Photo By Sgt. Scott Akanewich | Spc. Carlos Mojica, 137th Quartermaster Company, 311th Expeditionary Sustainment...... read more read more
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EL MONTE, Calif. - Camouflage netting augmented the trees of Whittier Narrows Park accompanied by the sights and sounds of soldiers busily moving about in anticipation of the day’s oncoming battle. Yet, this was to be a conflict fought not with machine guns and grenades, but spatulas and serving spoons as the 137th Quartermaster Company, 311th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, participated in the 2012 Philip A. Connelly Awards Competition in El Monte, Calif., May 6.
The Connelly Awards are held annually to recognize excellence in the preparation and serving of food in both garrison and field environments. The objective is to improve professionalism of food service personnel, thus providing the best quality dining experience for soldiers.
The center of this environment is the Mobile Kitchen Trailer, a 6,000-pound portable unit capable of feeding 250-300 soldiers per meal.
As the savory smells of cooking began to mix with the fragrant scent of the surrounding scenery, Staff Sgt. Greg Sovick, 137th QM Company, 311th ESC, food operations sergeant and non-commissioned officer-in-charge of the proceedings, moved around the site, making last-minute combat checks to ensure everything was good-to-go for his soldiers to commence with the competition.
According to Sovick, a Whittier, Calif., native and Los Angeles Police Department officer, choosing the right site is absolutely critical in determining the ultimate outcome regarding not only the food service quality, but also proper positioning for the equipment from both tactical and technical standpoints.
“The critical part is choosing a site,” said Sovick. “We look at factors such as level ground for cooking and drainage for the MKT, as well.”
The MKT requires an area of approximately 30 feet by 30 feet to operate safely and correctly, but that’s not all, said Sovick.
“In a tactical environment, we would get the MKT up and running in order to begin serving meals as soon as possible,” he said. “But, then we would continue setting up everything else required, such as the sanitation tent, for example.”
Sovick knows from experience the challenges as well as the importance of running a tight program from when he was deployed in 2003, when his unit was attached to the 101st Airborne Division during the initial stages of the Iraq invasion, he said.
“We moved forward with the initial elements and eventually ended up at Logistics Support Area Diamondback in Mosul,” said Sovick. “We were serving 800 soldiers per meal.”
The lunch menu of the day consisted of sweet-and-sour chicken, chicken egg drop soup, lyonnaise rice, vegetable stir-fry, spring salad and yellow cake with lemon butter cream frosting.
A meal certainly fit for a soldier, indeed.
Before the cooks began frantically cooking up the food to meet their serving time deadline of noon, an in-ranks inspection was conducted for the five soldiers about to ascend into the MKT to begin their quest for culinary perfection.
Spc. Brian Serrano, Spc. Carlos Mojica, Spc. Noah Burke, Pfc. Stan Grinewski and Pfc. Luis Canizal formed a rank before Sovick as he meticulously moved from one soldier to the next, checking the cleanliness of their hands, the length of their fingernails and to ensure the only jewelry worn was the authorized wedding band, if applicable. Not even dog tags are permitted to be worn while cooking. Once the troopers were given the all-clear from Sovick, they moved out and began what they had come for.
Watching every bit of the proceedings like a hawk was Chief Warrant Officer 4 Danny Tindle, U.S. Army Reserve Command, food service technician and evaluator.
“We’re looking to ensure everything is set up properly according to the field manual,” said Tindle, who has been judging Connelly events since 2008. “But, they also have a schedule they have to adhere to.”
Although he admitted the final product on the plate is important, Tindle acknowledged the taste of the day’s fare is only half the battle – literally. There are 1,000 total points available to be awarded, but only 500 of them relate to the actual food itself.
“Of course, the food is very important,” he said. “But, we’re also looking at overall soldier acceptability.”
What this means, said Tindle, is how the food is presented on the plate, all the way to checking the garbage cans to see how much food is being thrown away – a certain measuring stick of the appeal of the meal.
Mistakes will be made along the way, but it’s how the soldiers rebound and drive on with the mission that counts, he said.
“It’s not what happens, it’s how you recover from it,” said Tindle. “If you burn a cake, bake another one.”
Another important ingredient for success is the option the cooks have of adding to the recipe they are preparing to give the dish that extra, little kick in the form of a dash of spices here or a sprinkle of garnishments there.
“The cooks work off specific recipe cards and must prepare the meal to standard,” said Tindle. “They can certainly enhance the recipe, but can’t subtract from it.”
Despite the fact the emphasis for the event was on the cooking contest, this was also an opportunity for the entire unit to come together and train in a field environment, said 1st Lt. Trevor Snyder, 137th QM Company, 311th ESC, commander.
“This is a scenario-driven exercise,” said Snyder. “We’re a completely self-sustaining unit, so we brought everything we need in a field environment according to our Mission-Essential Task List. We also have a brand-new MKT and field sanitation unit. What we have organically was crucial.”
According to Snyder, there was also a community dynamic that had to take effect for the event to come off correctly.
“We went out and got all the proper permits, including those for weapons,” he said.
Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Marmolejo, 137th QM Co., 311th ESC, first sergeant, lauded the efforts of his troops in making the event happen.
“Our outstanding soldiers and NCOs hit the ground running and have been at it nonstop,” said Marmolejo. “Everybody out here are battle-brothers-and-sisters. They know the cooks are the knights-in-shining-armor, but they’re doing everything they can to support them.”
One of the rock stars on the day was Spc. Brian Serrano, a cook with the 137th, who recognized and appreciated the support he and his fellow warriors of the wok had from all the other soldiers in the unit.
“If we didn’t have the support of the entire company, we would have failed,” said Serrano, an 11-year veteran who has deployed twice to Iraq in his career.
The most nerve-wracking time is the final few moments before their customers begin to file up the steps to the serving line, he said.
“It’s definitely the most nervous time,” said Serrano. “When soldiers want to eat, they want to eat.”
Only four of 16 units competing in the Field Kitchen category will move on to the Connelly Finals in Dallas in November, a goal the soldiers of the 137th are gunning for, said Snyder.
“Our goal is to get to the Department of the Army level and proudly represent the Reserve,” he said.
| Date Taken: | 05.08.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 05.08.2012 19:53 |
| Story ID: | 88120 |
| Location: | EL MONTE, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Hometown: | EL MONTE, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 228 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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