Team Bios
Military District Washington
What is the average age of the members on your team?
31 years of age, 5 in low 20’s, 5 in high 30’s or over
Who is the most senior member of your team, and how long has he or she been serving?
CSCM Eric Johnson, 30 years
Who is the most junior member of your team, and how long has he or she been serving?
CSSN Panis, 10 Months
What excites you about coming to the Joint Culinary Training Exercise?
Getting to see the amazing talents that the Chefs in the Armed Forces possess.
What is an interesting fact about your team that most would not realize?
The entire student Chef team has a total of less than 8 years of service, is made up entirely of E3’s, and one member of the team has never attended A-school or cooked before. CSSN Memmott is a Ceremonial Guard station in DC and will go to A-school after his tour.
What is your team’s goal during the 47th Annual JCTE and what one word that best describes your team?
The goal is Golds all around, one word….DOMINATE!
Does anyone on your team have previous culinary competition experience here at Fort Gregg-Adams or elsewhere?
Yes, CSCS Edwards is a prior ACF Chef of the Year and has competed in numerous culinary competitions professional and thru the military. CS1 Jeff Plotz competed on the USCG team last year as AFCOY.
Yes, CSCS Edwards is a prior ACF Chef of the Year and has competed in numerous culinary competitions professional and thru the military. CS1 Jeff Plotz competed on the USCG team last year as AFCOY.
Yes, CSCS Edwards is a CEC, CCA and PROCHEF III. CSCM Eric Johnson is a Graduate of Johnson and Wales University in Culinary Arts and holds a FSM MBA, and both GySgt Jacob Parrett are certified PROCHEF Level 1
What was the greatest challenge coming together as a team?
We pulled from Multiple branches of service and commands in the DC area, and everyone still had a full-time job to maintain while trying to train as a unit.
Fort Bragg
What is the average age of the members on your team?
26
Who is the most senior member of your team, and how long has he or she been serving?
SSG Coleman, LeCory; 9 Years
Who is the most junior member of your team, and how long has he or she been serving?
PFC Martin; 1 Yr. 6 months
What excites you about coming to the Joint Culinary Training Exercise?
Gaining Knowledge, Experience, and Exposure.
What is an interesting fact about your team that most would not realize?
We will be the last team to compete under the name Fort Bragg, Fort Bragg is one of the duty stations that name will change this year. This is also the first time ever in Fort Bragg’s history that the team manager and captain does not have any ACF Certifications or Training.
What is your team’s goal during the 47th Annual JCTE and what one word that best describes your team?
To at least Medal, network, have fun, and get some great culinary experience.
Does anyone on your team have previous culinary competition experience here at Fort Gregg-Adams or elsewhere?
No
Have any of your team members received formal culinary training or hold an ACF certification?
Team Manger is an Advance Culinary Graduate, No ACF certifications.
Fort Carson
What is the average age of the members on your team?
24
Who is the most senior member of your team, and how long has he or she been serving?
SGT Mychal Gaines. 5 years
Who is the most junior member of your team, and how long has he or she been serving?
PV2 Isaac Fuwell, >1 year
What excites you about coming to the Joint Culinary Training Exercise?
Experience gained during the preparation.
What is an interesting fact about your team that most would not realize?
The team manager is a 68M, not a 92G
What is your team’s goal during the 47th Annual JCTE and what one word that best describes your team?
We intend to enjoy the ride and learn new things. Imperfect.
Does anyone on your team have previous culinary competition experience here at Fort Gregg-Adams or elsewhere?
Team manager.
Have any of your team members received formal culinary training or hold an ACF certification?
No
Fort Drum
What is the average age of the members on your team?
24
Who is the most senior member of your team, and how long has he or she been serving?
SGT Miller. He has been serving for 10 years
Who is the most junior member of your team, and how long has he or she been serving?
PFC Sigue, he has been serving just under one year.
Have any of your team members received formal culinary training or hold an ACF certification?
