69th ADA competes at DA-level competition

Photo By Kimberly Hackbarth | Spc. Ruben Alvarado, a culinary specialist with 69th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, prepares eggs March 23, on Fort Hood, Texas, during the Department of the Army evaluations of the 48th Annual Philip A. Connelly Competition. A team from 69th ADA Bde. represented Fort Hood, III Corps, and U.S. Army Forces Command in the Active Field Feeding Category. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Kimberly Lessmeister/ 69th ADA Bde. Public Affairs Office)  

FORT HOOD, TX, UNITED STATES

03.23.2016

Story by Staff Sgt. Kimberly Hackbarth 

69th Air Defense Artillery Brigade

The team represented Fort Hood, III Corps and U.S. Army Forces Command in the Active Field Feeding Category against teams from installations in Germany, Hawaii and North Carolina.
Chief Warrant Officer 5 Princido Texidor, the Army food advisor at the Joint Culinary Center of Excellence at Fort Lee, Virginia, and his team evaluated all four field teams.
“The intent of the competition is excellence in food service, and being that we’re in the field, we’re looking for the (culinary specialists) who provide the best food service support to the Soldiers in the field,” he said.
Texidor, who has been in the food service field for 33 years, added that the evaluators looked for much more than just food.
“Things that we look at are sanitation, equipment maintenance, cooking skills, (military occupational specialty) knowledge, administration, command support and training,” he said.
Command support is especially necessary in the field category, according to Texidor.
“(The culinary specialists) need support from the command because they need help to set up the site and to provide resources like water and fuel,” he explained. “If (they) do not have that support, then they are not able to provide quality food.”
Staff Sgt. Andre Nash, the field Connelly team’s noncommissioned officer-in-charge, has been with the team since they began their journey last year during the installation level of the competition.
Nash said his command, including Brig. Gen. Donald Fryc, the commanding general and Command Sgt. Maj. Gerardo Dominguez, the senior enlisted advisor, both with 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command, 69th ADA Bde.’s higher headquarters from Fort Bliss has supported the team throughout the entire competition.
During the competitions, the 69th ADA Bde. leadership travelled to the field site to eat the meals prepared by their Soldiers and recognize their hard work.
The team set the field site up to replicate a forward operating base, including extra concertina wire and security at entry points, to make it as realistic as possible.

However, the simulated FOB had to be torn down after every competition, then rebuilt before every evaluation, due to training area restrictions.

What may seem like a setback only empowered Nash and his team.

“We would start from scratch every time and were able to win installation and FORSCOM having torn down and set up,” Nash said.

Every time they rebuilt the site, the team added things that their higher culinary leaders suggested after every competition.

“A lot of people go off regulation (including) where trash pits are and the latrines,” Nash said. “We did the same thing they did, we just improved upon the standards.”

Improvements included adding a classroom tent to conduct training and the additional task of preparing food for a remote feeding site, which was food that actually went to Soldiers of 69th ADA Bde.’s headquarters element who were participating in a mission readiness exercise in preparation for deployment.

Nash said he knows, however, that site appearance is not everything.

“I think they’re going to be impressed by the site, but if we don’t have that knowledge, or the paperwork is off, then it’s not going to do us any good,” he explained.

Another member of the Connelly field team, Spc. Brianna Moss, served as the head of administration for the site.

Moss said she had more guidance during the installation competition and has since been able to operate mostly independently, which helped her learn more.

“Nothing’s ever going to be perfect, but you want it to be perfect,” she said.

Making it to the Department of the Army level of the competition has been a privilege, she said.

“If we lose, I’m still going to be upset, but as much as we have learned and as much as we have done, it’s going to be a good memory to even say that we made it this far,” she said. “If we win, it will be a relief to know that all of our work has paid off.”

A lot more goes into winning repeatedly, Nash said.

“Win or lose, I will never be satisfied with just winning,” Nash said. I want to (continue to win) because it also shows that you’ve learned and that you’ve evolved.”

According to Texidor, results of the competition are slated to be announced in April.

• Date Taken: 03.23.2016
• Date Posted: 04.29.2016 15:26
• Story ID: 196926
• Location: FORT HOOD, TX, US