While American families celebrate Thanksgiving at home, the 5,200 sailors aboard the USS Eisenhower are spending their second Thanksgiving deployed at sea. They will be launching fighter jets to strike ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria. Some pilots will fly missions over the Middle East during Thanksgiving dinner. Meanwhile, the ship's cooks are preparing a massive Thanksgiving feast of turkey, ham, beef, shrimp and sides for the sailors. One fighter pilot plans to eat midmorning before taking off on a bombing mission for the holiday.

1. THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT | 11.24.16 | Thursday |PAGE
18
nationnation&&worldworld
By Sam McNeil and
Petr David Josek
The Associated Press
ABOARD THE USS EISENHOWER
While millions of Americans celebrate
Thanksgivingwithfamilyandhome-cooked
meals, the 5,200 sailors aboard the Nor-
folk-based Eisenhower are busy launching
fighter jets to strike Islamic State targets
in Iraq and Syria.
The crew is spending their second
Thanksgiving on duty, and will be carv-
ing their roasted turkeys when their du-
ties aboard the thousand-foot long Ameri-
can aircraft carrier allow. Some will spend
part of the day flying over the Middle East,
dropping precision munitions on Islamic
State militants.
“It’s not going to stop us from having a
great Thanksgiving meal,” Capt. Paul C.
Spedero Jr. said. “We’re going to watch
football when we can. It’ll probably be a
little bit time-delayed but we’re going to
do all the things that we can do and what
we can expect to do with our families back
home,” he said.
He estimates the carrier’s fighters have
dropped nearly 1,100 bombs in the fight
against Islamic State since June, when the
Eisenhower began operating in the Persian
Gulf.LastThanksgivingitwasdeployedoff
the coast of Virginia.
Lt. Jennifer Sandifer, 27, a fighter pilot
from Austin, Texas, plans to eat her turkey
midmorning before donning a flight suit la-
beled with her call sign, “Fur.”
She’ll then make her way across the bus-
tlingflightdeck,whereenginesroarandthe
air is thick with exhaust fumes. Mechanics
andagroundcrewtheremaintainjetsfor17
pilots, including her F/A-18E Super Hornet.
She’lltaxitothelaunchpoint,whereacat-
apult will connect to the fighter jet. A sail-
or known as a shooter will signal Sandifer
when the catapult is ready and then she’ll
give a final salute before roaring off the
carrier going 0 to 145 mph in 2.5 seconds.
On Thanksgiving, as on any other day,
she’ll fly six to nine hours and strike tar-
gets identified by ground forces, perhaps
in Mosul or the Syrian city of Raqqa, the
de facto capital of the Islamic State group’s
self-styled caliphate.
BackontheEisenhower,PettyOfficer1st
Class Antonio Brown is organizing a feast
of 4,950 pounds of turkey, 1,050 pounds of
ham, 1,200 pounds of beef, 648 pounds of
shrimp, 7,000 portions of mashed potatoes,
400 pies and 200 cheesecakes.
Brown is setting up carving stations for
sailors and serving his take on standard
Navy recipes, like adding marshmallows
to the sweet potatoes. Brown said Thanks-
givingisthemostimportantdayoftheyear
for the carrier’s cooks and kitchen staff.
“It’s like the Super Bowl. We care about
Christmas, yes indeed, but Thanksgiving
we try to show out,” Brown said. “When ev-
erybody is able to sit down and eat a nice,
healthy, nutritious meal and everything, it’s
like it takes them back.”
This holiday, Navy
serves up turkey
alongside sorties
Thousands aboard Eisenhower
celebrate Thanksgiving
Sandifer walks to
her F/A-18E Super
Hornet, on which
she flies between
six and nine
hours most days.
She plans to eat
her Thanksgiving
meal midmorning
before launching
today.
Lt. Jennifer Sandifer, a
27-year-old fighter pilot from
Austin, Texas, dresses up
before launching from the
deck of the USS Eisenhower
aircraft carrier.
Culinary specialist Petty Officer 1st Class Antonio Brown organized the feast of 4,950
pounds of turkey, 1,050 pounds of ham, 1,200 pounds of beef, 648 pounds of shrimp, 7,000
portions of mashed potatoes, 400 pies and 200 cheesecakes
Navy sailors prepare turkeys
for the Thanksgiving dinner
aboard the ship. The 5,200
sailors on the Norfolk-based
Eisenhower are spending
their second Thanksgiving
on deployment. Many will
spend the day launching
fighter jets armed with
weapons to strike Islamic
State targets in Iraq and
Syria.
By Kevin Freking
The Associated Press
President Barack Obama
got the holiday mood start-
ed at the White House on
Wednesday with the tradi-
tional pardoning of the na-
tional Thanksgiving turkey,
this time with his nephews
standing in for daughters
Malia and Sasha.
The light-hearted ceremo-
ny in the Rose Garden also
featured Iowa-raised tur-
keys Tater and Tot, with the
latter receiving the formal
reprieve.
Obama said he has used
the past pardoning ceremo-
nies to embarrass his daugh-
ters with a cornucopia of bad
jokes about turkeys.
“This year, they had a
scheduling conflict. Actu-
ally, they just couldn’t take
myjokesanymore,”thepres-
ident said.
His nephews, Austin and
Aaron Robinson, filled in ad-
mirably. Obama joked they
had not yet been turned cyn-
ical by Washington.
“They still believe in bad
puns. They still believe in
the grandeur of this occa-
sion,” Obama said. “They
still have hope.”
The White House asked
people on Twitter to vote for
whichturkeywillreceivethe
pardon, though both will get
a reprieve. The White House
even provided a biography
for each bird to help voters
with their decision. For ex-
ample, Tater’s favorite snack
is worms. Tot prefers toma-
to slices. Each 18-week-old
bird weighed in at about 40
pounds.
While only one could be
namedthe“NationalThanks-
giving Turkey,” the White
House said that both birds
will be sent to their new
home at Virginia Tech’s
“Gobblers Rest” where they
will be cared for by veteri-
narians and students.
The ceremony also gave
Obama a chance to reflect
on the spirit of Thanksgiv-
ing. Obama said it’s a time
to remember that “we have a
lot more in common than di-
vides us.” He also challenged
Americans to show the world
that the United States is a
generous and giving coun-
try, and to make sure every-
one has something to eat on
Thanksgiving.
The National Turkey Fed-
eration began bringing live
turkeys to the White House
when President Harry S.
Truman was in office. The
White House Historical As-
sociation said Truman re-
marked they would “come
in handy” for Christmas din-
ner. President John Kennedy
spared the turkey presented
to him in 1963, saying “let’s
keep him going.” And Pres-
ident George H.W. Bush is
credited with beginning the
formal pardon tradition back
in 1989, saying that year’s
bird was “granted a presi-
dential pardon as of right
now.”
Pardoned holiday turkey: Thanks, Obama
President lets bird
off the hook with
pomp and jokes
MANUEL BALCE CENETA | ASSOCIATED PRESS
President Barack Obama, with his nephews Aaron, front,
and Austin Robinson, pardons the National Thanksgiving
Turkey, Tot, on Wednesday at the White House.
PETR DAVID JOSEK PHOTOS | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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