One challenge military family members may face is being far away from their loved ones during major holidays like Thanksgiving.
Many people in the military will celebrate Thanksgiving in a different manner every year, depending on their leave status, and current operations
Traditionally, senior leaders served Thanksgiving dinner to the lower staff.
Newly enlisted service members may be away from home for the first time.
In the meantime, some military families will be able to celebrate Thanksgiving with their loved ones back home, while an important family member is away for work.
A military member’s early years might include a traditional Thanksgiving dinner on base, or an invitation to a Thanksgiving dinner hosted by a local family.
On Thanksgiving, servicemembers traditionally share their customs with locals or servicemembers from different countries. Recently, due to the rapidly rising number of military operations abroad we have been integrating more “overseas-style” parties into celebrations on forward operating bases.
Married military members assigned to overseas bases might celebrate Thanksgiving with their family members who are based overseas as well.
There is always a possibility of being deployed over Thanksgiving.
If they’re not deployed, service members are usually at home with their family. They can make up for it by inviting other service members who don’t get to see their kids over to share a meal or coffee.