USS George Washington sailors enjoy Thanksgiving meal at sea

USS GEORGE WASHINGTON, ATLANTIC OCEAN

11.27.2015

Courtesy Story

USS GEORGE WASHINGTON (CVN 73)

By Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Shayla D. Hamilton,
USS George Washington Public Affairs

ATLANTIC OCEAN (Nov. 21, 2015) – More than 2,700 pounds of turkey, 2,000 pounds of ham, 850 pounds of prime rib and an assortment of side dishes were prepared to accommodate more than 5,000 Sailors from aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73), Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 9, Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 23 and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 2 for a traditional Thanksgiving meal provided by the ship’s Supply department Nov. 21.

Washington’s Food Service division spearheaded the event, preparing and serving the meal to Sailors in every shipboard galley.

“Planning for Thanksgiving actually started almost seven months ago as we were planning for our load out of all food items for our Southern Seas deployment,” said Senior Chief Culinary Specialist Garfield Christie, Food Services leading chief petty officer. “Knowing our schedule would have us out to sea for Thanksgiving, we ordered and loaded all of the necessary food items in advance.”

Christie added that in addition to regularly scheduled shipboard evolutions, the ship’s galley supervisors held daily meetings two months prior to the event to plan the menu and assign each Culinary Specialist (CS) a product to prepare for the Thanksgiving meal.

Numerous hours leading up to the Thanksgiving meal are expended to bake cakes, pies, dinner rolls, turkeys, hams and countless other foods.
“In my opinion, next to the ship’s Reactor department, the Supply department is the most important department on board,” said Christie. “We are responsible for supplying every department and every Sailor with substance ranging from food to fuel. Supply department sets the tone for the crew’s morale each and every day. This begins with the fuel for the Sailor’s body, which is food.”

A large Thanksgiving Day-themed cake, prepared by the ship’s master bakers, was on the long list of deserts served to the ship’s crew during the Thanksgiving meal.

“The Food Service division has been nothing short of being remarkable with the manning shortage we experienced after the unprecedented hull swap between USS Ronald Reagan (RR) and USS George Washington (GW),” said Christie. “With a mixture of GW, RR, [temporary assigned duty] and attached air wing CSs, we have become a cohesive team to make every day an enjoyable experience for each and every Sailor when they come down to eat from one of our five galleys. We would not be able to maintain our services if we didn’t have the Sailors from every department, temporarily assigned to the Food Service division to assist the CSs with cleaning, serving, food preparation and providing quality customer service to all of our shipmates.”

Washington Sailors expressed their gratitude for the ship’s Supply department at the conclusion of the meal.

“I can honestly say that was the best meal we’ve had on the ship thus far,” said Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Fuels) Airman Tony McLaurin, from Long Beach, Calif. “From the food to the service, everything was a hit. The meal gave me a little taste of home and I’m grateful to serve on a ship that has such a hard-working and driven department, dedicated to the well-being of everyone on board.”
Washington is deployed as part of Southern Seas 2015, which seeks to enhance interoperability, increase regional stability and build and maintain relationships with countries throughout the region through joint, multinational and interagency exchanges and cooperation.

• Date Taken: 11.27.2015
• Date Posted: 11.27.2015 07:56
• Story ID: 182982
• Location: USS GEORGE WASHINGTON, ATLANTIC OCEAN