Whether they’re feasting in dining halls, aboard ships, or at remote outposts, troops around the world are set to receive their Thanksgiving meals as 152,626 pounds of turkey have already arrived at their designated overseas locations, along with beef, ham, shrimp and the fixings, according to the Defense Logistics Agency.
Even with the shorter timeline, that includes service members on board about a dozen ships participating in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific in their “Southern Spear” operation against drug cartels, which began a few months ago.
The planning for the worldwide holiday food deliveries begins in the spring, when the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support team gets order forecasts from the services. DLA relays the information to their vendors around the world, and they begin ordering products for the meals.
While DLA can’t provide specific numbers of items sent to specific regions, all Navy ships, including those deployed to the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility, received their Thanksgiving provisions by the end of October, according to a spokesman for the Defense Logistics Agency. A number of the ships in that area will soon get fresh produce and bakery items from Puerto Rico to supplement their frozen holiday items, he said.
National Guard troops deployed to locations within the U.S. are also getting their holiday meals at those locations. “DLA is tracking that all menu items are projected to be satisfied in full prior to Thanksgiving,” the spokesman said, but numbers weren’t available.
In addition to the 152,626 pounds of turkey, including whole and roasted, here’s what’s arrived for the troops’ menus specifically at overseas locations:
- 124,022 pounds of beef
- 66,054 pounds of ham
- 38,081 pounds of shrimp
- 6,512 cans of sweet potatoes
- 15,282 cases of pies and cakes
- 792 cases of eggnog
- and other holiday treats
DLA is unable to track precise numbers for amounts of food provided for Thanksgiving feasts for troops at stateside locations, the spokesman said.
The government shutdown didn’t affect the preparations for the holiday meals, he confirmed. Much of the work is done well ahead of time, and Defense Department guidance exempted any operations related to troop feeding from being affected.
Karen has covered military families, quality of life and consumer issues for Military Times for more than 30 years, and is co-author of a chapter on media coverage of military families in the book "A Battle Plan for Supporting Military Families." She previously worked for newspapers in Guam, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fla., and Athens, Ga.
