FORT PICKETT, Va. - The 1032nd Transportation Company of the Virginia National Guard has won the Department of the Army's annual Philip A. Connelly Award for Excellence in Army Food Service in the National Guard Field Kitchen category.

"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 for our Soldiers," said John Q. McNulty, chief of the Food, Liquid Logistics and Field Services Division for Department of the Army. "All finalists displayed high standards of excellence; were very competitive; and are congratulated for their outstanding performance."

McNulty sent notifications to the winning units via email Dec. 19.

Soldiers from the unit prepared their meal for the competition at Fort Pickett in October. They competed against National Guard units from six other regions across the country and were judged in 11 different categories that ranged from sanitation to the quality of the food. The unit will receive the actual award during ceremonies scheduled April 2-5, 2009 in Atlanta.

"I am so proud of all the Soldiers in the company and want to give my thanks to those involved with this year's competition that made this win possible," said Capt. Alexandre Oryschak, the unit commander.

"This is the second consecutive year that the 1032nd has participated and was selected as both the state and regional Connelly champion," said Lt. Col. Doug Messner, commander of the 1030th Transportation Battalion. "Winning the overall competition this year is confirmation of what we've known at the 1032nd and the battalion staff for many years: the combination of great teamwork, commitment to providing the Soldiers the best food service possible and the energy and camaraderie of the team is electrifying."

The commander of the 329th Regional Support Group, Col. Timothy Williams, echoed Messner's assessment. "Winning the Connelly competition is a true reflection of a great unit with a history of outstanding performance in food service operations."

The Connelly program is named in honor of Philip A. Connelly, past president of the International Food Service Executives Association (IFSEA), who is highly regarded as the driving force behind obtaining IFSEA sponsorship for the Department of the Army's recognition of excellence in Army food service.

The program is co-sponsored by the Department of the Army and IFSEA. IFSEA representatives participate in the evaluation of finalists in five dining facility categories: small garrison, large garrison and field kitchens in the active Army, U.S. Army Reserve and Army National Guard.

U.S. Army Center of Excellence and Subsistence and IFSEA evaluators traveled around the world during the past three months to obtain first-hand knowledge of how Army food service personnel perform their jobs.

All the finalists were evaluated in a number of areas, including food preparation, taste, nutrition, service and sanitation.