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FORT BRAGG, NORTH CAROLINA - The XVIII Airborne Corps’ annual Dragonsgiving celebration took place here on November 25, 2025. As far back as 1917, the U.S. Army has celebrated Thanksgiving with a formal dinner. The Corps’ own annual celebration continues that tradition, with command teams and senior leaders serving a Thanksgiving meal to their Soldiers. While commanders serving food during the holiday isn’t written in policy, it has become a time-honored tradition in the service, showcasing leaders' willingness to serve and be of service to the Soldiers they work with day in and day out. The event reflects the spirit of gratitude, service, and community that defines the season. It reinforces these values across the force, in particular for Soldiers who are serving away from their homes and families during the holidays.
“This season offers us an opportunity to pause, reflect, and invest in what matters most - the people around us,” Lt. Gen. Gregory K. Anderson, Commanding General of the XVIII Airborne Corps said in the Corps’ Thanksgiving message. “Whether you are spending the day with loved ones, standing duty, or deployed far from home, please know that your dedication and sacrifice do not go unnoticed.”
As one of the largest organizations in the United States Army, the XVIII Airborne Corps has a massive population of servicemembers to keep fed and mission-ready. The Corps’ size is matched only by the scope of its mission as a global response and contingency force. The Dragonsgiving celebration provides an opportunity not only for the command teams of the Corps to give back directly to their Soldiers, but to establish and reinforce the camaraderie within the ranks that is integral to maintaining an elite fighting force.
The meals are diligently prepared by the Corps’ dedicated culinary specialists, who oversee food preparation daily for servicemembers relying on Fort Bragg dining facilities. During Dragonsgiving, culinary specialists work overnight to ensure there is enough food properly prepared for what might be as many as twice their normal volume of Soldiers coming through their facility. Often behind-the-scenes of military life, culinary specialists are no less important as a force multiplier for the XVIII Airborne Corps and the Army.
In the 82nd Airborne Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team dining facility, it was all-hands working over a 24 hour period to prepare their kitchen and dining room for the nearly 1000 Soldiers they expected to serve on the day of the event. Decorations were hung. Food was sliced and prepared. Elaborate cakes were delicately constructed and arranged, the centerpiece being one made in the shape of a football stadium, complete with 82nd Airborne Division insignia.
“Today is one of the few days as culinary specialists where we get to feel appreciated and feel like we’re doing something big for the Army,” said U.S. Army Spc. Aiden Canales, culinary specialist assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division.
In addition to showcasing their dedication to their fellow Soldiers, Dragonsgiving provides those specialists the opportunity to compete with one another in quality of food, presentation, and how festively they can decorate their dining rooms. Friendly competitions between dining facilities on U.S. Army posts happen worldwide every year. On Fort Bragg, the competing facilities use Dragonsgiving as an opportunity to showcase their pride, teamwork, and skills, decorating their dining rooms and baking elaborate cakes using the supplies they have at hand. The winners get bragging rights for the year.
“I love my job,” said U.S. Army Spc. Liana Kennedy, culinary specialist assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division, and the baker in charge of cakes for her dining facility. “This is a day that we can be creative and put our personality into something. From decorating all the way through cooking, there’s a part of each of us in today. It really means a lot that we get to be a part of it and makes us feel proud of ourselves.”
The spirit of competition goes outside of the dining facilities on Dragonsgiving. The XVIII Airborne Corps Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion sponsors a “Turkey Bowl” football tournament, where teams representing their units can compete after their Dragonsgiving meals have been tucked away. The leaders organizing Dragonsgiving know how important it can be to provide opportunities for their Soldiers to rest, eat heartily, and build upon the relationships they establish through their work.
“There are some Soldiers that are coming to this installation for the first time,” Chief Warrant Officer 2 Malik Coleman, Logistics and Supply Directorate Food Advisor for 3rd Corps Sustainment Command, said. “Maybe it's their first holiday away from home, away from family. So to welcome them with an extravagant event like this lets them know that the camaraderie, that warmth they’re missing from home, they can share with their organization and with their leaders.”
Events like Dragonsgiving are a priority for the XVIII Airborne Corps. The celebration helps to emphasize the importance of servant leadership as a key facet to the U.S. military, with senior leadership taking on the literal position of serving food to their troops. Celebrating that tradition is more important than ever in today’s fast-paced and constantly shifting world and military landscape. The XVIII Airborne Corps remains committed to sustaining a culture that prioritizes balancing family, welfare, and military commitments in order to maintain a potent and effective global fighting force.
| Date Taken: | 11.25.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 11.25.2025 17:54 |
| Story ID: | 552389 |
| Location: | FORT BRAGG, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 16 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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