Photo By Staff Sgt. Kati Volkman | Soldiers of the food service section of Company H, 132nd Brigade Support Battalion,...... read more read more
Soldiers of the food service section of Company H, 132nd Brigade Support Battalion, 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team took on the 52nd Philip A. Connelly Regional Competition June 24-25 in Eau Claire, Wis.
Company H supports the 1st Battalion, 128th Infantry Regiment, also of the 32nd IBCT, and is the first unit to represent the Wisconsin Army National Guard in this competition since 2016.
Capt. Angelea Campione, Commander of Forward Support Company H, explained that the company was nominated to represent the state of Wisconsin in this competition, with the ultimate goal of competing at the National Guard Bureau.
“This section has been high performing for the past three years while I’ve been in command and it’s important to showcase that they are proving to be the best of the best in what they do,” Campione elaborated.
For the competition, the team is required to cook and serve two complete meals, breakfast and lunch. The evaluation includes everything from the convoy operations, set up, and preparation the day prior, continuing into the next day where breakfast and lunch and prepped, served, and cleaned up.
Master Sgt. Melissa Turner, Food Program Manager for the Washington Army National Guard, has been a judge for three years and sees the Connelly Competition as an opportunity for the 92G (culinary specialists) to have eyes on the work they do.
"Many Soldiers only see the food when it arrives for them to eat, but there’s a lot more to it,” stated Turner. “These Soldiers operate and maintain vehicles, generators, and other equipment like the Containerized Kitchen they are cooking in and the Multi Temperature Refridgerated Containment System where all of the rations are being stored for the meals, while feeding hundreds of Soldiers a day at times.”
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Kyle Edwards, the WIARNG State Food Program Manager, spoke about how challenging culinary field jobs can be.
“They are doing their job a much higher percentage of time during drills and annual training than many other military jobs,” explained Edwards. “Even on reset annual trainings, when a unit is just coming off a deployment, these teams are out there at 0230 in the morning, starting up the generator to make sure there’s hot water for coffee and starting up breakfast.”
Spc. Shelby Brown, also a culinary specialist with Company H, explained that the Connelly Competition is good preparation for upcoming training missions.
“It’s good because we have XCTC coming up,” stated Brown. This is the time for us to make sure we are doing every single thing by the book out of habit, which in turn builds a lot of confidence.”
Pfc. Zen Lowman, a culinary specialist who has been in the national guard a little over a year, found that team building is one of the best parts of competing.
“I think competition is a great motivator, it makes us more cohesive as a team and more skilled as individuals,” elaborated Lowman.
The Philip A. Connelly Awards Program was established on 23 March 1968 to recognize excellence in Army Food Service. The program is named for the late Philip A. Connelly, former president of International Food Service Executives Association (IFSEA). On 01 January 2014 the Army partnered with National Restaurant Association (NRA). The NRA and the military will strive to build on the high standard of excellence previously maintained with IFSEA.
| Date Taken: | 06.25.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 06.26.2023 23:58 |
| Story ID: | 447980 |
| Location: | EAU CLAIRE, WI, US |
| Web Views: | 75 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Field Fueling Team Takes on Connelly Competition, by SSG Kati Volkman, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
92G Food Service Specialist
LEAVE A COMMENT