FORT LEE, Va. (Nov. 25, 2009) -- The Quartermaster School recently earned the Training and Doctrine Command's highest accreditation rating.

The schoolhouse, a subordinate element of the Combined Arms Support Command, earned the Institution of Excellence honor as a result of evaluations held in March.

Maj. Gen. James E. Chambers, CASCOM, Sustainment Center of Excellence and Fort Lee commanding general, presented the accreditation certificate to Brig. Gen. Jesse R. Cross, QMS commanding general, during a town hall meeting held Nov. 16.

Larry Toler, deputy to QMS commander, said the accreditation recognition is validation that the school is performing its mission in an exceptional manner.

"The Institution of Excellence rating from TRADOC," he said, "means that the Quartermaster School is on point and properly executing its critical mission of providing the operational Army with quartermaster warriors who are tactically and technically proficient and ready to contribute to their missions immediately upon graduation."

The evaluations are based on 30 TRADOC standards relating to doctrine, organization, training, materiel, leadership and education, personnel and facilities and cover everything from budgeting to classroom temperature.

"We take those standards and visit the training departments and assess how they (cadre) are complying with those standards," said Shane Rich, chief, Directorate of Quality Assurance, who led the evaluation team.

The standards were assessed via surveys, training observations, and interviews with instructors, administrators and trainees.

Rich said the assessments revealed a student-focused, responsive organization filled with committed staff and faculty members from top to bottom.

"It says a lot about the people - where the rubber meets the road as you would say - from the department directors down to the instructors who are providing the training," he said. "They pay a lot of attention to detail, they take pride in their work and they care about Soldiers, which I think is the number one point."

Toler, who has been assigned to the schoolhouse for several years, agreed that schoolhouse personnel is the most critical factor in the execution of its mission.

"The Quartermaster School's accreditation as an Institution of Excellence can be directly attributed to the caliber of the school's faculty, staff and cadre. Our team of Soldiers, civilians and contractors routinely demonstrate their professionalism, technical expertise, and concern for the academic requirements and well-being of our students," he said.

The QMS trains about 30,000 officers and enlisted personnel each year in various logistical functions to include aerial delivery and field services, petroleum and mortuary affairs.

The QMS, like all the major elements of CASCOM, operates with the assistance of a quality assurance office. Its mission is to advise and assist, from a neutral perspective, the commanding general in all aspects of training and operations. Quality assurance offices are not aligned under the commanding general's chain of command.