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MILITARY CULINARY AWARDS

Aviation Support Battalion, 4th CAB. “Each level of
competition gets tougher for our soldiers and our
facility moving forward, but I believe we are capable
of stepping up to the challenge.”
Gerber said he is extremely proud to see how far
the facility has come since his arrival nearly two
years ago. He credits the dining facility with distin-
guishing itself through a combination of customer
service and serving a variety of dishes through its
normal and specialty menus.
“This is a first for our facility, and we are honored
and proud to be considered as one of the Army’s
best,” he said.
The Warfighter Dining Facility (DFAC) food ser-
Pfc. Suzette Brown, culinary specialist, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, vice staff advanced to the final Connelly round after
4th Infantry Division, serves the short-order line during the regional Philip A. winning the Fort Carson competition last June and the
Connelly Award evaluations Aug. 2016. (Photo by Sgt. Gregory T. Summers,
USA, 4th Combat Aviation Brigade Public Affairs Office, 4th Infantry Division) regional event in August.
“These regional evaluations are calculated on a points
system in which our facility has the opportunity to gain or
an emergency resupply sling load of Meals, Ready to Eat. lose points due to errors, food preparation, food quality,
Once secure, the cooks and infantry soldiers both loaded cleanliness and, most importantly, safety,” said Chief War-
up on Stryker Combat Vehicles to feed a far-flung unit. rant Officer 2 David W. Geier, brigade food service adviser,
“This competition is important; but more so we trained 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division. “We
how we fight and improved our cooking skills. That really are excited to be in this position, and proud of our soldiers
improves the morale of the infantry guys out in the muddy for their hard work and dedication to excellence.”
foxholes,” said Sgt. Paul Mascardo, culinary specialist, 4th While the team is striving to win, Geier considers the
Brigade Support Battalion. real advantage to be the experience gained from working
Soldiers across the ranks were impressed with the food. together to compete for the Connelly and benefit of going
“Wow, this is good, I mean really good. Hot! But these through the evaluation process.
are the best chicken wings I’ve had, probably ever,” said “With the installation and regional evaluators in our
Sgt. Maj. Reginald Houston, 4th Infantry Division, senior facility, we have gained valuable experience about how
food services logistician we operate as a team under pressure and care for our pa-
Earlier in the day, at breakfast, Pfc. Luke Dubay, infan- trons,” Geier said. “We constantly test ourselves and our
tryman, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 1st SBCT, abilities, and this competition has allowed us to develop
4th Inf. Div., said, “Awesome breakfast. You cannot beat our skillsets even further. Win or lose, I am proud to be a
hot chow after spending the night in a muddy foxhole. part of this food service team.” —GFS
Fresh eggs with herbs, and this cake-battered French toast
with blueberries really rocks.”
Combining culinary training in the field with
simulated combat conditions prepares the entire
unit to work together as a whole.
“While getting our chefs valuable training and
winning this competition is important, when you
can tie it into mission readiness, you can train across
your entire formation,” said Col. Curtis Taylor, com-
mander, 1st SBCT, 4th Inf. Div. “As this brigade
fights as a team, we compete and win as a team.”

GARRISON
Fort Carson’s Warfighter dining facility is a team
effort, with culinary specialists from the 4th Combat
Aviation Brigade (CAB) and 2nd Brigade Combat
Team, 4th Infantry Division, working together to-
ward the common goal.
“As a team effort with the 2nd Infantry Brigade Pfc. Charles McElroy-Franklin, culinary specialist, 404th Aviation Support
Combat Team, together we have grown and improved the Battalion, 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, puts the
finishing touches on a fresh, custom-ordered sandwich at the Warfighter
overall performance level of our dining facility,” said Sgt. Dining Facility. (Photo by Sgt. Gregory T. Summers, USA, 4th Combat
1st Class Jason Gerber, Warfighter DFAC manager, 404th Aviation Brigade Public Affairs Office, 4th Infantry Division)
46 GOVERNMENT FOOD SERVICE • MAY 2017