maintenance contact teams, and general engi-neering support. I continue to be impressed with the resilience, dedication, and professionalism of all the Marines and Sailors in the Battalion as we continue to operate in this very chal-lenging environment. The temperature has really begun to drop and the weather is actually quite pleasant. It is in the upper 80's to low 90's dur-ing the day and low 60's at night. This may not sound cold to most of you but to a group that has been work-ing in temperatures that have hovered near 120 degrees that is really quite chilly at night. The 120 days of wind have passed so visibility has gotten bet-ter as the dust has gone down. As we roll into the holi-day season I would encour-age you to get your pack-ages in the mail to your Marine or Sailor early so

Time continues to fly by and by the end of October we will be over half com-plete with our deployment. All of the companies re-main very busy as you will read in the following pages of the newsletter. The pri-ority efforts for the Battalion during this deployment continues to be providing tactical logistics support to Regimental Combat Team 2 and assisting in re-posturing of coalition forces in Northern Helmand Prov-ince in order to enable the Afghanistan Security Forces (Army, Police, and Border Enforcement) to provide stability for the local population. So far, this effort has required us to assist in tearing down old coalition positions throughout the province and setting up numerous Combat Operation Posts (COP) in other critical ar-eas as well as delivering/providing critical supplies, transportation support,

we can ensure that every-one receives that special package for the holidays. As I have mentioned in previous newsletters, our Family Readiness Officer and the Family Readiness Team continue making phone calls to check on our Marines and Sailors' fami-lies as well as to plan fam-ily events. If you find your-self in the local area this holiday season please come out and attend one of these events that the bat-talion is hosting. Get a chance to meet new friends and have some fun. If you would like to volunteer your time to help with the Family Readiness Program, please contact Mr. Jeff Peters at the phone num-bers listed later in this news letter. Semper Fidelis, LtCol B.N. Wolford

From the Commander

From The SgtMaj

Hello all! Well the great news is, as Halloween ap-proaches it will mark the half way point of the de-ployment for most. I want to say ―thanks‖ to all of the families and loved ones who have been sending all the goodies and care pack-ages for everyone. The Marines and Sailors of the Battalion continue to do great things and their hard work is paying off. Special

recognition goes out to Staff Sergeant Tony Win-chester on his promotion on October 1st to his cur-rent rank. I want to give special recognition to our Purple Heart recipients, Corporal David Gonzalez and Corporal Christian Roeder, for their unwaver-ing dedication to their country and Marine Corps. I also want to recognize Sergeant John Leavens

and Lance Corporal Devin Reyna for their outstanding dedication, pride and honor to their country and Corps. These Marines took time out of their busy schedule and hand-made the flag poles which now fly the National Flag and the Ma-rine Corps Colors high over Camp Leatherneck. Semper Fidelis, SgtMaj T. A. Linch

Upcoming Events:

20 November Family

Thanksgiving Meal

Location: Stone

Street Pavilion

Time: 3:00 PM until

last family goes home

14 December Christmas

Party

Location; Mikes Farm

Seated by 6:00 PM

for Dinner

Hayride at 7:30 PM

CLB-2, CLR-2, 2D MLG

OCTOBER 2010 NEWS

LETTER

Inside this issue:

The Commander 1

The Sergeant Major 1

Chaplain’s Corner 2

Headquarters Company 3

Alpha Company 4

Bravo Company 5

Charlie Company 6

Family Readiness Officer 7

October 2010 Volume 2, Issue 5

Page 2 CLB-2, CLR-2, 2D MLG OCTOBER 2010 NEWS LETTER

Chaplain Amador and RP2 Brantley

No Guarantees in Life

“Life is full of risk. No

matter how careful a person is there will always be something

that wasn’t planned for.”

Life is full of risk. No matter how careful a person is there will always be something that wasn‘t planned for. There are no fail-safe plans. No perfectly reliable designs. No completely risk-free arrangements. Life refuses to be that neat and clean.

Not even the neurotics, who go to extreme measures to make positively sure, are protected from their obsessive

fears. Those “best-laid plans of mice and men” continue to backfire, reminding us that living and risking go hand in

hand. If we run scared, it will invariably blow up in our face.

All who fly risk crashing. All who drive risk colliding. All who run risk falling. All who walk risk stumbling. All who live risk something.

