152nd Component Repair Company Cooks Compete for Coveted Connolly
09 June 2014
Spc. Stephen Cobb and Spc. Derek Gause, cooks for the 152nd Component Repair Company, Maine Army National Guard prepare broccoli parmesan and garlic bread for soldiers and national judges during the first stage of the Phillip A. Connolly Competition. The June event was the first step in a long road to the national level competition. Judges will base their decisions off of the Joint Culinary Center of Excellence standard, and rank the 152nd amongst all of the other competing teams. A success will move them to the national level competition. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Angela Parady.)
Soldiers from the 152nd Component Repair Company help themselves to salad after picking up a hot meal prepared for them by four cooks within the unit striving to move on to the national level for the Phillip A. Connolly Competition. Even though the unit is a component repair and maintenance company that works primarily on electronics equipment, light-medium tactical vehicles and heavy equipment, they still have to have the capabilities to feed their soldiers. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Angela Parady.)
"Today we have a pretty decent sized menu," said the staff sergeant. "We have spaghetti and meatballs, and my personal favorite: chocolate pudding. There is salad, fruit, apples, some parmesan bread. It's a pretty decent meal for being out in the field. "
Soldiers from the 152nd Component Repair Company, Maine Army National Guard are competing in the 47th Annual Phillip A. Connolly Awards Program. As part of the competition they have to prepare a meal in a field environment. Which means setting up stations where hands can be washed, soldiers signed in, meals eaten, utensils washed and a fully functional kitchen is present.
This is the Army's ultimate cooking competition, which began in 1968 and is one of the few competitions where all Army components, active Army, Reserves, and National Guard, compete against one another. Mess sections from units across the country compete in order find the best Army cooking operations, and this time it's the 152nd who are being put on display.
"We are putting together food for 60 soldiers to simulate an event where we were on alert and facilities were not available," said Staff Sgt. Crystal Ryder, an administrative sergeant, tasked with heading up the field sanitation team for the event. "So we are setting up for that, we've got our finest cooks cooking the food out here and our sanitation team working the safety side of it, ensuring the cleanliness of the food going in and out."
Sgt. 1st Class Tom Gordon is the food operations sergeant for the 152nd. The Waterville native emphasized that even though the unit is a component repair and maintenance company that works primarily on electronics equipment, light-medium tactical vehicles and heavy equipment, they still have to have the capabilities to feed their soldiers.
"We have to be able to feed our soldiers so they can continue the mission," he said. "A hot meal sustains them. It gives soldiers a good break in the middle of their day to collect their thoughts and to get together and see how things are going. On a hot day like today, it gives them the nutrition to replace things like salt and what not they may be sweating out, and it's good for morale."
Ryder, who lives in Augusta agreed, and praised the four cooks who had been sweating it out on the first 90-plus degree day of the year, in the kitchen for nearly two hours to get everything ready for the soldiers.
"If soldiers aren't fed, they aren't going to work," she said. "That's just how it is. I think these guys are doing an awesome job, a terrific job. They are using the resources they have and putting a great meal together. I know there are some people out there who can't cook in their own kitchen anything as good as some of these meals will be. Soldiers need their energy, and they need their food. Without food, they don't have energy, and we need energy to be mission capable. Food is very important."
The soldiers, who will cook the same meal as other units competing for the Connolly Award nationwide will be tested on their ability to meet field food safety requirements, the accuracy of their headcount, the appearance and attitude of the food service personnel, and timeliness. According to Gordon, that's not all.
"We have to follow the recipe cards to standard, start at the times we say we are going to start, use the ingredients we say we are going to use. The sanitation tent and food service tent all have to be set distances from each other. And the food has to be good."
The June event was the first step in a long road to the national level competition. Judges will base their decisions off of the Joint Culinary Center of Excellence standard, and rank the 152nd amongst all of the other competing teams. A success will move them to the national level competition.
Regardless of what the evaluators come back with for the soldiers who worked hard for this event, Ryder said she thought that the day's competition was a worthwhile exercise.
