Photo By Sgt. Matthew Thompson | Spc. Julio Morris, a food service specialist with the 69th Air Defense Artillery...... read more read more
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FORT HOOD, Texas – After sweeping the competition at the III Corps and Fort Hood Philip A. Connelly Competition in the field category in April, the food service team from 69th Air Defense Artillery Brigade began preparing for the next level of the competition.
From the early morning hours through the afternoon of July 16, competition evaluators from U.S Army Forces Command assessed the team at their field site, here.
Evaluators looked at every aspect of the site including how the Soldiers prepared the meals and even how the field site was set up.
Part of the set up is the dining tent, which houses the eating area and the “cold bar” which consists of fresh fruit, coffee, juice and other food items.
Spc. Justin Kelley, a food service specialist with Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1st Battalion, 62nd ADA Regiment, 69th ADA Bde., managed the cold bar during the III Corps-level competition, but switched to cooking the main meals in the mobile kitchen trailer (MKT) for the FORCOM evaluations.
“Working on the MKT is a lot like working in the kitchen [in the Patriot Inn Dining Facility], which I’ve got a lot of experience with,” Kelley, a Kalamazoo, Michigan, native said.
Kelley said being evaluated by the FORSCOM team was more stressful than being evaluated by the III Corps team because he knew the FORSCOM team came from a higher echelon, which meant more eyes were on his team.
“When we were competing at the III Corps level, we were there representing 69th Air Defense Artillery Brigade,” he said. “With the FORSCOM [competition], we’re representing III Corps, so we're representing this entire installation.”
The 69th ADA Bde. team was competing on behalf of all the food service personnel who are assigned to III Corps, which has units on Fort Bliss, Texas and several other military installations, as well, Kelley said.
Competing in the Connelly Competition at the FORSCOM level was familiar territory for 69th ADA Bde.’s field team noncommissioned officer in charge, Sgt. 1st Class Armond Alexander.
A team Alexander was previously on advanced to the Department of the Army level of the competition, but did not win first place, he said.
“I always wanted to win this competition and be first place, so it’s very inspiring to be able to have that opportunity to go forth and compete at this level,” Alexander said.
Alexander’s team has a very good chance of winning the FORSCOM-level competition, he said, and he plans to take the things he has learned all the way to the top.
“In your career, you’re always learning [and] you’re always moving forward,” he explained. “So I was able this time to learn even more.”
For Kelley, the competition helped him become even better at working in a busy environment, he said.
“I’ve gotten my fair share of experience with it and I wouldn’t have a problem going out and sharing my experience with it as a mentor,” he explained.
The experience of competing in the Connelly Competition is something more food service specialists should have to opportunity to do, Kelley said.
Alexander agreed, adding that the field competition is also about training Soldiers.
“This is an opportunity to get away from doing the garrison food service that we do every day to get out there and do some field food service,” he said.
If Alexander and his team win at the FORSCOM level, they will go on to compete in the Department of the Army-level competition in February.
| Date Taken: | 07.16.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 08.18.2015 16:37 |
| Story ID: | 173526 |
| Location: | FORT HOOD, TX, US |
| Hometown: | KALAMAZOO, MI, US |
| Web Views: | 39 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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