[Poincare]

The turkey was not brought by Bush. The turkey was real. It simply hadn't been presliced and put into serving trays as had the other turkeys. Yes it was beautifully arraigned as a center piece and would have probably found its way to the officers' mess afterwords, but it was not plastic.

You are, to the best of my information, correct on all points but one. The turkey that most of the troops ate was prepared in gigantic superheated steam cookers since oven baking thousands of turkeys is impractical. Hence the importance of the roasted turkey centerpiece; it provides the familiar sight and aromas of home.

[Little Pig]

Actually, it is more like already-prepared slices of turkey in 14"x20"x3" rectangular cans (sort of like a cross between a canned ham and a cake pan). They have all the moisture they need inside, and are simply heated on the self-contained gas cooking units in the mess (at least that's what we got for our Holiday meal in Desert Shield/Storm).