On Jan. 23, the Department of the Army and the International Food Service Executives Association announced the winners of the 2003 Philip A. Connelly Competition. The 50th Personnel Service Battalion, New Jersey Army National Guard, placed second out of more than 3,700 units in the Army National Guard category throughout the entire United States.

“ The food service staffs of these units deserve special recognition for their contribution toward improving the Army's food service program, and for their superior efforts in enhancing the quality of food service provided to our Army's soldiers,” said officials from the U.S Army Quartermaster Center and School, Army Center of Excellence. “All finalists displayed high standards of excellence, were very competitive, and are congratulated for their outstanding performance.”

On Nov. 9, 2002, Guardsmen from the 50th Personnel Service Battalion, headquartered in Lawrenceville, went head-to-head against the best food service units in the Army in hopes of being recognized as the best field food service operations unit in the United States Army. This was the first time a New Jersey Army National Guard unit had placed at this level in the annual Philip A. Connelly Award competition. In addition to taking second place, one member of the 50th Personnel Service Battalion will be chosen to attend the internationally recognized Johnson and Wells Culinary Arts School.

In the preliminary competitions, the 50th Personnel Services Battalion placed first both in New Jersey and the Mid-Atlantic Region. By Nov. 9, 2002, the 50th Personnel Service Battalion was the last unit to be evaluated and was pitted against the final six Army units that already had been tested. The evaluation team was comprised of cooking personnel from Fort Belvoir, Va. The evaluation took place in the challenging environment of Bivouac area 4A at Fort Dix. The evaluators were so impressed with 50th cooks’ performance, all four were given merit citations for going the extra mile in the preparation of the meal. The 50th Personnel Service Battalion also received a plaque for being one of seven finalists in the competition.

The evaluators judge training, supervision, management and operations, accounting procedures, field sanitation, appearance and attitude of food service personnel, serving, and troop acceptability of food, field kitchen site selection and layout, use and maintenance of equipment, food preparation and quality, receipt and storage of rations, and command support.

The awards program is named in honor of the late Philip A. Connelly, past president of the International Food Service Executives Association, which co-sponsors the award with the U.S. Army. Connelly was the driving force behind obtaining the Associations’ sponsorship for the Army’s recognition of excellence in Army food service programs. The goals of the Connelly Awards Program are to improve the professionalism of the food service personnel; provide the best quality food service to our soldiers, and recognize the personnel preparing and serving food in Army dining facilities and field kitchen operations.