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Troops to devour 171 tons of turkeys

Unlike Charles Dickens’ hungry orphan, Oliver Twist, who begged of his master, “Please sir, may I have some more?” many troops dining in the war zone this Thanksgiving will have all the turkey and trimmings they can eat.

Dinner organizers have planned meals for an estimated 350,000 U.S. service members, contractors and other hungry invitees working in Iraq, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Dubai and Djibouti.

For this year’s holiday, the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia began shipping food to theater in July. Last month, it was parceled out to dining facilities using trucks, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.

“We cannot bring the families of the troops together on Thanksgiving Day, so our goal is to bring a taste of home to our troops in harm’s way,” Ray Miller, director of the DSCP’s subsistence directorate, said in an e-mail.

Responding to requirements from chow hall managers who placed their orders in May, the DSCP has sent more than 171 tons of whole turkeys, turkey breasts and turkey thighs to those serving in the Middle East.

For meat lovers who want a little variety, there will also be about 60 tons of shrimp, 81 tons of beef and 44 tons of ham.

The shipment also included 15,340 containers of stuffing mix, 13,008 containers of potatoes — no peeling required — 41,004 cans of sweet potatoes, 9,995 cans of cranberry sauce and 15 tons of corn.

To finish off the meal, there will be an assortment of 163,464 individual pies.

At a cost of $7.4 million, the meal is the king daddy of morale boosters for those spending the holiday so far from home.

The menu for the Christmas meal is identical, except for larger quantities of turkey breast meat, potatoes, cranberry sauce and corn. And the cost is a bargain: $5.6 million.

“It takes a long time to get the bird to the plate, especially to remote bases, so when we see the troops enjoying their holiday meals, and it’s a confirmation of a job well done, it’s nothing short of a broadcast throughout [the directorate]. It puts smiles on everybody’s faces,” Miller said.