Get documents about "How to Stay Connected During a Deployment
Document Sample
MWSS-372
COMMANDING OFFICER
LtCol Erik Kraft, CO MWSS-372
Dear Families of Marine Wing Security Battalion
372,
Right out of the gates, the Battalion has been non-
stop busy. Immediately upon taking over control of
the base security functions, President Bush and
numerous other dignitaries made their historic visit
to Camp Al Asad, Iraq. Your Marines and Sailors
were involved in the mission of keeping a large
portion of our government’s leadership safe during
their visit to a combat zone. Everyone was
magnificent in their performance and
professionalism, and six Marines were singled out
of the Battalion to receive a Presidential Citation for
their contribution to the event.
We are now preparing for other visitors to the base,
to include Mr. Chuck Norris and the Assistant
Commandant of the Marine Corps.
Our mission is on going. Sometimes it is tedious.
Sometimes it is dangerous. Most of the time it is
exhausting. If we do our job right and keep
everybody on base safe, we will get little thanks
MWSS 372
from those we are protecting. However, our reward
KEY VOLUNTEER NETWORK NEWSLETTER
October 2007
will be that we protected the wives, husbands, sons
and daughters of America so that they could go
home to their families.
Our Weather Officer, CWO2 Johnson said that the
worse of the heat is over and that it will not get
above 106 degrees during the day again until after
we return home. We had a few days of dust storms
and low visibility in our first month here, but on the
whole it is just hot.
Life is good on base. Wednesday is seafood night
at the chow hall. They were serving lobster tails
and rib eye steaks yesterday. Now I wouldn’t say SQUADRON SERGEANT MAJOR
the food is as good as eating at your own table at SgtMaj Donald Jones
home, but there is a wide variety of food to include donald.jones@usmc.mil
fresh vegetables, fruit, and desserts as well as 31
Flavors Ice Cream (normally only 3 flavors though). KEY VOLUNTEER ADVISOR
The base also has a Green Beans Coffee, a Subway Jenny Kraft
Sandwich Store, a Pizza Hut and a Burger King.
For those who do not choose to go to the chow hall Hello MWSS-372 Families,
or whose duties interfere with a meal, the chow hall
provides hot meals in vacuum cans and other Well, our Marines have begun their Iraq
subsistence support. deployment and I hope all of you are doing well. I
know it isn’t always easy. This is my husband’s
RP2 Andrews has started the children’s book 2nd tour in Iraq and it isn’t easier the 2nd time
reading program in which a Marine or Sailor can around. And I’m sure that’s the same for those of
read a book to his/her son or daughter while being you facing your 3rd or 4th…or dare I say, 5th or 6th
video taped. The Marine or Sailor then receives a deployment, as well! You get used to the rhythm of
copy of the compact disc to send home to his/her things but you still miss your Marine a whole lot. I
family. We are also making a difference in the thought I’d remind you of some of the little things
local community. Already we have saved a young that can make this deployment easier:
Iraqi boy’s leg that was infected and would have a) Call the US Postal Service at 800-610-8734 to
had to be amputated had our Corpsman not treated get a box of free shipping materials sent to your
him. We are also looking forward to our first house that you can use to make packages for your
shipment of soccer balls from the states so we can Marine.
hand them out to the children of a small village in b) Use “Motomail” especially if you don’t have
our area. Most Iraqis around our base are farmers email access with your Marine – it’s an easy way to
or shepherds trying to make a living out of this get a note to your Marine within 24 hours. Check
desert. We are starting to recognize many of them out: www.motomail.us
and are on increasingly friendly terms. c) Exchange messages with our online group for
families of MWSS-372. We have over 40 members
right now and would love to have more!! Our
Once again, thank you for your continuing support group is called: mwss372families and can be found
in holding down the home front. on the Yahoo! Groups website.
d) Know who your Key Volunteer is. If you are a
Semper Fidelis, spouse of a Marine in this Squadron, the Key
LtCol Erik B. Kraft Volunteer Network is here for you to answer
MWSS 372 Commanding Officer questions and provide referrals to services you are
entitled to as a spouse of a deployed Marine. We
will also plan fun activities for our Marine families
during the deployment. Contact Catherine Wilson,
our KVN Coordinator at: 760-213-6942.
We are so fortunate to have your Marines as part of
our Squadron. You have a lot to be proud of – they
are doing a great job in Iraq. Thank you so much
for your patience and support during our
deployment.
Sincerely,
Jenny Kraft, Key Volunteer Advisor
KEY VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR
Catherine Wilson
mwss372kvc@hotmail.com Early morning departure!
(760) 213-6942
Hello Diamondback Families! I hope you are all
doing well. The deployment is officially underway
and hopefully you are all settling into some sort of a
routine without your loved one. Our family has
been thru three deployments to Iraq and things
never seem to get easier. I know it is difficult to be
apart but it is so important to try to stay positive.
