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BANGOR, Maine - Soldiers from the Maine Army National Guard's
1136th Transportation Company are proving that Army dining isn't all
MRE's and sloppy joes, as they compete in the 46th annual Phillip A.
Connolly Award.
“Food is everything,” said Pvt. Brian
Lothrop. “Without food, no one is moving, no one is going to go
anywhere.”
This group of soldiers first earned attention when
they competed at the regional event earlier this year, and were
selected as one of 10 teams to advance to the national level. There
are five other National Guard teams, and four Army Reserve teams
that are currently competing in the same event. Each team has to
prepare the same meal, create the same environment, and serve
similar evaluators.
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More than 60 soldiers lined up at the mobile kitchen trailer to
get a taste of the meal the cooks from the 1136th prepared on March
9, 2014. The meal was part of a national level competition for
consideration for the 2014 Phillip A. Connolly Award. Maine has not
competed at the national level for this event since the early 1990s.
(U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Angela Parady)
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Second Lt. Aaron Saucier is the executive officer for the
1136th. He said this is the first time a team from Maine has
made it to the national level since 1993.
“The
Connolly Award is a logistics award based on food safety and
service,” said Saucier. “They grade us on the environment,
as to whether or not we can serve food safely to soldiers,
and how the food tastes. They actually grade us on how well
our soldiers like our food, so it's kind of a double-edged
sword. We have to be able to do it safely, and they have to
actually like it."
Lothrop, a truck driver in the
1136th Transportation Company, is proud of the work he and
his field sanitation crew have done in assisting his
company's cooks advance to this level.
“They say the
Army marches on its stomach, and that the soldier in the
field is only as good as the number of calories he can put
in his body to keep moving,” said Lathrop. “You get a good
soldier, who goes a few days without food, he isn't worth
anything.”
Sgt. 1st Class Russell Hopkins of
Augusta, Sgt. Chris Bolduc of Sanford, Spc. Nick Barnett of
Calais, Spc. Bryanna Gerrish of Bangor and Pvt. Tommy
Pelletier of Sanford have been working as a team to be as
prepared as possible.
Since winning at the regional
level, their motivation has only picked up speed. They have
been working hard to learn from mistakes they made at the
regional level, so they won't make them again this time.
The team rehearsed setting up their mobile kitchen
trailer and tearing it down repeatedly, so that they are
able to do it quickly and efficiently. The meal that they
are serving to 60 soldiers and evaluators for the National
Guard Bureau has been created dozens of times in order to
make sure everything is just perfect. Even though they may
be getting a bit tired of pork chops, their fellow soldiers
have been there to support them the whole time.
Lothrop, who lives in Mechanic Falls, said it was a nice
change of pace to be able to support this part of their
team.
“I am one of the guys who just drives a truck
most of the time, and these guys come out and cook for us
when we are in the field, or at a drill weekend, and it is
nice to see them get some respect and attention for what
they do,” he said.
It is also nice because he has
been able to function a little differently now than in the
past.
“I went out with a couple of these guys, and we
took a 40-hour field sanitation course, to get ready for
this,” he said. “We learned a lot there, and what we didn't
know, we learned at regionals, and have only continued to
improve.”
Of course, no amount of preparation and
rehearsal can fully prepare individuals for the unexpected.
On the day of the event, the temperatures in Bangor didn't
reach above freezing and snow and melted water left
dangerous and icy spots.
“It is real slippery; we
have been telling people to be careful around the ice, to
walk like a penguin, keeping your feet close together,” said
Saucier. "Even worse, our hand washing stations keep
freezing up, so we have to keep pouring in hot water so our
sanitation is up to date, cold weather injuries, cycling our
people in and out of our cold.”
Keeping the
sanitation stations functional was important, because along
with the quality and taste of the food being presented, the
overall cleanliness and sanitation of the area is graded for
this award. Saucier said they were also graded on his
documentation of food and material purchases, the overall
service and demeanor of the cooks, and their ability to
portion correctly and to the specifications set forth by the
Army.
The award, which was established in 1968,
helps bring the food service specialists of the Army pride
in their work, and to promote and improve Army food service
through awareness with incentives, competition and media
attention.
Saucier said he was very pleased with how
his team performed on Sunday, and is hopeful about the next
stages going forward.
“Food service is important
because people work all day long, and they train very hard,
at the end of the day, the middle of the day, they need that
break where they can go sit down for a few minutes, relax,
and everyone loves food,” he said. “When they come in and
they get a good meal, not the typical Army food you may hear
false rumors about, or MREs, when they get to come in and
have a real good meal you can see the light come back in
their eyes and they are ready to start the next part of
their day or night. So I take food service very seriously. I
am proud of what these guys do.”
By U.S. Army Sgt. Angela Parady
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2014
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