The Captain Edward F. Ney Award for food-service excellence is given to the best US Navy galleys among those that earn a five-star rating from a Navy evaluation team.[1][2]
The Secretary of the Navy and the International Food Service Executives Association (IFSEA) established the Capt. Edward F. Ney Memorial Awards Program in 1958.[2] The award is designed to improve food-service operations and recognize the best general messes in the Navy.[3]
Capt. Ney served as head of the Subsistence Division of the Bureau of Supplies and Accounts between 1940 and 1945.[2]
After 1999, the Ney Awards are determined by a one-day, surprise inspection conducted by evaluation teams made up of senior Navy mess-management specialists and members of the IFSEA. Prior to that, the inspections were scheduled.[citation needed]
In 2024, there were 7 award winners divided between Afloat General Messes and Ashore General Messes. Afloat general messes had 4 categories, submarine, small-medium afloat, large afloat and aircraft carrier. Ashore had 3 categories, West coast, east coast and outside continental US (OCONUS).[4]