Better food cannot compensate for a cancelled homecoming, but it can put a crew in a better frame of mind before an extended deployment is announced. Steak and lobster meals have consequently become a warning sign for experienced US Navy sailors. The provisions are stored aboard for special occasions, and the logistics officer, cook, and steward need advance notice to thaw them and prepare the meal. Catering personnel can therefore know that bad news is coming before the wider crew hears it. The meal itself also gives sailors time to anticipate an announcement, although they can imagine something worse than the news that follows.
Notable Point · 43:06-49:09
Special meals, bad news, and naval morale
Modern steak-and-lobster meals illustrate how food can soften bad deployment news while also warning experienced sailors that an extension is coming.