423rd Truck Company competed in the 2015 Philip A. Connelly Awards Program July 11, 2015

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class James Lilly | Sgt. Carroll Murphy, 423rd Truck Company, briefs Chief Warrant Officer 5 Pamela Null and Lt. Col. Peter Clinton on security operations during the 2015 Philip A. Connelly Awards Program. Null, USARC’s food advisor, was one of the evaluators for the event and Clinton is the commander of the 450th Movement Control Battalion – the 423rd’s higher headquarters.  

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO, UNITED STATES

07.11.2015

Courtesy Story

79th Theater Sustainment Command

FORT CARSON, Colo. – The smells coming from training areas typically don’t make Soldiers hungry, but that was not the case when one local Army Reserve unit competed here in the 2015 Philip A. Connelly Awards Program July 11.

Soldiers from the 423rd Truck Company, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, competed in the program’s Army Reserve Field Kitchen category in front of evaluators from the U.S. Army Reserve Command.

The evaluation included all aspects of field feeding operations. Areas of concentration included food management, storage, preparation, serving, dining, and sanitation. The evaluators also judged the unit’s perimeter security during the competition.

“This is our No. 1 program that acknowledges and recognizes food service personnel,” said Chief Warrant Officer 5 Pamela Null, USARC’s food advisor and lead evaluator for the competition. “We look for the standard being met and then achieved.”

The 423rd is one of 10 companies competing in this year’s annual event that takes place at 10 separate locations and times, as each unit is evaluated separately. The leadership of the 451st Expeditionary Sustainment Command was also in attendance to acknowledge this prestige and support its Soldiers throughout the event.

“I am honored to be able to come out here and represent these fine Soldiers,” said Col. Kevin Banta, assistant chief of staff, operations officer for the 451st ESC. “This award is recognized by Soldiers across the entire United States Army, and to have the opportunity to compete is an honor.”

The competition revolved around a lunch service in which the company had to meet numerous deadlines and criteria. For example, if the unit wasn’t ready to serve lunch properly at the designated time, it was penalized. However, this pressure did not get the best of the Soldiers competing.

“Things are going to go wrong. There’s no way to avoid it,” said Spc. Jacob Barr, part of the field sanitation team. “But, you’ve got to stay loose and stay motivated. And most of all, you’ve got to keep it fun.”

This is the exact spirit that the team’s noncommissioned officer in charge, Sgt. Eric Antonio, tried to instill in his Soldiers. Antonio told them to be themselves and stay focused as evaluators judge their performance.

“This is a level a lot of other units have never been to. They know if they made it to this level they are one-of-a-kind, and my guys are ready for anything,” said Antonio.

The Philip A. Connelly Awards Program was established in 1968 to recognize excellence in Army Food Service. The program is named for the late Philip A. Connelly, for president of the International Food Service Executives Association, who was responsible for obtaining IFSEA’s sponsorship of the event.

Much of the professionalism associated with today’s Army Food Service Program is a direct result of the Connelly Awards Program and the invaluable support of the IFSEA. The program has helped to instill a sense of prestige and dignity in Army food service workers.

After evaluating the 423rd, the USARC evaluators have three more companies to judge before the competition concludes. USARC will publish the results and awards shortly after competition has ended.

• Date Taken: 07.11.2015
• Date Posted: 07.30.2015 17:22
• Story ID: 171656
• Location: COLORADO SPRINGS, CO, US