Warrior restaurants around Fort Jackson were a sight to behold Nov. 22-23 as leaders from each unit served the Soldiers hearty meals for Thanksgiving.
“It’s a time-honored Army tradition where leaders come out and serve Soldiers to model servant leadership,” said Col. Mark Huhtanen, Fort Jackson deputy commanding officer. “People are so far away from home and we’re showing them that we care and that the Army is one big Family.”
Soldiers were greeted with themed decorations that varied at each facility as well as dining options they’ve never seen before in Initial Entry Training. Menu items ranged from more eccentric options such as shrimp cocktail and barbecue ribs to the more traditional Thanksgiving foods like turkey, macaroni and cheese and dressing.
“I’m most excited about having real food today,” said Pfc. Addison Smith, a native of Somerset, Ohio, who’s celebrating a bittersweet first Thanksgiving away from home.
“It hasn’t bothered me a lot, but when I walked in here and realized it’s Thanksgiving, it hit me a lot,” she said. “Walking in here, I thought, ‘my family is all going to be together tomorrow and for the first time, I’m not going to be there,’ so it’s hitting me pretty hard.”
Like thousands of other trainees and Soldiers, Smith is doing her best to remain positive and grateful for the opportunities and the new Family the Army has given her. Having her leadership serve her lunch made her even more grateful.
“It makes me feel like they consider us their Family too. We’re all Soldiers. We’re all one team,” she continued. “They’re not seeing us as privates right now. They’re seeing us as Soldiers away from home and they’re trying to make it better, because they were in our shoes once too.”
Those thoughts and feelings were exactly what Fort Jackson commander Brig. Gen. Jason E. Kelly had in mind for Soldiers at Fort Jackson.
“When I think about Family, I think about love. I think about support and the Army has provided that for me my entire adult life,” Kelly said. “And we’re doing the same for these trainees and Soldiers who are away from Family today. I want them to know they’ve joined a Family. I want them to know they’re loved, respected, honored and understood.”
Not only was leadership across Fort Jackson committed to ensuring trainees and Soldiers felt like part of their new Family, but the dining facility employees were dedicated to the same mission. Feeding Soldiers is part of their everyday mission, but for these two days, they wanted to give them more than usual.
“We’re making sure the Soldiers are well fed and that they’re having a good time,” said Anna Lloyd, manager of 369th Adjutant General Battalion’s warrior restaurant. “We can’t bring home to them, so we’re doing what we can to make them feel like they’re at home. It’s all about them.”
Each dining facility was also decorated with a different theme to complete for the Best Dining Facility Competition.
“We’re having a little friendly competition between the different dining facilities to see who can turn on the holiday cheer the best,” Huhtanen said. “Each one will be graded and judged on decorations, atmosphere, and the food they’re serving. From that, we’ll get our number one DFAC for the next year.”
The winners of the competition will be announced soon, but for the Soldiers at Fort Jackson, the real prize was having a meal with their Army Family.
Social Sharing