Talking Turkey: Preparing for Thanksgiving Dinner on LSA Anaconda

Photo By 1st Sgt. Neil Simmons | This Thanksgiving Day dinner display was prepared by contractors at Dining Facility 1. More than 100 different decorative pieces were constructed using plywood, wire, aluminum foil, salt dough and frosting at this DFAC alone.  

BALAD, IRAQ

11.26.2007

Story by Capt. Kevin McNamara 

316th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary)

By Capt. Kevin McNamara, 302nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

LOGISTICS SUPPORT AREA ANACONDA, Iraq- What does it take to feed 20,000 Soldiers, Airman, Marines, Sailors, Coast Guardsmen, and contractors a Thanksgiving meal? More than you might think.

Dining Facility 1, located here, is sponsored by the 213th Area Support Group, a Pennsylvania Army National Guard unit, headquartered in Allentown, Pa. The Brigade Food Service Technician overseeing Thanksgiving meal preparations at this dining facility is Chief Warrant Officer Michael St. John. This is St. John's first big meal, where he is in charge. "This is the first time I am in charge of a dining facility of this size that can feed, on average, over 7,000 meals per day," he said. St. John has been deployed before to Afghanistan.

"This is the largest type of dining facility operating in Iraq," said St. John. Logistics Support Area Anaconda has several other dining facilities and there are two with the 7,000 meal-per-day feeding capacity. The Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners are the two largest meals prepared in the dining facility and require a lot of pre-planning and preparation by the food service staff. St. John said preparations for the Thanksgiving meal and the food displays started several weeks ago. Over 9,500 meals are expected to be served at DFAC 1 on Thanksgiving.

"The workers here are happy to support our troops," he said. "All of us in this dining facility ... military members and contractors ... are here to make the lives of our service members easier and this deployment better," said St. John.

• Date Taken: 11.26.2007
• Date Posted: 11.26.2007 08:52
• Story ID: 14105
• Location: BALAD, IQ