Crosswinds Dining Facility Prepares for Thanksgiving Meal Published Nov. 25, 2013 By Senior Airman Matthew Lancaster 99th Air Base Wing Public Affairs NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev., -- It's the holiday season again with Thanksgiving Day starting it all off. Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday celebrated primarily in the United States as a day to giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year. Many first term airmen spend their Thanksgiving away from home and don't always have a place to go. One place where airmen will be able to go to get a hot cooked meal will be the base dining facility. A lot of preparation goes into making sure the Thanksgiving meal is done right. "[The preparation is] a very key part to the whole operation," said Tech. Sgt. Christhian Munoz, 99th Force Support Squadron store room manager. "If we don't get that right the whole meal is wrong." The Nellis Air Force Base Dining Facility starts preparation early in November with ongoing deliveries and planning for Thanksgiving until the day of. The Dining Facility is expecting to receive approximately 400 customers for Thanksgiving lunch and dinner. Dining facility workers will have their part to play to ensure Thanksgiving meals satisfy everyone. They feel it is especially important for Airmen that cannot go home for the holidays. "It's pretty important for any of the Airmen that can't get home to see their families to at least [be able to have] somewhere to go to socialize with everyone else that's going to be by themselves for the holiday season," said Master Sgt. Letitia Sonnenberg, 99th Force Support Squadron dining facility manager. "I oversee everything as far as table clothes, a menu plan, everything coming in as far as deliveries, and making sure the meal gets out on time with no issues," "[The Thanksgiving meal is a] good thing for them. I've been in [the Air Force] for 12 years and for a lot of these Airmen it's their first time away from home. So to bring something that reminds them of home a little bit like good food and things they're use to having such as stuffing from scratch, glazed ham and all of that other good stuff," said Munoz. "It's a good moral booster for them. It kind of helps them deal with that home sickness everyone encounters the first year in the military. My job [will be] to prep all the meat [the night before the event], I will be taking care of the seasoning [and] cooking all the fresh ham and the turkeys." Active duty, retirees, and their dependants will be able to attend the Thanksgiving meal at the Crosswinds dining facility on Thursday Nov. 28 with lunch being served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and dinner from 3-5:30 p.m. For more information call the Crosswinds Dining Facility at 702-652-6743.
