That’s 105,000 Pounds of Turkey--to Go : Thanksgiving: The military is mustering a massive feast for GIs in the gulf. Goodby, boredom and MREs.

What does it take to feed an army? For Thanksgiving in the desert, the answer runs something like this: 105,000 pounds of turkey, 70,000 pounds of roast beef, 35,000 pounds of ham, and, inescapably, fruitcake--17,000 pounds of it.

With President Bush in town for the holiday, logistics officers here are pulling out all stops to ensure that virtually every soldier, sailor, airman and Marine gets a break from dreaded MREs (meals, ready to eat) and months of mind-numbing military routine.

In Oman, Air Force units will hold a mock Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, floats and all. In Saudi Arabia, the rear-based 82nd Airborne Division plans a 10-kilometer run at daybreak.

Armed Forces Television will broadcast the Detroit Lions-Denver Broncos football game. AT&T; is offering free three-minute phone calls home--for those who can find a phone.

And all across the desert, military cooks and supply officers have been laboring for days to provide a hot, fresh, traditional turkey dinner for each of the 230,000 troops now on duty in the Persian Gulf.

Each meal is to be accompanied by a specially printed souvenir menu featuring a Thanksgiving message from President Bush, who is expected to at least nibble at consecutive meals with the Air Force, Army, Navy and Marines.

But for units scattered at remote desert camps, where telephones, parades and presidential visits are out of the question, the highlight will occur when a food truck comes bouncing along a dusty road to disgorge what logistics officers promise will be a holiday feast.

For troops who had expected standard military rations of “turkey, diced, with gravy,” the fresh-made Thanksgiving dinner will be a welcome break from weeks of eating meals prepared months, if not years, ago.

Most will get their turkey rolled and roasted from boneless “logs” shipped in from the United States. But a lucky few may get a slice or two from 1,400 whole turkeys provided for “decorative purposes” by the Saudi government.

Alternative choices will include roast beef, also provided by the Saudis, and ham, generally banned from menus here in deference to Muslim prohibitions on pork but imported by the military in a holiday exception.

Also listed on a menu released by the military Wednesday were salad made of lettuce, tomato and cucumber; fresh fruit, including grapes, pears, apples and oranges; and apple, cherry and pumpkin pies.

While the goal is to provide a fresh meal--or A-ration--to each military person in the country, logistics officers said they have laid in tens of thousands of special, ready-to-eat trays--known as T-rations--just in case.

“If a soldier showed up in Saudi Arabia, I’d be able to give him some turkey, some cranberry sauce, some mashed potatoes,” said Army Chief Warrant Officer Wes Wolf, a 42-year-old master chef of military meals.

U.S. commanders have taken pains to make the holiday a success in other ways as well.

The three major networks are sending anchors, extra correspondents and celebrity broadcasters such as Willard Scott and O.J. Simpson to Saudi Arabia for Thanksgiving-week coverage. Military image planners, in turn, are providing helicopters to give television personnel unprecedented access to the troops.

Most print reporters, however, were told by media officers at the beginning of the week that their access to troops will be severely limited until the television crews--some of which are offering linkups between military personnel and their families--leave the country.