Amphibious dock landing ship USS Ashland (LSD 48) was awarded the annual Capt. Edward F. Ney Memorial Award in the Small-Medium Afloat Category via naval message, Feb. 14.

Established in 1958 by the secretary of the Navy and the International Food Service Executives Association, the Ney Memorial Awards Program is designed to improve and recognize the quality of food service in the Navy.

Ashland competed for the award during a period in which the ship and crew were preparing to come out of an extensive maintenance period, a further testament to their dedication as professionals, according to Ashland's senior enlisted personnel.

During the week of the inspection, the crew completed light-off assessment (LOA) and transitioned from barge to ship. Food services division was only cleared to operate in the galley within 12 hours of the actual inspection. All ratings from every department lent a hand to ensure readiness for the inspection.

Despite the multitude of moving parts, the food service division was able to be at the top of its game for the inspection.

"With the 'cards stacked against us,' the Ashland came together and showed what teamwork and hard work can achieve," said Lt. Dennis Pelina, Ashland supply officer. "Considering the challenging FDNF (forward-deployed naval forces) environment, we were able to navigate through the myriad of schedules, maintenance, and operations and bring home a well-deserved win."

Ashland's galley is composed of 26 culinary specialists and 14 food service attendants. Each one displayed a sense of mission accomplishment to receive the award.

"All culinary specialists work hard every day, but when you put in that extra effort and that extra push to not just be good, but be the best of best, is a gratifying feeling," said Chief Culinary Specialist Jeffery Carroll, Ashland S-2 leading chief petty officer. "I am very proud of this group of CSs. They believed in themselves and they won."

Ashland servers under Commander, Task Force 76/Expeditionary Strike Group 7 as part of the Navy's only forward-deployed amphibious force, headquartered at White Beach Naval Facility, Okinawa, Japan.

For more on CTF 76, visit: www.facebook.com/AmphibForceC7F/ and www.twitter.com/amphib7flt.

For more information, visit https://www.navy.mil, http://www.facebook.com/usnavy, or http://www.twitter.com/usnavy.

For more news from Commander, Amphibious Force, U.S. 7th Fleet, visit www.navy.mil/.