United States Transportation Command

WASHINGTON (USTCNS) --- Military Sealift Command's Food Service Excellence Award is being re-named the Captain David M. Cook Award to honor the contributions of MSC's former director of logistics, Navy Capt. David M. Cook who died of cancer on April 26, 2001.

Cook was instrumental in enhancing every aspect of food service operations at MSC, from training for food service staff to nutrition education for ship crews, while serving as the logistics director from 1995 until 1998.

"He was the first to provide a consistent level of funding for the MSC Food Service Excellence Award and the various programs that benefited from it," said Master Chief Petty Officer Roberta Jio MSC's former food service operations director, who is currently serving aboard USS Roosevelt. "He provided exceptional leadership to the Logistics Directorate. It is fitting that we memorialize his name and his lasting contributions to the enhanced quality of life in the MSC fleet."

"He was really the driving force that made everything happen," said Lynda Hinz, a supply systems analyst in the MSC Logistics Directorate, who worked with Cook on numerous food service conferences.

Cook, a native of Evansville, Ind., began his Navy career as a reserve officer candidate, was commissioned an ensign in the Naval Reserve Supply Corps in 1970 and opted for an active duty Navy career in 1972. He received his bachelor's degree from San Diego State University and held a master's
degree in management from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif.

"He started the Healthy Heart cooking classes in our fleet," said Jio. "This was a program in which certified chefs and nutritionists are sent to MSC ships to educate food service personnel and the crew. He really put his all into MSC and food service, and the award should recognize that contribution."

"Dave Cook was visionary in seeing the utility and efficiency of using restaurant quality, pre-prepared foods in our menus," said Navy Capt. Brian Blanchfield former director of logistics at MSC. "As a result of significant market research he and his staff identified the products and necessary processes to ensure adequate distribution of quality food items at a reasonable cost and on a worldwide distribution basis.

Dave's interest and support for this tremendous quality of life issue -- excellent food service - makes associating his name and contributions to this award an obvious decision."

The Captain David M. Cook Award will be presented annually, and the competition is tough. Four winning ships are chosen from approximately 35 MSC ships crewed by civil service mariners. The ships are judged on a vast set of criteria including food preparation, accountability, sanitation and safety.

MSC ships are divided into two categories based on crew size -- the ships in the small ship category have crews of 75 people or less and the ships in the large chip category have crews of 75 or more people.

Each civil service crewed ship may submit a nomination package highlighting the steward department's financial stability and safety record. Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force offices, located in Norfolk and San Diego, review the submissions, assess the ships and nominate one large ship and one small ship for the award. A three-member assessment team visits the nominated ships to determine two winners and two runners-up.

The awards are presented during the International Food Service Executives Association's annual conference. IFSEA is a private organization that promotes military food service and educates people about the role of military food service in the food service industry.

This year's awards dinner will be held March 22-24 in Tampa, Fla.

Military Sealift Command is the ocean transportation provider for the Department of Defense. The command, part of the U.S. Navy, operates more than 110 active ships around the world. Ship missions vary from the transport and afloat prepositioning of defense cargo; to underway replenishment and other direct support to Navy ships at sea; to at-sea data collection for the U.S. military and other U.S. government agencies.

(FROM MILITARY SEALIFT COMMAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS)

MSC food service excellence award re-named

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