Dressed in a white jacket, Howard Mountain walks around the Freedom Inn and inspects each section of the buffet, making sure stations are the way they should be.

Once everything is ready for lunch, Mountain, the dining facility's manager, yells "Let 'em in." Dozens of service members pour through the doors, then pick up trays and silverware, ready to assemble their meals.

With its ability to handle large crowds, like the ones during lunch on Fridays, Freedom Inn at Fort Meade, Md. is being considered for a title of one of the best, large-garrison dining facilities in the Army.

Recently, staffers were notified that the Freedom Inn had won the regional competition to qualify them to represent the Northeast in the Armywide Philip A. Connelly Awards.

Named after a former International Food Service Executives Association president, Philip A. Connelly Awards are given out yearly for excellence in Army food service in the large-garrison, small-garrison and field-kitchen categories.

According to the quartermaster school website, the competition's objective is to improve the professionalism of food-service employees, which will help create the highest quality food service for service members.

"It's a very prestigious award," Mountain said. "It says you're the best."

Winning the regional competition in the large-garrison category and having the opportunity to compete Armywide are accomplishments in themselves, Mountain said.

"It shows we do a good job and take care of the [service members]," assistant manager Willie Harman said. "We have a great staff; they make it easy."

Competing dining facilities are judged based on a checklist of 11 categories. Each category is broken down into many specific subsections that are scored. Each competing facility starts with 1,000 points, which are then deducted for mistakes, Mountain said.

"It's pretty extensive," he said. "[The list] goes into training, food preparation, sanitation, command support. So it kind of hits everybody [involved]."

The competition isn't new to facility manager Frances McAfee, Mountain or some of the other employees who have worked on post. Over the years, Fort Meade's dining facilities have won other regional Connelly competitions. In 2006, Freedom Inn's predecessor, the Chesapeake Inn was presented a runner-up award in the Armywide competition.

Numerous staff members at Freedom Inn have worked on post for many years. The experienced staff plays a large role in the success of the facility and is a reason the Freedom Inn is able to compete for a Connelly award, Mountain said.

Kim Nguyen, who has been working in food service at Fort Meade for 16 years, was part of the team that won the 2006 award.

"It is a big deal," she said. "We need to win every year."

Many diners, such as Staff Sgt. Victor Washington of the 352nd Civil Affairs Command, said they weren't surprised to find out that Freedom Inn was in the running for an award in food service excellence.

"I like the food; I think it's great," Washington said.

The staff at the Freedom Inn will not be told if the facility won until the beginning of 2011, just before the awards ceremony in Chicago.

Mountain and McAfee both said winning is not just an achievement for the dining hall, but for the entire installation.

"If we win the Connelly, we represent the whole Fort Meade," McAfee said. "Everybody shines."