Photo By Sgt. Alvin Conley | U.S. Army Spc. Ashely Ward (left), a culinary specialist to 511th Quartermaster...... read more read more
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FORT RILEY, Kan. – U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to the 511th Quartermaster Company, Special Troops Battalion, 1st Sustainment Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, competed in the 54th Annual Philip A. Connelly Awards Program Competition September 1, 2021, at Fort Riley, Kansas.
The multi-level competition, named after a former Soldier and former International Food Service Executives Association (IFSEA) president, ranges across all Army components and is executed by culinary specialists who display food service excellence resulting in the presentation of extremely gratifying dining experiences across all Army food service platforms in garrison and field environments.
Soldiers from the 511th QMC participated in the Active Army Field Kitchen category of the competition on the U.S. Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) level for the chance to reach the final round of the competition.
“It means a lot to compete in this level of the competition,” said 2nd Lt. Abigail del Rosario, the 2nd platoon leader for 511th QMC. “I’m pretty new in the Army, so it’s great to see all of the Soldiers in action and see all of their hard work.”
The company executed a mock field feeding exercise where they were graded on their ability to complete an array of tasks to include field movement, preparation and maintenance, management, food service administration, and more.
“It’s a good learning experience, not just for the junior enlisted Soldiers but for the noncommissioned officers as well,” said Sgt. Maria Anaya, a culinary specialist noncommissioned officer assigned to 511th QMC. “We’re used to Garrison so when we come out to this type of environment it’s a lot of training.”
Culinary specialists began setting up their field working area to include a mobile kitchen trailer, a dining area, a sanitation station, and multiple handwashing stations, around 4 a.m. They served breakfast and lunch, ending their training rotation around 2 p.m. before beginning tear down, giving judges the opportunity to begin tallying final scores.
“I believe 511th Quartermaster Company will win not only the FORSCOM level, but the Department of the Army level as well,” said del Rosario. “We have the best culinary specialists and we’re ready to prove it.”
The FORSCOM level winner of the competition will be announced later this fall, where 511th QMC hope to achieve another victory and put themselves more into the spotlight.
“What I hope to gain, not just for myself but for the Soldiers as well, is recognition and exposure for all the hard work that they do,” said Anaya. “We are a thankless MOS where they expect us to just be cooks, but competitions like this bring out that good side. Not only getting recognized at Division level, but FORSCOM and Department of the Army as well gives Soldiers something to look forward to.”
Soldiers assigned to the 511th QMC Connelly Competition team included: 2nd Lt. Abigail del Rosario – American Canyon, CA; Staff Sgt. James Re – Rising City, NE; Sgt. Maria Anaya – Inglewood, CA; Sgt. Kun Yuan – Tuscon, AZ; Spc. Owen Parks – Akron, OH; Spc. Gabrielle Govan – Chesapeake, VA; Spc. Ashley Ward – Brooklyn, NY; Spc. Jeremy Smith – Orlando, FL; Spc. Kevon Fordham – Gordon, GA; Pfc. Viviana Medrano – Bryan, TX; and Pfc. Dmytro Tsvira – Harrison, NJ.
| Date Taken: | 09.02.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 09.02.2021 12:37 |
| Story ID: | 404429 |
| Location: | FORT RILEY, KANSAS, US |
| Web Views: | 207 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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