Courtesy Photo | USS Wasp Commanding Officer Capt. Lowell D. Crow serves Thanksgiving dinner to Wasp...... read more read more
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By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class (SW/AW) Andrew McCord
CARIBBEAN SEA — The Sailors and Marines of Task Group 40.7 aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp took time out of their busy underway schedules to celebrate Thanksgiving with their shipmates with two major events — a "Turkey Trot" run on the flight deck and a gargantuan feast on the mess decks.
Beginning with the Turkey Trot in the early morning hours, Sailors, Marines and embarked guests had the opportunity to run a 5K or 10K — depending upon their mood — and it concluded with a prize raffle for participants with the lucky grand prize winner receiving a portable MP3 player.
"It's a tradition for a lot of people to get up early on Thanksgiving morning and participate in a local 5K Turkey Trot," said Turkey Trot Coordinator Lt. Shannon Wiens. "Some of us do it for the exercise, some do it for the t-shirts, but for the average person the ultimate goal is to work out early in the morning to offset the damage that will be done that evening at the dinner table."
The product of several weeks of planning with Wasp's Morale, Welfare, and Recreation department, the organizers were pleased with the outcome.
"It went very well," said Wasp's MWR representative Chief Mass Communication Specialist (SW/AW) Anthony Koch. "We had multiple departments contribute to the event, but ultimately it was the crew getting each other motivated to go out and run together that made this event go very well."
Participants, likewise, enjoyed the event and appreciated the opportunity to exercise with each other, and to celebrate the holiday.
"It was fun and I had a real good time," said Lance Cpl. Dennis McKenzie. "Music was playing, everyone was running... it was a good time. It was a chance for everyone to run together. It was definitely a morale booster."
And, of course, no Thanksgiving would be complete without the requisite feast, which the Wasp Food Services department provided in grand fashion from mid-afternoon to early evening. With approximately 1,550 pounds of turkey, ham, and beef, 150 pounds of shrimp, 440 pounds of sweet and mashed potatoes, 1,000 cookies, 36 gallons of ice cream, and 145 pies, it was guaranteed that no Sailor, Marine or guest would leave the table hungry.
"When people are away from their families during holidays, it's hard on morale," said Wasp Food Services Cargo Leader Chief Culinary Specialist (SW/AW) Joseph Densmore. "What we can give them is a good meal, and to do it like they're our family, because we're their home-away-from-home family."
Though the preparations and ordering for the meal began in June, the actual preparations of the meal itself began Wednesday night as the meats began their slow-roasting process, and continued up to the time that the first bite was taken.
"We've known since June that we were getting underway, and being in the Navy you have to be proactive, so we've been stocking up and preparing since then," said Wasp Food Service Officer Chief Warrant Officer Benny Brockington. "We got the menu from Naval Supply Systems Command in October and we jumped right on it. This gave us the opportunity to pick anything else up we needed [while in port]."
According to Brockington, events like the Thanksgiving meal offer the members of the Food Service department the opportunity to demonstrate their talents and to focus on their skills.
"Every time there's a big event, their talents are on showcase, and they're representing the department," said Brockington. "They made the cornucopias from scratch, they have to be aware of the integrity of the food, and they're preparing and serving at the same time. I'm very happy with how it turned out."
Across the board, people were pleased and impressed with the meal, and were especially grateful for the effort put in by the food services division.
"It's different but the food was good — better than I expected," said Marine Corps Sergeant Kasey Tague, a Tactical Network Specialist with embarked Security Cooperation Marine Air-Ground Task Force. "You know, everyone's away from home, but the way they do it up helps bring that feeling of home."
Brockington also noted a Thanksgiving meal isn't merely about good tastes and full stomachs, but about tradition and the ability to be thankful for many things in life.
"This meal is based on a rich heritage that our country has, and as Americans we have a lot to be thankful for — we have it good," said Brockington. "Having the shipmates we have onboard is another thing to be thankful for."
Wasp is currently deployed on Southern Partnership Station-Amphib 2009 with Destroyer Squadron 40 and embarked SCMAGTF. SPS is part of the Partnership of the Americas Maritime Strategy that focuses on building interoperability and cooperation in the region to meet common challenges.
| Date Taken: | 11.26.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 11.29.2009 15:22 |
| Story ID: | 42129 |
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| Web Views: | 282 |
| Downloads: | 145 |
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