.S. military officers on Wednesday began preparing Thanksgiving turkey dinners with the help of Indian cooks, who regularly feed the huge number of U.S. soldiers in Tikrit.

Eight truckloads of turkey meat, cranberry sauce and other ingredients were sent from the United States. U.S. troops escorted the convoy to Iraq from Kuwait, where a plane brought in the food, said Sgt. 1st Class Juliet Palmer, one of the designated Army cooks.

“We’re going to make it as close to home as possible,” she promised.

More than 75 delivery points in countries including Saudi Arabia, Oman, Djibouti and United Arab Emirates are scheduled to receive and serve Thanksgiving and Christmas meals this year.

Maj. Bob Hepner, commander of the 109th Public Affairs Detachment at Fort Indiantown Gap in central Pennsylvania, recalled eating turkey and gravy in Afghanistan last Christmas.

“It was a really good day,” said Hepner. “And the soldiers, we loved it. You’re so far away and nothing is like being home, but that made it as close to being home as possible.”