Dining Facility Receives General’s Best Award

‘Best Thanksgiving Dining Facility’
PFC Shawn Denham
101st Sustainment Brigade, 101st Airborne Division

FORT CAMPBELL, Kentucky Dec 15 – Soldiers of the “Lifeliners” Dining Facility gathered around the commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division, as he handed them their hard-won Thanksgiving award to the DFAC manager.
Major General James Campbell presented the 101st Sustainment Brigade Dining Facility, 101st Sustainment Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, with the General’s Best Thanksgiving Dining Facility Award.
DFAC Manager, Sergeant First Class Macy Fleming, received the award Dec. 15 during an impromptu ceremony.
This is the second Thanksgiving award the DFAC has received, said Sergeant First Class Keva A. Wallace, assistant manager at the DFAC. “We were quite surprised because we beat all the dining facilities on base,” she said.
Wallace said the displays and carvings also contributed to the award.
Wallace said the Soldiers of the DFAC appreciated the award. “They’re excited, it means something to them,” she said. “It makes them feel that they achieved something. We appreciate all the hard work the Soldiers put into this. It’s a team effort.”
The award had a special meaning for Specialist Thomas N. Lester, DFAC rations specialist.
“It’s nice to know you go into this post-wide competition and come out with a win,” he said.
A normal workday for DFAC Soldiers begins at 5 a.m. and end at 6:30 p.m. For this meal, the Soldiers spent all night working hard to prepare the Thanksgiving feast, Lester said.
The work paid off, he said “It puts our names and our faces out there. It gives us a big morale boost.”
SSG Alex J. Thibodeaux, training NCO for the 101st Sustainment Brigade DFAC, said the award is a great accomplishment for the dining facility as a whole.
This year’s decorations were different than last years, he said. While last year’s theme was more traditional, this year involved an edible theme. Gingerbread decorations, melon carvings and Soldiers dressed as Native Americans were on display in the DFAC.