KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - Thanksgiving is a holiday meant to be celebrated with family around a home cooked meal.
Soldiers deployed in support of overseas contingency operations, however, miss this opportunity while they serve in a hostile environment. One group of soldiers made a point to prepare a home-cooked meal for their deployed family and give their unit a taste of home in the desert.
Four non-commissioned officers from the Task Force Resolute headquarters prepared a Thanksgiving Day feast for their fellow soldiers on Kandahar Airfield, Nov. 24.
Staff Sgt. Kameelah Lyons, Staff Sgt. Yeinah Kallon, Staff Sgt. Howard Nelson and Sgt. Evelyn Murphy spearheaded the home-cooked Thanksgiving lunch as a special treat for their fellow forward deployed soldiers.
The combat chef’s day began at 5 a.m. when they began preparing the banquet in a makeshift kitchen. Each of the cooking squad members acquired the tasty deployment rarities by ordering them online, pulling them from various care packages or requesting them from the dining facilities. Through hard work and resourcefulness, attending hungry soldiers enjoyed green beans, deviled eggs, macaroni and cheese, bread stuffing, rotisserie chicken, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, collard greens and barbecued ribs.
“The holidays are usually the gloomiest times during a deployment and we wanted to make this time around a little different,” said Lyons. “As Thanksgiving approached, we all agreed that what better way to bring memories and smiles to everyone than to provide a home cooked meal.”
The team worked tirelessly through the morning and got some help along the way from several other members of the TF-Resolute Team.
“We could not have managed this without the help of the soldiers who helped us cook and serve the food including Staff Sgt. Leyla Garcia, Staff Sgt. Jovanne Jackson, Sgt. Shaunta Shepard, Spc. Stefani Mcullom, Spc. Robert Davison and Spc. Dahlila Sanchez.”
Lunch was served promptly at noon and soldiers from TF-Resolute, Joint Sustainment Command Afghanistan, U.S. Forces Afghanistan and the 1297th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion. To ensure everyone got a taste of the delicious cooking, those on the serving line had to portion the meal carefully. At the end of the day, over 120 partook of the meal.
“The food was amazing and it was great to enjoy something home made by our soldiers on this holiday,” said Command Sgt. Maj. John Harris, the Special Troops Battalion, TF-Resolute command sergeant major. “We know the dining facilities are going to prepare a meal for us, but this is much more personal.”
Every soldier that ate from the holiday meal walked away satisfied. The success of this event has led the founding team to make plans for a second cookout during the Christmas holidays.