Fort Benning trainees in the 194th Armored Brigade, which oversees Armor One Station Unit Training, move through a dining facility line as a drill sergeant looks on during a Thanksgiving meal on Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025, at the Georgia Army post. (Corey Dickstein/Stars and Stripes)

FORT BENNING, Ga. — It came as a surprise for Army Pfc. Jesse Knight to find his hard-nosed drill sergeants behind serving stations Wednesday afternoon at Fort Benning’s Kouma dining facility, piling trays full of green beans, mashed potatoes and massive turkey legs.

The 18-year-old Armor One Station Unit trainee from Chiloquin, Ore., did not even realize it was Thanksgiving week. He certainly never expected a traditional holiday meal while training to become an M1 Abrams tank crew member, he said.

“It does remind me of home,” Knight said. “Being around all this food, getting to talk to people and just getting a little break from everything.”

Knight is assigned to Enforcer Company, 1st Battalion, 81st Armor Regiment — one of the training companies in the 194th Armored Brigade that oversees Armor One Station Unit Training — the 22-week course that combines Basic Combat Training and Advanced Individual Training for future armor soldiers. The unit is about halfway through the program having completed the basic training portion and now entering the stage where they learn about the Army M1 Abrams tanks.

Army Staff Sgt. Jacob Schult, a senior drill sergeant with the 194th Armor Brigade, speaks with Pvt. Olivia Collins, left, and Pfc. Jesse Knight during a Thanksgiving meal at a dining facility at Fort Benning, Ga., on Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025. Collins and Knight are both in training to become tankers. (Corey Dickstein/Stars and Stripes)

For Knight, it marked his first Thanksgiving away from home. A self-described “mama’s boy,” Knight said he would typically spend the holiday with family enjoying his mother’s cooking, especially her tri-tip beef. On Wednesday, he said the spare ribs were the best item on the extensive dining facility menu.

“It’s kind of a little reminder of Mom and home,” he said. “Time’s going by really quick with this, so this was a nice little reminder today.”

Senior leaders and drill sergeants have served trainees Thanksgiving meals for years to give them a small connection to the outside world, said Col. Buck Carroll, the 194th Armored Brigade’s commander.

“They’ve volunteered to serve this nation, and now we get to serve them this meal,” Carroll said. “For most of them it’s probably their first time away from home, and they’re feeling a little homesick, so this just a little taste of home.”

Fort Benning will serve up some 13,000 Thanksgiving meals this week to its trainees and the soldiers who live on post, installation officials said. That includes more than 15,000 pounds of turkey, 13,000 pounds of ham, more than 8,000 pounds of stuffing and about 6,000 pounds of mashed potatoes.

Fort Benning trainees in the 194th Armored Brigade, which oversees Armor One Station Unit Training, move through a dining facility line as a drill sergeant looks on during a Thanksgiving meal on Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025, at the Georgia Army post. (Corey Dickstein/Stars and Stripes)

194th Armored Brigade drill sergeants serves trainees in Armor One Station Unit Training a Thanksgiving meal at a dining facility on Fort Benning, Ga., on Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025. (Corey Dickstein/Stars and Stripes)

Drill sergeants and other leaders with the 194th Armored Brigade serve trainees in Armor One Station Unit Training a Thanksgiving meal at a dining facility on Fort Benning, Ga., on Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025. (Corey Dickstein/Stars and Stripes)

For Pvt. Olivia Collins, the meal marked a rare traditional Thanksgiving holiday. The 18-year-old trainee in the same company as Knight said she has spent most of her recent Thanksgivings competing in wrestling tournaments and limiting her calorie intake.

This year, she said, she took advantage of the huge spread at Fort Benning.

“I’m just eating and almost gorging myself,” Collins said. “We don’t typically eat the fatty meats and the sweets — it’s nice, honestly.”

It was also an opportunity to see a different side of the more experienced soldiers that are training them, said Collins, who is from Cleveland, Tenn.

“It’s refreshing,” she said. “Sometimes I think we tend to forget that they’re people — that they’re also human. So, it’s nice to see that you know, their not just drill sergeants all the time.”

Staff Sgt. Jacob Shult, the senior drill instructor in charge of both Knight and Collins, said he was pleased to see his trainees enjoying the Thanksgiving meal and getting a little time to bond without him and the other drill sergeants in their faces.

“We’re here to teach standards, discipline and create soldiers,” Schult said. “But I can’t see a reason why we can’t let go of the reins for a short period and just let them do what they would normally do at home — enjoy a good meal and take a small breath.

“And then we’ll resume training and nothing changes.”

A 194th Armored Brigade drill sergeant serves trainees in Armor One Station Unit Training egg nog during a Thanksgiving meal at a dining facility on Fort Benning, Ga., on Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025. (Corey Dickstein/Stars and Stripes)