THE TENSION: Where's the Turkey? Preparing for Thanksgiving in Iraq

Tuan Sinnen, food service contractor who hails from Sri Lanka, spreads on the finishing touches to his cornucopia for the upcoming Thanksgiving dinner at the Pegasus Dining Facility at Camp Liberty in western Baghdad, Nov. 21. He said he hopes his efforts will bring a sense of home to the Soldiers who visit his dining facility this holiday season. (Photographer: Spc. Aaron Rosencrans, 27th Public Affairs Detachment.)

Santa Cruz, Calif., native, Pct. Pammela Aguilar, from the Headquarters Support Company, Division Special Troops Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division, retouches a decoration for the Pegasus Dining Facility Thanksgiving dinner at Camp Liberty in western Baghdad, Nov. 21. She said Thanksgiving is this year’s last big holiday before the 1st Cav. Div. returns home from their deployment, so they are putting an extra bit of effort into the decorations to make it a special night. (Photographer: Spc. Aaron Rosencrans, 27th Public Affairs Detachment.)

Sri Lanka native Tuan Sinnen, a food service contractor, adds the finishing touches to his decorative masterpiece in preparation for the Pegasus Dining Facility’s Thanksgiving Day dinner at Camp Liberty in western Baghdad, Nov. 21. He said he hopes his efforts will bring a sense of home to the Soldiers who visit his dining center this holiday season. (Photographer: Spc. Aaron Rosencrans, 27th Public Affairs Detachment.)

Dispatches from the Front:

CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq; Nov. 21, 2007 -- It can be hard for soldiers deployed in Iraq to remember what day of the week it is, much less which holiday might be right around the corner. On Thanksgiving Day, however, soldiers visiting the dining facilities here will be sure to know what day it is.

“The Thanksgiving Day dinner is the meal of meals for the Army,” said Philadelphia native, Chief Warrant Officer Shawn M. Malinowski, the food service advisor with Multi-National Division - Baghdad. “There is no money, no effort, nothing wasted on this day.”

While dining facilities feed a lot of mouths at every meal they serve, they can expect to see a significant increase in that number on Thanksgiving Day.

The Pegasus Dining Facility, near the MND-B headquarters, served approximately 2,500 people Thanksgiving dinner last year, when only 1,500 people were served at an average meal. This year the dining facility is serving approximately 2,500 people at an average meal, so it can be expected to serve anywhere between 3,000 and 5,000 people for the holiday meal, Malinowski said.

Unlike the average Turkey Day dinner at home, where most families do not even begin thinking about meal preparations until some time in November, planning a holiday meal for thousands can take months. Preparations for this meal began in July and August, Malinowski said, and much of the food, including the turkey had to be ordered ahead of time.

“The DFAC employees are working on their time, after shift, in the back (of the facility) making decorations such as cornucopias, gingerbread houses and fruit carvings,” said Malinowski. “They will bring them all out and set them up the night before.”

In order to give direction to the holiday festivities, everybody focuses on one topic or theme related to Thanksgiving.

“Each dining facility has its own theme chosen by the manager,” said Sgt. Maj. Terry L. Stewart, a Bridgehampton, N.Y., native and food service sergeant major for MND-B. Adding a competitive edge to the decorating helps to reward the DFAC workers for the time and effort they spend preparing their crafts.

“We give medals sent from Fort Hood to each of the commands that has a dining facility and they judge the decorations in their dining facility,” said Malinowski. “Workers within each DFAC compete against each other.”

Being halfway around the world for a holiday traditionally spent at home around the family dinner table can bring soldiers closer together.

“It humbles me,” said Stewart. “Even though we are away from our families at home, those of us here are family, and we come together in fellowship and give thanks for being alive.”

Helping to make sure those serving their country have a pleasant memory of the Thanksgiving they spend in Iraq is important to Malinowski and Stewart, who plan to greet everybody who comes through the Pegasus Dining Facility this Thanksgiving.

“It’s especially rewarding to see the soldiers smile and the joy in their faces when they come through,” said Stewart. “They see the effort that the DFAC workers put into the meal.”

(Report by Pfc. April Campbell, 27th Public Affairs Detachment.)