SGT Wisbauer attended Johnson and Wales University for 2 years. PFC Otero has Graduated the Advanced Culinary Skills Course. SGT Miller Attended Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School.
What is an interesting fact about your team that most would not realize?
That there are 5 people not raised in the United States on the team.
What is your team’s goal during the 47th Annual JCTE and what one word that best describes your team?
Our goal is to win. The one word is Confident.
Does anyone on your team have previous culinary competition experience here at Fort Gregg-Adams or elsewhere?
We have 4 members that have competed before. SGT Miller has competed at JTCE 3 times. SGT Wisbauer has Competed in 1 JTCE and 2 Competitions outside of the military. SPC Piver and PFC Otero have competed in 1 JTCE each
What excites you about coming to the Joint Culinary Training Exercise?
Getting a chance to learn from other teams, and to show off what we are capable of.
Fort Riley
What is the average age of the members on your team?
23 years old
Who is the most senior member of your team, and how long has he or she been serving?
SPC Solis, Diego; 3 yrs 6 mo
Who is the most junior member of your team, and how long has he or she been serving?
PFC Matos, Yoheny; 1 yr 8 mo
What excites you about coming to the Joint Culinary Training Exercise?
Experience, networking, unity, learning new skill sets and applying them in a competitive environment.
Have any of your team members received formal culinary training or hold an ACF certification?
SPC Solis and SPC Tillman have had formal culinary training. No one on the team holds an ACF certification.
What is an interesting fact about your team that most would not realize?
Our team was able to produce professional dishes and trained with little equipment available to us.
What is your team’s goal during the 47th Annual JCTE and what one word that best describes your team?
Team goal is to apply everything that was learned and successfully execute our categories and secure Gold medals. One word to describe our team Adamant.
Does anyone on your team have previous culinary competition experience here at Fort Gregg-Adams or elsewhere?
Yes, we have multiple team members with competition experience; SSG Ramirez has competed in the 43rd Annual JCTE; SPC Solis competed in Skills USA Organization, ProStart, Attended Auguste Escoffier; SPC Tillman attended the Art Institute of Charlotte, NC; SPC Kopacz competed and won III Corp Chef of the Year competition.
3rd Infantry Division
What is the average age of the members on your team?
23
Who is the most senior member of your team, and how long has he or she been serving?
SGT Ogie, five years
Who is the most junior member of your team, and how long has he or she been serving?
PV2 Hernandez, 9 months
What was the greatest challenge coming together as a team?
Funding being available and being at two different posts and also preparing for deployment in April while training for competition.
What excites you about coming to the joint culinary training exercise?
Networking, first time experience
What is an interesting fact about your team that most would not realize?
We came together last min, even with upcoming training NTC, Deployments.
What is your team’s goal during the 47th Annual JCTE and what one word that best describes your team?
To place in the top three. Resilient
Does anyone on your team have previous culinary competition experience here at Fort Gregg-Adams or elsewhere?
Yes, local competitions against the BDE
Have any of your team members received formal culinary training or hold an ACF certification?
No
Army Korea
What is the average age of the members on your team?
The average is 30 years.
Who is the most senior member of your team, and how long has he or she been serving?
SFC Luerssen, the team manager, he’s been in for 18 years.
Who is the most junior member of your team, and how long has he or she been serving?
SPC Snipes and she been serving for 3 years.
What excites you about coming to the Joint Culinary Training Exercise?
To see how much the team have improved and get as many awards as we possibly can.
What is an interesting fact about your team that most would not realize?
We invested a lot of our own funds in the program so we can be successful.
What is your team’s goal during the 47th Annual JCTE and what one word that best describes your team?
The team’s goal is to take as many awards as possible back to our duty station. The one word that best describes the team is passion. They are very passionate about the products they are presenting to Fort Gregg-Adams. It took a lot of hard work and dedication to make it this far into the event.
Does anyone on your team have previous culinary competition experience here at Fort Gregg-Adams or elsewhere?
