Fort Jackson set to serve Thanksgiving meal

FORT JACKSON, S.C. (AP) — Commanders at Fort Jackson are manning the chow line to make sure its 15,000 soldiers are treated to a Thanksgiving feast.

Army spokesman Pat Jones says Thursday’s repast has been a month in the making. By the time it is done, soldiers will have been served more than 4,300 pounds of turkey, 3,000 pounds of ham, 1,200 pounds of beef and 1,100 pounds of shrimp.

That will be topped off with assorted pies and cakes, along with candy, fruits, nuts, eggnog, coffee and tea.

Fort Jackson’s dining halls have been decorated with ice carvings and servers dress up in costumes to enliven the day for soldiers.

Fort Jackson is the Army’s largest training installation. More than 60,000 soldiers train there annually.