REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. -- Redstone commander Maj. Gen. Jim Rogers asked each Soldier in line what he or she would like on their plate and wished them a happy Thanksgiving.
He was among the leaders serving the troops their annual feast Wednesday, Nov. 24 at the Dining Facility. The traditional event was held the day before the holiday for the troops that would be going home.
"It's a tradition that basically shows we want to take care of Soldiers," Rogers said.
The Dining Facility served an estimated 1,450 including 1,025 Soldiers from the 832nd Ordnance Battalion, 65 Marines, 45 members of the NCO Academy, 45 students from the Command and General Staff School, and 250-plus retirees. The average for the last two years was 1,325.
This was the last year for the dining facility's traditional meal before the Ordnance Munitions and Electronics Maintenance School moves to Fort Lee, Va.
"The Garrison and the Dining Facility just put on a tremendous meal for our Soldiers," Col. Lee Merritt, commander of the 59th Ordnance Brigade and OMEMS, said. "They just always top whatever they did last year. It's just a great event, great food. It's a chance for Soldiers to remember what Thanksgiving's all about - to be thankful for this nation, their family and friends. It's kind of like a take-a-knee day before we go out on our four-day weekend. It's also to be thankful for what we do have."
Pvt. Taylor McCann, 19, from Sherman, Texas, was among the diners. A member of Headquarters & Alpha Company, 832nd, he has been in the Army 16 weeks and at Redstone the past five.
"I haven't had Thanksgiving for a while," McCann said. "This is pretty cool. Even my generals are serving."
The feast included 331 pounds of steamship, 600 pounds (1,575 servings) of roast turkey, 250 each cordon bleu, 126 pounds of spiral ham, 87 pounds of shrimp peeled and deveined, 288 pounds of yams, candy, fruit, eggnog, fruit cake, cocktail sauce, pastries and 12 one-gallon cans of cranberry sauce.
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