The U.S. military has deployed all over the world for decades, and missing Thanksgiving at home with family is common. Whether aboard an aircraft carrier or at an observation post in middle-of-nowhere, Afghanistan, service members have figured out ways to celebrate the holidays in some of the most austere environments on earth.

Sometimes, commanders fly out to visit forward-deployed troops to scoop mashed potatoes out of mermites and onto the plates of tired Marines. Some soldiers celebrate Thanksgiving with nothing more than a beat-up USPS box packed full of holiday goodies Mom sent — just scrape away the mold. Regardless of how you celebrate in the field or away from home, one thing is certain: they’ll make for some of the best memories you’ll have in uniform.

[One of the best I remember overseas was being in Iwakuni. My girlfriend (she was a ground support equipment type, but attached to our squadron) and I wound up hooking up 3 of our officers’ tiny apartment kitchenettes to cook Thanksgiving dinner for 15 people. Of course, no one’s little room at the Q could be on the same floor as anyone else’s, so we were hoofing turkey and sides up and down the stairwells, and trying to see what would fit into whose tiny oven, but we pulled it off and it was GREAT. ~ Beege]