If there is anything you need assistance with please
contact either your Key Volunteer or GySgt Mills
our Family Readiness Officer. Also please
remember that if you are leaving the area even for a
short while, please let your Key Volunteer know the
contact information for where you will be.
We are tentatively planning our Holiday party for Family Readiness Officer
December 8th. We will have activities and gifts for GySgt George Mills
the kids, and a good time for all.
Thank you all for the support you provide to the Diamondback families,
Marines and Sailors of MWSS 372. August has come and gone, and your Marines and
Sailors have arrived safely in Iraq for the
deployment. Although the daytime temperatures
Catherine Wilson hovered around the 120 degree range, all personnel
MWSS 372 Key Volunteer Coordinator in the unit were assigned to air conditioned trailers
(affectionately known as “cans”). These trailers
will be the permanent billeting spaces throughout
the duration of the deployment, and will keep your
service members comfortable during the
temperature extremes that Iraq is known for.
Morale remains high within the unit, and the
Diamondbacks of MWSB-372 are staying busy in
the execution of their mission. Back here in the
U.S., many of you have been staying busy as well.
I’ve received many calls and e-mails from spouses
and family members that needed assistance. If you
have a problem that you need help with, I’m the COMPANY
point of contact for the squadron. With the
assistance of the Key Volunteer Network, I can help
with everyday problems or unusual situations; it’s
what I’m here for. If I can be of any service to you
at all, please don’t hesitate to contact me! Until the
November newsletter, take care of yourselves and
remember to have fun in all that you do!
Sincerely,
George W. Mills
(949) 735-7368
(760) 725-6942
Work e-mail: George.Mills@usmc.mil ROMEO H & S COMPANY
Home e-mail: wx0311@yahoo.com 1st Lt Richard M. Weil, 1ST Lt Traylor
Company Commanders
Take care, and I look forward to talking with
you in the future! Greetings from Headquarters and Service Company,
Over the past month we have been very busy with
George W. Mills getting settled into our new environment and a very
high operation tempo. The living conditions are
great. We are staying in small “Cans” that have
cold A/C’s. Some of them are wired for internet
and cable television. The heat has been oppressive.
The Maintenance Marines that keep all of the
vehicles running have not missed a beat. When its
120 degrees Fahrenheit in the shade they just keep
on turning wrenches.
The logistics section has been providing support for
the camp of around a thousand Marines and
Ugandan security forces. They have also
implemented many improvements to the existing
facilities and services. Our administration section
has been awesome with delivering over four
thousand pieces of mail. They have also ensured a
high level of service by working late to
communicate with their counterparts at Camp
Pendleton. The intelligence Marines have been
sharing all their secrets to ensure that we are
hardening our defenses. Our operations section
works in a converted Iraqi bunker that is called the
Base Defense Operations Center (BDOC). They
use their leadership along with high tech cameras,
and communication gear to coordinate security to
the base and our operating area. The
communications section has been working 24 hours
a day completing trouble calls. Their hard work has
provided internal communications and tactical
communications along with all computer services.
Lt. Jones and the corpsman have been seeing
branch of the service would not be able to support
OIF. Your Marines are conducting security patrols,
manning towers, and guarding the gate here at Al
patients since day one. They support all of our Asad. Every time I visit them on post, no matter the
patrols and other events around the base. The time of day, I am so impressed with their positive
supply section has done an outstanding job of attitude and the professionalism they display. The
ordering parts, processing open purchases and temps have been hanging around 115 and your
coordinating the acquisition of all needed supplies Marines are on post for 8 hours
to accomplish our mission.
We would like to congratulate the McKinzy family.
Sgt Benjamin McKinzy and his wife Rochelle
welcomed a baby girl into the family on September
7th. Some career milestones have also been set
during our short time here. On August 25th Cpl
Lake decided to become a career Marine and re-
enlisted for four years. On September 1st, Lance
Corporal Vann Sok was promoted to Corporal and
Privates First Class Javier Sanchez, Paul Schening,
and Robert Bryson were promoted to Lance
Corporal.
at time, 24 hours a day. They are pretty well getting
settled into their routines. The base has quite a few
amenities and the living conditions are pretty nice,
by Iraq standards. We are living in “Cans” which
are like two man trailers. They also have access to
phones and internet in the MWR facility. The chow
hall is great and other than having some long, hot
days things are pretty good.
The Marines have also been working hard to clean
up and improve the spaces in which we work. I
have been especially impressed with the way the
Squad leaders are taking care of their Marines.
Alpha Company Commander They are totally committed to ensuring that their
Major J.J. Bancroft Marines are staying safe, staying hydrated and
staying in contact.