We currently have three members that have competed before in ST categories that are now competing at the professional level.
Have any of your team members received formal culinary training or hold an ACF certification?
No
Army Europe-Africa
What is the average age of the members on your team?
26 years old
Who is the most senior member of your team, and how long has he or she been serving?
SFC Mattaeu, 11 Years (NCOIC); CW2 Parker, 21 Years (Manager)
Who is the most junior member of your team, and how long has he or she been serving?
PFC Ball, 19. Approx. 2 years.
What excites you about coming to the Joint Culinary Training Exercise?
The opportunity to see other sister organizations compete and to compete against them in such an event and to learn new skills and techniques.
What is an interesting fact about your team that most would not realize?
We come from across Europe. Members of the team are as far as six hours away from each other.
What is your team’s goal during the 47th Annual JCTE and what one word that best describes your team?
Win it all; Everyone leaves with a medal (or more); leave better than we came.
Does anyone on your team have previous culinary competition experience here at Fort Gregg-Adams or elsewhere?
CW2 Parker. 4 times JCTE, (2009, 2010, 2012, 2016) 2 times IFSEA in Washington D.C. (2009, 2010).
Have any of your team members received formal culinary training or hold an ACF certification?
CW2 Parker went to culinary program through community college and worked in the industry prior to service. CW2 Parker is a member of the ACF (uncertified).
Army National Guard
Who is the most senior member of your team, and how long has he or she been serving?
SFC Mike Heroux, 34 years.
Who is the most junior member of your team, and how long has he or she been serving?
SPC Natalie Montgomery, 1 ½ years. Joined when they were 17 ½ yrs. Old
What excites you about coming to the Joint Culinary Training Exercise?
The opportunity to represent the Army National Guard in this global competition. It is a momentous occasion for us to be here and spot light our culinary talents with our peers.
Have any of your team members received formal culinary training or hold an ACF certification?
We have graduates of the Culinary Institute of America and Johnson & Wales University on our team. We also have Soldiers who are currently enrolled in culinary and nutrition programs. They are completing their school assignments at night after being in the kitchen all day.
What is an interesting fact about your team that most would not realize?
The fact that members of our team had not even met each other prior to arriving to Virginia. Coming together from different parts of the country to practice and compete as a team demonstrates our resiliency. We are prepared to travel anywhere in the world and create amazing meals for our Soldiers!
What is your team’s goal during the 47th Annual JCTE and what one word that best describes your team?
Our goal is to showcase the talents of our junior chefs and expose them to the many facets of cooking at all levels. One word: Hungry!
Does anyone on your team have previous culinary competition experience here at Fort Gregg-Adams or elsewhere?
SFC Mike Heroux competed at the JCTE in 1992 as a member of the FT Riley culinary arts team. SFC Heroux also has competed for the last 4 years at the World Food Championships in Dallas, Texas.
What is the average age of the members on your team?
29
Army Reserves
What is the average age of the members on your team?
31
Who is the most senior member of your team, and how long has he or she been serving?
CW3 Beard 23 years
Who is the most junior member of your team, and how long has he or she been serving?
SPC Clark 2 years
What excites you about coming to the Joint Culinary Training Exercise?
Great experience
What is an interesting fact about your team that most would not realize?
We had 2 days in a kitchen together before the event.
What is your team’s goal during the 47th Annual JCTE and what one word that best describes your team?
To train the newest members to be our replacements to continue this program and by partnering with the NGB this will make the Reserve program even stronger.
Does anyone on your team have previous culinary competition experience here at Fort Gregg-Adams or elsewhere?
Yes 4 members have been here before
Have any of your team members received formal culinary training or hold an ACF certification?
Yes 4 members
Marines
What is the average age of the members on your team?
25
Who is the most senior member of your team, and how long has he or she been serving?
GySgt Watts, 17 years
Who is the most junior member of your team, and how long has he or she been serving?
