FORT HOOD (Now designated Fort Cavazos), Texas — The III Armored Corps’ 69th Air Defense Artillery Brigade is hosting the field cooking competition for the Army’s 50th Anniversary of the Phillip A. Connelly Award Program beginning at 10:30 a.m. April 5 here.
The four remaining teams represent Fort Hood (Now designated Fort Cavazos), Texas; Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington; Fort Campbell, Kentucky; and Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
The Phillip A. Connelly Awards Program was established on March 23, 1968, to recognize excellence in Army Food Service. In 2014, the Army partnered with the National Restaurant Association (NRA). The Joint Culinary Center of Excellence at Fort Lee administers the program. Much of the professionalism associated with today’s Army food service is a direct result of the Connelly competition and the invaluable support provided by the NRA.
During Connelly competition events, culinarians are exposed to the highest level of expertise in the military and civilian industry. These experiences awaken a new sense of personal responsibility for professional development. The Connelly competition represents a personal challenge to individual Soldiers. The end result is a proliferation of outstanding effort as one individual aspires another to seek the satisfaction found in performing a job well. The Connelly Awards Program helps instill the sense of prestige, honor, and dignity in the Culinarian Specialist.
The awards program starts at the lowest level competing through the various levels of command; where first place winners are selected at the department of Army level with evaluators assigned from the Army Quartermaster School and National Restaurant Association.
Winners of the competition will receive awards in May at the NRA ceremony in Chicago.