This program was named after Phillip A. Connelly, a leader in the Food Service Management Corp who worked diligently and earnestly throughout his life to promote professionalism in food service, in both the civilian and military services.
Maine Colonel Honors Fallen Soldier
Chief of staff ran in Boston Marathon in memory of Soldier killed in Afghanistan
12 June 2014
COL Jack Mosher, chief of staff for the Maine National Guard, completes the Boston Marathon in honor of CPL Andrew Hutchins, who died in Afghanistan. Hutchins' daughter, Allysa, hugs Mosher after the race. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Angela Parady.)
"A lot of people run a marathon every day," says Colonel Jack Mosher, Chief of Staff for the Maine Army National Guard, as he sits in his office overlooking the entrance to Camp Keyes, ME. "Every day, you wake up, you put your shoes on, and you live your life. For me, running marathons is a way of demonstrating my resilience, but in my life, a lot of the marathons I have run have never been on a trail or on the road. They were me, sitting alone in a room thinking my way through some of the problems in my life, that we all have to face."
Mosher has laced up to run over 25 marathons. That doesn't include his ultra marathons or trail runs. In 2009 he started running as a way to cope with the difficult times he was facing in his own personal life, and he has never stopped.
The well-being of Soldiers and their families is often on his mind during those runs. Shortly after Mosher began to find his own inner peace with running, Corporal Andrew Hutchins, a native of New Portland, ME, died in Afghanistan.
Only 20 years old, Andrew was a military policeman serving with the 101st Airborne Division out of Fort Campbell, KY. He left behind his wife and high school sweetheart, Heather, who was pregnant with Andrew's daughter, whom he would never meet. Mosher ended up sitting behind Heather shortly after Andrew's death at an event at the Governor's house and was able to take some time to talk with her.
"I think [Heather] and Andrew are emblematic of all our men and women that step forward from every street, every corner, every hamlet and every farm in Maine to serve their country. I run for Andrew and I run for his family. I think he was a great person, and his wife, Heather, [is] an amazing person," says Mosher.
That's why Mosher decided to run the 2014 Boston Marathon in Andrew's memory.
"I was so happy to hear that someone was running in honor of Andrew," says Heather, who traveled to Boston for the event with his family and her two daughters. "And when I heard it was Colonel Mosher, I was even happier. He is a great guy who has treated my family well in how he honors Andrew and us."
This was not the first race Mosher has run with Heather and Andrew in his thoughts. He says he feels a connection to their specific family, and that's why he continues to run for them. "They have a great story, and are very emblematic of all our Soldiers. I will continue to run for him so that he is not forgotten."
Heather, who lives in Maine with her two little girls, has been fighting hard to keep moving forward since her world was turned upside down in 2010. Although Allysa, her daughter, may never meet Andrew, Heather and her family work hard to keep his memory alive and make sure she knows who he was and what he did. Heather is very active in attending events held by the Maine Veteran Services program and the Survivor Outreach Support Services, such as Run for the Fallen, the Summit Project and the Maine Marathon Tribute March, along with different events to support scholarships that have been named in Andrew's honor.
"I'm living," she says about how it's been to move forward since Andrew's death. "It isn't something you want to do. Everything I have been through, and the feelings I still have for Andrew, they will never be gone. But I keep focused because of my daughters. When I think about the real purpose of my life, I see their beautiful faces, and I know that my girls are my reason."
While Heather struggles through her own marathons to be strong and healthy for her two girls, Mosher, who similarly is a single father of two boys, works to stay healthy by logging long miles alone on the road.
"The real victories come during those early-morning runs on lonesome highways, when you are all by yourself plodding down the road," says Mosher. "Whenever I can get out there and run, I run in total silence. It's just the thoughts in my head. I like to think when I run. I think about our Soldiers, I think about their families, I think about my family. I think about my time serving in the military, and it is almost a prayerful time for me, out there alone with just the sound of my own breath, my feet on the road, and it's a very peaceful time for me. That's a sacred time for me, the time I spend preparing for marathons, and reflecting on what matters most in my life."