Families of Alpha Company,
We had the President visit us over Labor Day and
Greetings from Al Asad, Iraq. We have been here some of our Marines got to meet and even appear
for about 3 weeks and things are going very well. on TV with him. There were quite a few other VIPs
The Marines are working hard and doing a great job that handed out coins and talked to our Marines. We
so far. We officially took over the reins on 27 also sourced Marines to provide security for the
August, after a good turnover from 2nd LAAD. President’s visit. The visit went off without a hitch
the Marines made a big impression on the
Your Marines have a very difficult job, but also a President’s security team and they said we were the
very important job. Your Marines are responsible best group with whom they had ever worked.
for the security of the base and they work 24 hours
a day to complete this mission. Without this Thank you once again for your support from back
security the thousands of personnel from every home. Every time I talk to a Marine from Alpha
Company, I ask them when was the last time they
talked to someone back home and they all have
positive things to say about their families and the
support they are providing. I know this is a difficult
time for the families back home, but without you,
Deployment Website
our company would not be able to conduct our
The KVN has created a family support group through
mission. You will never understand how much it
Yahoo Groups where you can join and communicate
recharges a Marine’s batteries when they hear your
with other spouses and parents from the squadron, who
voices, read your letters and e-mails or eat a home
are in our same situation.
baked cookie.
The link to that site is:
We had several Marines promoted on 1 Sept.
http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/mwss372families
You will need to provide your spouse’s name, rank, and
From 1st Platoon:
work section in order to be approved. As you can
imagine, for security reasons we do not want our
-LCpl Atwood
Marine’s security compromised by opening this link to
-Cpl Runkle
all yahoo users on the World Wide Web.
From 2nd Platoon:
-LCpl Spaeth
-LCpl Hogan
-LCpl Davis (Meritorious)
From 3rd Platoon:
-Cpl Godsoe
-Cpl Hoffman
-LCpl McLean
-LCpl Olsen Reminder: please never put in writing any flight
-LCpl Bard information, dates, etc, of our Marine’s travels as they
head overseas. Movement of troops should never be
Congratulations to the families with new additions put in writing, as we want them to travel as safely as
to the Alpha Company family. possible. Keep this in mind as you are sending out
emails to your family about this upcoming
1st Platoon had two births: deployment, posting notes on the website, etc. As
Sgt Ramirez and his wife had a baby girl in August. always, if you have any questions, please do not
LCpl Logan and his wife had a son in August. hesitate to contact me.
BRAVO COMPANY
COMPANY COMMANDER
Dear families of Marines of Bravo Company,
Greetings from Iraq! The temperature has been very
hot at times, but the Marines have been marching on,
completing the mission requirements. Their duties
range from standing in guard towers, patrolling our
area of responsibility, to ensuring only authorized
personnel come onto base. Their hard work and
efforts is what keeps this base secure and safe. The
Marines are quickly adapting to their new
environment and work routines. In their off-hours
Marines are enjoying their leisure time in a variety of
ways. The base has a very well equipped gym which
is open 24 hrs a day. There are also places where
they can go to watch TV or movies. College courses
available to the Marines should be starting in the near
future. The letters and care packages that the Marines
receive keep them in good spirits.
Here at the PMO office we have many
responsibilities that fall under two platoons. The
Services Platoon, commanded by 2ndLt Adam
McKillop is responsible for badging, customs, the
VIP section and the physical Security section. The
Operations Platoon, commanded by 2ndLt Bill
Hollis is responsible for the day to day military
Your support is greatly appreciated by many. In police functions which include vehicular patrols,
upcoming months, the weather will be cooling off and walking patrols and vehicle searches as well as
the rainy season will begin. This will bring some long compound searches of the civilian companies on
anticipated relief from the searing desert sun. As base.
always I have full faith and confidence that the Marines The Badging Office, run by SSgt Maricarmen Cuza
will roll with the punches and continue to perform their and Sergeant Robin Moore, keeps track of and
duties with professionalism and resolve. categorizes all new and incoming TCNs (Third
Last, but not least, congratulations to LCpl Richardson on Country Nationals) as well as LNs (Local
his recent meritorious promotion. Nationals), they have been busy enrolling and
We would also like to wish a happy birthday to the tracking the more than 6,000 TCNs and LNs.
following Marine(s): The Customs section, led by Cpl Christopher
Pentecost, screens all outgoing military flights and
WO CorreaHernandez, SSgt Hunt, Sgt Diaz, Cpl Sarni, has been busy ensuring that no contraband of any
Cpl Grimes, Cpl Shamp, Cpl Hernandez, LCpl Galy, LCpl kind is getting off base without authorization.
