Kadena food service team earns PACAF award

  • Published
  • 18th Force Support Squadron
KADENA AIR BASE, Japan --  The 18th Force Support Squadron's food service team has been selected by Pacific Air Forces to represent the command in the Air Force competition for the 2012 John L. Hennessy Trophy in the multiple facility category.

The announcement made by PACAF leaders recently comes as no surprise to the honored food service team, which is confident in its recipe for success.

The Hennessy Trophy is an annual award presented to Air Force installations with the best military food-service programs. Winners must display excellence in management effectiveness, force-readiness support, food quality, employee and customer relations, resource conservation, training and safety awareness. Judges come from the National Restaurant Association, Society for Food Service Management and International Foodservice Executives Association.

Col. Michael F. Borgert, 18th FSS commander, said he is proud of the work being done by the food services professionals at the Marshall and Johnson Dining Facilities.

"I've always known our food service team is the best and I have full confidence they'll bring home the AF trophy," said Borgert.

"This is a very prestigious, yet hard-to-win award. The evaluators don't pull any punches; they expect only the best in customer service and food quality," said Chief Master Sgt. Alexander Garcia, 18th FSS Sustainment Services Flight deputy.

The Kadena food operation is no stranger to excellence; in 2010 it earned the PACAF Food Service Excellence award and in 2011 was selected as the outstanding team during the General Curtis E. LeMay evaluation.

The team now faces off against seven installations across the Air Force and the winners will be announced in 2012.