In April, Mosher completed what he considered to be his most emotionally charged marathon—26.2 miles from the starting line in Hopkinton, MA, Mosher crossed the finish line of the Boston Marathon, one year after the tragic bombings. After receiving his finisher's medal, Mosher was embraced by Heather and Allysa. It was an experience Mosher reflects on as a culmination of all his previous marathons, and one he will never forget. Mosher took off his hard-earned finisher's medal, and placed it around Allysa's neck, and told her it was hers now. Heather says she couldn't imagine that many people would do that, especially to a toddler.
Heather's ability to find the strength to push forward has been driven largely by her 3-year-old. Amidst the support from both her and Andrew's family, a lot of her drive has come from Allysa and her baby sister, Kabella.
"They can drive me crazy, but they keep me sane at the same time," says Heather. "If I am ever emotionally drained, or just upset, Allysa runs right over and she will hold my face up with both hands, and say 'it's OK momma, you're a good girl' and then slap a big kiss on my face to top it off. They are the best."
Running, family, kisses on the face, whatever it takes, Heather and Mosher have found their own means to keep putting one foot in front of the other in challenging and adverse times.
"I think that resiliency means taking whatever is thrown at you and being able to handle it, control it, and be strong through it, because your strength can get you through almost anything. I am just trying to accept what has happened and do what I think is best for my family, and continue to have a life."
Mosher emphasizes the importance of finding one's own source of strength and fighting through the hard times.
"Every Maine service member is special, irreplaceable, a treasure," he says. "There is no one else like them on the Earth. The light of their presence here is very important for all of us. I would encourage all of them to fight for the quality of their life every single day. Never, never, ever quit. And to always be a healthy and happy person, especially for those who don't have that option anymore, those who have paid the ultimate price."
Maine Sappers Seek to Surpass the Standards
07 June 2014
Sgt. Matt Tower of the 251st Engineer Company (Sappers), calls in a unexploded ordnance report from a field radio, while his squad provides security during an IED training lane on June 7, at the Bog Brook Training Site in Gilead, Maine.(U.S. Army National Guard photo by Spc. Adam Simmler.)
"Practice makes perfect, and we train as we fight," said Spc. Jeff Shock, a combat engineer with the 251st Engineer Company (Sappers). For the Soldiers of the 251st, that makes for an exciting lineup of training for their June drill weekend, June 7 and 8 at the Bog Brook Training Site in Gilead, Maine.
"Normally, we do improvised explosive device training, route clearance lanes and demolitions," said Shock."This is the first time we've done CBRN stuff."
CBRN, or Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear, is the term used to describe the steps and procedures to deal with a wide array of hazardous materials that could be found on a battlefield.
On Saturday morning, every soldier, from the newest private, to the company commander, rotated through the CS gas chamber. The chamber is filled with a form of tear gas, and is used to reinforce the importance of being proficient with a protective gas mask.
"Sometimes it's hard to see in the mask," said Shock. "being aware of your environment is extremely important; so you need to keep your head on a swivel."
After the CS chamber, their situational awareness was put to the test on an IED lane where soldiers worked as a team to detect, report, and neutralize a series of simulated explosives hidden along a road.
"During CBRN training and while we're patrolling, my role as a leader is to make sure everyone knows what their job is, and that everybody is staying in their sector and scanning," said Sgt. Matt Tower a combat engineer with the 251st. "I want to make sure that everybody maintains situational awareness, at all times, so that if someone spots an IED, we can react appropriately."
"I find this training exciting, because I know that as a National Guard member, I have my civilian job and I have my military service here," said Tower. "One weekend a month, believe it or not, I do look forward to it because I get to do something different, something that excites me and gets me going.
Over the rest of their June drill period, the soldiers from the 251st will conduct day and night patrols, obstacle courses and other crucial warrior tasks.
Shock comments, "The administrative drills are mandatory and have to get done. But this is our job, and to be good at your job, you have to keep doing it. Practice makes perfect and we train as we fight."