THANKSGIVING AT SEA: HOW USS NIMITZ TURNS A FLOATING CITY INTO A FAMILY TABLE
For the 4,600 Sailors aboard USS Nimitz, Thanksgiving is about turning a vast ship powered by nuclear reactors into a place of togetherness, making the holiday truly feel like home, even thousands of miles away from family.
For the Nimitz Food Service Division, Thanksgiving isn’t just another meal. It’s their championship game, their Super Bowl, and one of the few days when the galley becomes something more than the beating heart of the ship. On this day, it becomes a gathering place, a refuge, and a reminder of everything Sailors carry with them even while deployed: family, tradition, pride, and the unmistakable feeling of belonging to something larger than yourself.
For the Culinary Specialists who make it all happen, the stakes could not be higher, as their efforts are tied directly to this sense of purpose and community.
A Nuclear Carrier, a Floating City, and the Warmest Day of the Year
Commissioned in 1975 and named for Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, USS Nimitz is one of the largest warships in the world. At 1,092 feet long, nearly 100,000 tons, and with a crew of thousands, it’s a logistical marvel even on a normal day. On Thanksgiving, the scale is almost unimaginable.
Turkeys, hundreds of them, must be thawed days in advance. Lobster, T-bone steaks, ham, potatoes, pies, and a towering holiday cake must be ordered weeks in advance, stored in chill boxes and freezers, and made ready in a galley where physical space is always at a premium. And then there’s the Nimitz tradition sailors look forward to every year: ice-cold eggnog, chilled and guarded like liquid gold.
Pulling it off requires a cross-deck symphony of timing, skill, creativity, and the one thing no ship ever sails without, teamwork. That teamwork is tested most on days like this, when the scale of the meal matches the occasion.
“Where else can you share a meal with 5,000 people in the middle of the ocean?”
— CWO2 Angel Melendez, Food Service Officer, USS Nimitz
CWO2 Angel Melendez has spent years ensuring Thanksgiving for thousands of sailors, whether in port, on deployment, or in between. Despite decades of experience, the challenges remain immense and ever-changing.
“The hardest part is making sure everything goes in order,” he said. “You’re doing lunch while preparing dinner in the background. Turkeys need four or five hours. Dinner rolls can’t be made at the last minute. You coordinate everything so it’s on target.”
Storage alone becomes a mission.
“Fresh greens and vegetables are always a challenge,” he explained. “It depends on where you are and how long it’s been since receiving supplies. And eggnog? That requires foresight. You order ahead, you keep it chilled, and once it’s aboard, you protect it.”
Still, Melendez makes one thing clear: there is one tradition his team will never skip.
“That’s easy, cake. A big cake. Enough to serve almost five thousand people.”
But the moment that makes it all worth it has nothing to do with ingredients or timelines.
“It’s hearing, ‘This is just like how my mom did it,’” he said. “That’s when you know you hit a home run.”
To Melendez, this meal is more than food. It’s a promise.
“You work hard. Enjoy your meal. Enjoy this moment. Where else can you share a meal with 5,000 people in the middle of the ocean, on a nuclear-powered carrier? You can’t beat it. It’s the best restaurant in town.”
For Chief Culinary Specialist David Fisher, the hardest part isn’t flavor, quality, or creativity. It’s equipment.
“We have few appliances for such a big meal,” Fisher said of the scramble across ovens and stovetops starting at 2 or 3 a.m.
Sourcing ingredients at sea is equally daunting.
“Eggnog is definitely the toughest. Three weeks' lead time. Short shelf life. But Sailors love it.”
Still, for Fisher and his team, Thanksgiving is the one meal they refuse to compromise on, reinforcing the sense of pride and competition established earlier.
“It’s like our Super Bowl. It’s our chance to show off our culinary skills.”
And the biggest moment for him?
“When everything is done, we run out of food and have to cook more. It sounds weird, but it means the crew loves it, and they want more. That’s the moment that makes it all worth it.”
He still laughs at the memory of one unforgettable mishap: a new Sailor who cooked dozens of turkeys, without ever removing the interior bag.
“That’s the running joke now,” Fisher said. “Always check the inside of the turkey.” But behind the humor is something deeper: pride.
“Serving this meal means sailors get a little piece of home. That’s what we want for them.”
For CS2 Cherish Akana, Thanksgiving underway hits differently, and not because of the menu.
“The single hardest part is the emotions that come with it,” she said. “A lot of sailors are away from their families. I’ve been through it on three deployments, so I help my junior sailors get through it too.”
With her experience, Akana bridges the gap between heartache and camaraderie. Her greatest logistical worry?
“Flour,” she said. “We need it for bread, cornucopia, and roux. If it’s humid, it clumps. If wet, it’s ruined. Without good flour, you don’t have Thanksgiving.”
But the greatest reward is simple.
“Sitting down with my Sailors and enjoying what we just made, that’s the moment that makes it all worth it.”
Akana takes pride in creating an atmosphere that feels like home.
“We want Sailors to feel like they’re having dinner with family. Even far away, they have a purpose, serving on the USS Nimitz, and we want them proud of it.”
To her, it comes down to giving everything she has to one meal that reminds sailors they matter.
“I hope they sit down and think, I’m getting a great meal made by people who care.”
A Holiday That Means Something More
To civilians, Thanksgiving on an aircraft carrier might seem impossible. How do you find warmth, comfort, and tradition on a 1,092-foot warship crossing the Pacific? But the approach on board makes a complicated task feel familiar.
But to the Sailors aboard USS Nimitz, the answer is simple.
You do it together. You prep for days. You start cooking long before dawn. You decorate mess decks still humming from flight operations. You make sure trays are clean, lines move fast, and everyone gets a little more than they expected. You make it feel like home, even if home is thousands of miles away.
Thanksgiving on Nimitz isn’t just about food; it’s the moment when the ship becomes a family, and Sailors come together to celebrate the traditions and connections that matter most, even while far from home.
It’s a reminder that even in the middle of the ocean, aboard the flagship of Carrier Strike Group 11, family isn’t something you leave behind.
It’s something you build, Sailor by Sailor.
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BY NATALIE OLIVERIO
Veteran & Senior Contributor, Military News at VeteranLife
Navy Veteran
Natalie Oliverio is a Navy Veteran, journalist, and entrepreneur whose reporting brings clarity, compassion, and credibility to stories that matter most to military families. With more than 100 published articles, she has become a trusted voice on defense policy, family life, and issues shaping the...
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Natalie Oliverio is a Navy Veteran, journalist, and entrepreneur whose reporting brings clarity, compassion, and credibility to stories that matter most to military families. With more than 100 published articles, she has become a trusted voice on defense policy, family life, and issues shaping the...