LCpls Ibarra and Diazaraujo, 2 Years
What excites you about coming to the Joint Culinary Training Exercise?
Training experience and networking
What is an interesting fact about your team that most would not realize?
The level of skill difference within our team members
What is your team’s goal during the 47th Annual JCTE and what one word that best describes your team?
Effectively execute within the training environment.
Does anyone on your team have previous culinary competition experience here at Fort Gregg-Adams or elsewhere?
Yes, GySgt Watts is a previous winner of the Armed Forces Pastry Chef of the Year.
Have any of your team members received formal culinary training or hold an ACF certification?
No
What was the greatest challenge coming together as a team?
Funding
Navy
What is the average age of the members on your team?
28
Who is the most senior member of your team, and how long has he or she been serving?
Cs1 Finch, DeRhon 16 yr 8 months
Who is the most junior member of your team, and how long has he or she been serving?
CSSN Jackson, Lamia 1 yr 9 months
What excites you about coming to the Joint Culinary Training Exercise?
New experience, working and networking with other culinary. Improving skills.
What is an interesting fact about your team that most would not realize?
We have an Olympic speed walker on our team, CS2 Babativa
What is your team’s goal during the 47th Annual JCTE and what one word that best describes your team?
Our goal is the win Gold in all events. And our one word to describe our team: DISHES!
Does anyone on your team have previous culinary competition experience here at Fort Gregg-Adams or elsewhere?
CS1 finch has competed in Great Lakes were he received a Bronze medal. CS3 Alvarado bronze medal at FT Lee JCOE 2022.
Have any of your team members received formal culinary training or hold an ACF certification?
CS1 Finch and CS3 Alvarado Juarez has recipes training and are working to be certified.
Air Force
What is the average age of the members on your team?
Average age of the team is 27
Who is the most senior member of your team, and how long has he or she been serving?
MSgt Acquelyn Gausemel is the ranking member on our team and has been serving for 17 ½ years.
Who is the most junior member of your team, and how long has he or she been serving?
The most junior member on our team is A1C Townsend and she’s been serving for a year and a half.
What excites you about coming to the Joint Culinary Training Exercise?
The most exciting thing is to finally be able to watch the team perform and see how we stack up against our Sister Services.
What is an interesting fact about your team that most would not realize?
An interesting fact about our team is that this is our first year we’re competing in the full-blown JCTE. Last year we (the Air Force) competed for the first time ever in 46 years, but it was a condensed version because of covid.
What is your team’s goal during the 47th Annual JCTE and what one word that best describes your team?
Our goal is to do better than we did last year and to medal in more categories this year! One word that best describes our team is resilient.
Does anyone on your team have previous culinary competition experience here at Fort Gregg-Adams or elsewhere?
Yes, we have four team members returning back to the JCTE this year from last year’s team.
Have any of your team members received formal culinary training or hold an ACF certification?
Yes. A few of us on the team have.
Coast Guard
What is the average age of the members on your team?
28
Who is the most senior member of your team, and how long has he or she been serving?
CS1 Danielle Hughes 10 years
Who is the most junior member of your team, and how long has he or she been serving?
CS3 Brooke Contegiacomo
What excites you about coming to the Joint Culinary Training Exercise?
The training and networking at Ft Lee is unmatched to anything else the military has to offer when it comes to culinary training.
What is an interesting fact about your team that most would not realize?
We all come together only 10 days before the competition every year and overcome and succeed as a team.
What is your team’s goal during the 47th Annual JCTE and what one word that best describes your team?
We really want to have fun. At the end of the day, we are all here doing what we love. One word to best describe the team would be HUNGRY. We are ready to bring the smoke!
Does anyone on your team have previous culinary competition experience here at Fort Gregg-Adams or elsewhere?
Yes a few members on the team have prior to service culinary degrees.
Have any of your team members received formal culinary training or hold an ACF certification?
Yes we recently had a member, CS2 Alvin Cooper get his certified Sous Chef cert. We are very proud