Deployed Thanksgiving

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HERO, Afghanistan - Airmen here stand in line to receive their Thanksgiving meal on Nov. 22, 2007. Several enlisted and commissioned leaders here took time to serve meals to Airmen and Soldiers to show gratitude to their service. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Mike Andriacco)

Deployed Thanksgiving offers a taste of home

Published Nov. 22, 2007
By Staff Sgt. Mike Andriacco
455th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HERO, Afghanistan -- For many people, Thanksgiving is usually a holiday spent with family, food, some television, and probably a nap on the recliner.

For Airmen here, the only similarity to that formula was the food.

Knowing that Airmen miss the comforts of home on this day more than most, food service providers here did their best to give them a taste of home.

"The hardest part is not being able to spend the day with family," said Airman 1st Class Bryan Anderson, an intelligence analyst here. "But you can tell they really put forth an effort to make it nice for us."

The menu included everything one might normally expect for a Thanksgiving feast, as well as a few surprises. There was ham, stuffing and of course, turkey. Also on the menu were some items not usually associated with Thanksgiving, including lobster and shrimp cocktail.

Thoughts of home were on a lot of minds, but like Airman Anderson, many Airmen saw the positive side of deployment.

"I have a brand new niece as of a couple of days ago," said radio operator Senior Airman Mercedes Lee. "It is difficult being away when things like that are going on back home, but at least I get to spend the holiday with friends I have made here."