Haunted DFAC

JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. -- The lights were dimmer than usual and there were eerie sounds coming from the closet. The blood on the floor didn't seem right either.

The Soldiers from the Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion Dining Facility, I Corps, had a little something extra planned for lunch Oct 28. They decorated the entire DFAC with Halloween decorations and special food preparations along with dressing up to give the Soldiers some entertainment before the weekend.

"We wanted to do something that the Soldiers could get a laugh out of and feel a little bit better during lunch," said Spc. Shawn Nanney, 1st cook, HHB, DFAC, I Corps. "We try to do something for every holiday to make it easier for the Soldiers to be away from their families. We take time out of our own schedules to do stuff like this but we have fun doing it too."

The DFAC servers wore "Jason" masks, one noncommissioned officer dressed up as "Freddy Krueger" and the Soldier who greeted everyone dressed up as an Egyptian queen. Some of the Soldiers had their own recipes for Halloween props. One of the cooks put cauliflower in a jar of food coloring to look like brains and another made corn syrup resemble fake blood.

"I thought they did a great job," said Capt. Paul Miller, Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, I Corps. "The decorations were cool and I would say they definitely went above and beyond."

Soldiers, who have no children to take trick or treating, didn't miss out on sweets this year. As everyone left the DFAC they received one more little surprise. One of the cooks dressed up as a clown gave out goody bags full of candy.