Warhorse Pride #52 (31 March 11)

Mar. 31, 2011Issue 52Serving the Soldiers, Civilians and Families of 2nd BCT, 4th Inf. Div.

Story by Maj. Kevin Toner2nd Brigade Combat Team PAO

Carson took 5th place overall.The Warhorse cooks competed as a group

in the “Student Skills” category. Phase I was a timed relay race in which the competitors had to dress a chicken, filet a fish, prepare vegetables, and make pastry items. In Phase II, the team had to recreate Saute Poulet al la Catalane, a classic French chicken dish. The Warhorse team was one of only four to earn a gold medal in the category.

In the “Field Category” competitors used their field kitchen equipment to make high-end 3-course meals. In this competition, civilian guests to the Fort Lee dining facility chose between the meals created by two teams. The Warhorse team competed against a team from Fort Hood. Eighty-one civilians chose the Warhorse meal and 20 chose the

Warhorse cooks compete in Ft. Lee

Sgt. James Rush, Cpl. Joshua Hoyt, Spc. Matthew Wagner, Spc. Paul Santana, Spc. Kendal Contardo pose with a judge and their submission to the “Student Skills” category. This team of Warhorse cooks was one of only four to earn a gold medal in this category.

Cooks from 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division plate their dishes in the “Student Skills” category at the 36th Annual Culinary Arts Competition. This Warhorse team was one of only four to earn a gold medal in this category.

meal prepared by the Fort Hood team.The “Nutritional” category was similar to a

popular television cooking show. “Individual competitors received a

‘mystery basket’ of ingredients with which to create a nutritionally balanced meal,” said Rush, a cook with 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment.

“The most grueling category was the ‘Cold Table’,” he said. “Our team spent 27 straight hours preparing the buffet.”

The judging panel was a group of American and international chefs who judge similar competitions around the world.

“I want to thank Chef Thomas Shaeffer, from the Pikes Peak American Culinary Federation chapter for his advice and mentorship,” said Rush.

Army cooks from 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division and Fort Carson competed in the 36th Annual Culinary Arts Competition at Fort Lee, Va. from Feb 26. to Mar. 12.

Of the 12 person team from Fort Carson, the Warhorse brigade sent 5 cooks: Sgt. James Rush, Cpl. Joshua Hoyt, Spc. Paul Santana, Spc. Matthew Wagner and Spc. Kendal Contardo. Each Warhorse cook came home with numerous medals from the several competitive categories.

Competitors are judged in individual and team categories and the categories are compiled to determine overall rankings. Of the 25 military teams that competed, Fort

2nd BCT hosts Governance and Development Training

Jason Lewis-Berry (male speaker) served as lead instructor from the State Department’s Office of Stabilization and Reconstruc-tion during 2nd BCT’s governance and development training seminar. Frances Brown (female speaker) represented the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Story by Maj. Shaffir AlikahnSecurity Force Assistance Team

Members from the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development conducted governance and development training for members of 2nd BCT, 4th Inf. Div., Mar. 11.

The training event, held at the Aspen Conference Room in the Army Community Services building, was geared towards

building greater understanding of the roles of civilian governance and development organizations in Afghanistan. Specific topics of discussion included roles and functions of U.S. District Support Teams, Operational Coordination Centers, and Provincial Reconstruction Teams.

“This was a great opportunity for the brigade staff and Security Force Assistance

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The Warhorse Pride is produced in the interest of the Soldiers of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division. The Warhorse Pride is an Army-funded news-letter authorized under provision of AR 360-1. Contents of The Warhorse Pride arenot necessarily the views of, nor endorsed by the, U.S. government, Department of Defense, Department of the Army or the 4th Infantry Division. All editorial content of The Warhorse Pride is prepared, edited, provided and approved by the 2nd Brigade Combat Team Public Af-

fairs Office. The Warhorse Pride welcomes articles, commen-tary, and photos from readers. The Warhorse Pride reserves the right to edit submissions selected for the publication. All issues of the Warhorse Pride can be viewed online from your home computer at www.facebook.com/2bct4id Submissions should be emailed to theeditor: [email protected]

Warhorse Pride Mar. 31, 2011Issue 52

Col. John S. Kolasheski..................2nd BCT CommanderCommand Sgt. Maj. Ralph Delosa............2nd BCT CSMMaj. Kevin Toner...............................................2nd BCT PAOSpc. April York........................................Layout and DesignSgt. Seth Barham............................................................Editor Sgt. Ruth Pagan...............................................................Editor

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Warhorse Pride

Teams to learn more about effective integration and coordination with civilian agencies in Afghanistan,” said Maj. Chris Dunlap, the brigade’s Chief of Governance and Development.

“This training will also help us to become more effective at integrating all interagency efforts into our governance and development lines of effort in Afghanistan,” Dunlap said.

The State Department representative, Jason Lewis-Berry, served as Kandahar PRT Chief of Staff for 16 months and the USAID representative, Frances Brown, spent over 3 years in Afghanistan coordinating economic development projects.

continued from page 1Governance Training

Story by Capt. Candi C. Roberts and Maj. Kevin Toner4th Inf. Div. Physical Therapy Liaison, MEDDAC 2nd Brigade Combat Team PAO

equipment are not yet on the ground, so 2nd Brigade was asked to help,” said Capt. Laura Bluemle, 2nd Brigade physical therapist. “IHPO is a division program and 2nd Brigade was the first brigade to implement it. We are now sharing our knowledge and lessons learned with the other Ironhorse brigades.”

Schoomaker stated, “We need to evaluate current and proposed injury prevention and performance optimization programs. Injury prevention is important, but we need to be able to evaluate these programs for their effectiveness and then standardize them for use across our Army. Otherwise, we’re just mindlessly putting Soldiers through training that doesn’t get results.”

The Surgeon General participated in some of the screening and remarked, “It’s harder than it looks, and the screen was able to find my physical limitations.”

Army Surgeon General observes “Warrior” Soldier SPAR training

While attending a recent Western Regional Medical Command strategic planning conference in Colorado Springs, Army Surgeon General, Lt. Gen. Eric B. Schoomaker, made a special visit to Fort Carson and observed Soldier Performance Assessment Record (SPAR) training for 4th BCT, 4th Inf. Div. Soldiers.

The Ironhorse Performance Optimization team from 2nd BCT, 4th Inf. Div. supported the event by teaching Soldiers how to collect baseline physical readiness data such as Functional Movement Screens, shuttle sprints, and hop tests, that will then be collected prior to the initiation of the 4th BCT’s Mountain Athlete Warrior (MAW) program.

“The 4th Brigade training team and

Lt. Gen. Eric B. Schoomaker, the Army surgeon general partici-pates in the hurdle step, one of the Ironhorse Performance Optimization tests. The Surgeon General made a special trip to the Mountain Post to observe Soldier Performance Assessment Record training.