Halweran, LCpl Ray
Charlie Company Commander
Captain W.P. Dobbins
Families of Charlie Company,
Greetings from Al Asad, Iraq. We have been here
for just over three weeks now and I am happy to
report that we are settling in and everything is going The Physical security section has been hard at work
well. We officially took over the duties of the with LCpl Eric Gray ensuring the safety and
Provost Marshals Office (PMO) from 2nd LAAD a security of the base by manning many posts and
little over two weeks ago on August the 27th. keeping constant vigil over their areas of
The Marines of Charlie Company have the responsibility.
challenging task set before them of ensuring the Led by Cpl Keane Wodele, Charlie Company’s VIP
security of the interior of Al Asad and enforcing the section has also been busy providing security and
rules and regulations set forth by our Commanding escort services to more than 20 dignitaries and
General. They have all been doing a superb job. generals. This was highlighted by a visit from the
President of the United States of America in which
all of Charlie Company as well as elements from FRO Forward
other sources helped to plan and coordinate the Chaplain Kay Reeb
security and movement of the President as well as God’s Blessings,
several high ranking dignitaries and generals. “Jambo! Salam allai-koom! Hoo
Wah!” That’s how you say “Hello” in
Swahili, Arabic, and Army. I never
dreamed I would be around so many
different languages, but here at Al Asad
you can hear these and dozens more all
the time. There is a marvelous variety
of people and talents and abilities at
work here, all striving toward the same
goal – Freedom and safety for the Iraqi
people. It’s pretty cool to be a part of
it all, but it can also be confusing at
times, and more than a little
frustrating. Sometimes it’s just plain
hard to understand each other.
It’s not so different from what
The PMO Operations platoon, which is happens in families. Babies speak
“Barney” and “Good Night Moon;” boys are
responsible for the overall internal security of Al fluent in “Hot Wheels” and “Yugi-Oh;”
Asad, has been doing an outstanding job protecting girls dialogue in “Brats,” “Barbie,” and
us as well as enforcing the rules and regulations set “Cheeta Girls,” while Teens text –
forth by our Commanding General. PMO (lol). And husbands and wives - oh my
Operations platoon has dealt with many law goodness, talk about speaking different
languages – even when we are in the same
enforcement situations as well as setting up multiple house, it can be Mars verses Venus. Now
internal security checkpoints and searching add to that being on different continents
contractor compounds for contraband. and experiencing drastically different
I also want to note that you should be proud of the daily routines and what happens? “How
was your day, Honey?” “Well, the BDOC
following Marines: On September 1st Charlie needed extra Com at the PPT, and then OPS
Company Marines PFC John Collette, PFC David called in the QRF for a …” “Hello?
Humphrey, PFC Jose Saldana, and PFC Michael Hello? Is there static on the line?”
Varriale were promoted to the rank of Lance
Corporal. LCpl Mario Castro and LCpl Justin We want to understand each other. We
want to be excited and sympathetic and
Munson were promoted to the rank of Corporal. On interested and share it all with each
September 2nd PFC Christopher Morrissey was other but sometimes trying to communicate
meritoriously promoted to the rank of Lance with our spouses is confusing and more
Corporal. than a little frustrating. So what do we
need, to help us communicate in a foreign
language? An Interpreter! And the best
interpreter around is LOVE.
In 1 Corinthians 13 Paul writes:
Love is patient, love is kind. It does
not envy, it does not boast,
it is not proud. It is not rude, it is
not self-seeking, it is not easily
angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in
evil but rejoices with the truth. It
always protects, always trusts,
always hopes, always perseveres. Love
never fails.
When we listen to each other through ears
of Love, it all begins to make sense.
Suddenly it’s easier to celebrate our
wonderful variety of talents and
abilities and outlooks, to revel in our
routines and delight in our differences. EMERGENCY CONTACT
We truly are part of the same team, INFORMATION
striving toward the same goal – husbands
and wives, parents and children, brothers Remain Behind Element (RBE)
and sisters, neighbors and friends. Love Duty Phone: (760) 725-3373
is the goal, love is the glue, God’s love
is the interpreter that gives us the
courage to reach out to each other Family Readiness Officer: GySgt Mills
without fear of misunderstanding or Work e-mail: George.Mills@usmc.mil
hurt. There is no fear in love. God is
love. Love never fails.
Home e-mail: wx0311@yahoo.com
Chaplain Kay Reeb e-mail: kay.reeb@usmc.mil Cell phone #: (949) 735-7368
Cell phone (760) 207- 5353 Key Volunteer Coordinator:
Catherine Wilson (760) 213-6942
Amy Bancroft (760) 295-3480
Duty Chaplain Resources:
MAG 39 Chaplain (760) 725-8180
Religious Development Center
(760) 725-4700
After Hours Duty Chaplain
(760) 725-5617/5618
Military One Source: 800-342-9647
Alpha towers
Related docs
