Posted on 11/23/2006 8:17:17 AM PST by SandRat
FORT HUACHUCA — The Thunderbirds were treated to more than a turkey dinner Wednesday as part of a Thanksgiving event.
The Thunderbird Dining Facility was deck out with the sounds, smells and sights of the holiday. Solider cooks of the 11th Signal Brigade, the unit usually referred to as the Thunderbirds, went all out in preparing food for the feast.
The rations noncommissioned-officer-in-charge of the military eatery listed the amount of meat, fowl and seafood the cooks prepared for the meal.
The list from Sgt. Brisher McGrath included 330 pounds of prime rib, 150 pounds of turkey, 108 pounds of shrimp, as cocktail or scampi, 95 pounds of ham and 26 pounds of Cornish game hens.
Then there were hundreds of pounds of vegetables — corn, green beans, mashed potatoes and yams — as well as macaroni and cheese and lots of cornbread dressing, with desserts ranging from apple, pecan, pumpkin and sweet potato pie to cakes and cookies.
Before the doors opened, soldiers, some with family members, and military retirees and their families lined up, some starting to queue at 2:30 p.m., and an hour and a half before they could enter.
There was enough food prepared to feed 500 people, said Sgt. 1st Class Monaco McGee.
Turkey cooking began around 10 p.m. Tuesday, using a “slow-roasting process,” said McGee, the dining facility manager.
Preparing for the meal took nearly a week of planning.
The facility’s staff usually serves the food, but those behind the line on Wednesday were wearing either dress blues or Class A green uniforms.
Commanders, staff officers and senior noncommissioned officers were the servers, except for the prime rib, which required the finesse of actual cooks.
One of the server’s who was to come on at 5:30 p.m. was Brig. Gen. Carroll Pollett, who heads the Network Enterprise Technology Command/9th Army Signal Command, the higher headquarters of the brigade.
Not all the diners were from the 11th or were retired military.
Three soldiers at one table were from New York Army National Guard units, serving six-month tours in Arizona helping along the border.
They are housed on the fort and eat their meals at the post’s dining facilities, primarily at the Thunderbird.
Spc. Noucelyne Charles, of Brooklyn, declared the dressing excellent.
“It’s real moist,” she said.
“It’s very good,” Spc. Clarissa Baynes, also of Brooklyn, said of the meal.
Sgt. Elizabeth Torres, who although born in Brooklyn now calls Long Island home, nodded in agreement.
“It’s pretty good,” she said.
But with a wink, she added it wasn’t like home.
A group from the 36th U.S. Army Band played background music.
Near one serving line was a small gingerbread village, the creation of Sgt. 1st Class Paula Worley, the assistant dining facility manager.
It took her a week to prepare the winter scene, which included a church, carousel and house.
Using figurines, Worley added people, some skating on a pond, others sledding down a hill of powder sugar, while others walked through the sweet snow confection, as small battery-operated street lamps glowed.
Worley said she took her inspiration for the atmosphere from ceramic pieces that can be purchased at stores this time of year.
Although today is the official Thanksgiving, the cooks and dining facility staff of the 11th Signal Brigade will be off, enjoying the holiday with their families.
HERALD/REVIEW senior reporter Bill Hess can be reached at 515-4615 or by e-mail at bill.hess@svherald.com.
And a Happy Thanksgiving
BTTT!! Love that picture!!
Great picture SandRat.
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