Dining facility to represent post in annual competition                      Susanne Kappler  Leader Staff

Making new Soldiers “Army Strong” is the most important mission on Fort Jackson –– a mission that cannot be achieved without proper nutrition, a Soldier’s “fuel for strength.” “Fuel for strength” is also the theme for this year’s Philip A. Connelly Awards for Excellence in Army Food Service competition, an Army-wide contest to identify and award the best dining facilities. Fort Jackson will be represented by the 2nd Battalion, 39th Infantry Regiment dining facility. The facility, which will compete against seven other installations, will be evaluated Tuesday by representatives from the Food Service Branch of the Southeast Region, U.S. Army Installation Management Command. The criteria for the evaluation will be: food preparation and serving; administration; training and supervision; head count procedures; sanitation and safety; equipment maintenance; receipt and storage of subsistence; and command support. The staff of the dining facility started rehearsing for the event in April. They finished as the runner-up for the Southeast Region last year and are striving for even greater success this year. “We are very motivated,” said Barbara Johnson, manager of the 2nd Bn., 39th Inf. Reg. DFAC. “We want to bring (the award) to Fort Jackson where it belongs.”  In preparation for the evaluation, the Soldiers of the battalion were treated to a rehearsal lunch May 28 that included menu items such as Caribbean chicken breast, veal parmesan and shrimp gumbo. The dining facility was decorated with ice sculptures and flowers. Robert Cook, the Installation Food Service Quality Assurance evaluator, pointed out that the purpose of the competition is to demonstrate the quality of service provided throughout the year and not just during the evaluation. “We want to show the graders that we are organized, that we are familiar with what we are doing and that this is what we do on a daily basis; it’s not just a show for today,” he said.  The results for the Southeast Regional contest will be announced in August or September. The winner will move on to the Army-wide phase of the competition against the other IMCOM regions’ winners. “We are putting our best foot forward to make Fort Jackson proud of us,” Cook said. “We’re representing Fort Jackson, so it means a great deal to us to do an outstanding job.”