To laugh is to risk appearing the fool. To weep is to risk appearing sentimental. To reach out for another is to risk involvement. To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self. To love is to risk not being loved in return. To hope is to risk despair. To try is to risk failure.

Do you want to know the shortest route to ineffectiveness? Run scared. Become paranoid over your front, your flanks, and your rear. Take no chances. Say no to courage and yes to caution. Expect the worst. Let fear run wild. Triple lock the doors. And before you know it ―the paralysis of analysis‖ will set in. This is a lonely way to live our lives. There is a better way to live. A life with purpose. All of us have experienced pain and fear. But there are some individuals who have merged into greatness despite adversity. They refuse to listen to their fears. Disabilities and disappointments need not disqualify! As Ted Engstrom writes:

Cripple him, and you have a Sir Walter Scott. Lock in a prison cell, and you have a John Bunyan. Bury him in the snows of Valley Forge, and you have a George Washington. Raise him in abject poverty and you have an Abra-ham Lincoln. Strike him with infantile paralysis, and he becomes Franklin Roosevelt. Burn him so severely that the doctors say he‘ll never walk again, and you have a Glenn Cunningham–who set the world‘s one-mile record in 1934. Deafen him and you have a Ludwig van Beethoven. . . . Call him a slow learner, ―retarded,‖ and write him off as an uneducable, you have an Albert Einstein.

As we enter into the season of Halloween, I want to encourage you to tell your fears where to get off; otherwise your

quest for character and excellence will be interrupted. Effectiveness–sometimes greatness–awaits those who refuse

to run scared.

By Chaplain Ken Amador CLB 2 Battalion Chaplain

UNITED THROUGH

READING

One of the most difficult

things a child can experience

is having a parent deployed

to a war zone for an indeter-

minate period of time.

The United Through Read-

ing® Military Program helps

ease the stress of separation

for military families by hav-

ing deployed parents read

children’s books aloud via

DVD for their child to watch

at home.

All CLB-2 Marines and Sail-

ors can see Chaplain Amador

to create a DVD for their

children.

To the family and friends of

Headquarters and Support

(H&S) Company,

Mother Nature has finally started to play nice during the last week of October. The thermometers have dipped to an accommodat-ing mid-90s during the day and into a chilly 60s at night. The dust storms are still a problem for our op-erations, but they are not as severe as the summer months. With the weather finally breaking, an addi-tional surge of energy has returned to the Marines. While in the month of Sep-tember the work pace throughout the battalion dipped slightly, the same cannot be stated for the month of October. Our work load and output has greatly increased, but we are proud to say that we are still delivering quality products. H&S Company was recently on the receiv-ing end of some major per-sonel movements to aid in the Battalion maintenance effort. Our Maintenance Platoon received 16 more mechanics whose hard work is paying off daily. That being said, each sec-tion has contributed large efforts and long hours to keep the Battalion moving. Here are some of our ac-complishments over the last month: Our Communi-cations Platoon recently wired an aircraft staging area in a forward location to receive internet capa-bilites, the administration section is reviewing and processing all awards to be issued to the Marines of the Battalion, and the Bat-talion Aid Station com-pleted the flu vaccination for over 650 Marines.

The following Marines re-ceived their blood stripe this past month: Corporals John Endrihs, Kyle Hussin, Melissa Ludlum, Joseph Melendez, Ernesto Sarduy, Harold Simon, and Tracy Terra. The following Ma-rines re-enlisted: Cpl Ste-ven Gibson, Cpl Craig Green, Cpl Bradley Marin-cil, and Cpl Joseph Wood. The following Marines earned a Certificate of Commendation: LCpl Scott Carrol, Cpl Jonathan Kinni-son, LCpl Melissa Ludlam, and Cpl Bryan Mclain. The following sailors earned their Fleet Marine Forces pin: HN Danny Ball, HM2 Holli Moak, HM2 Deysi Ramirez, HA Matthew Walkup. Cpl Malcolm Wat-son, LCpl Robert Schultze and LCpl Elissa Pedelty received a Meritorious Mast. Cpl Luis Rolon re-ceived a Good Conduct Medal. The following Ma-rines have birthdays in October: Cpl Aaron Weidner, Cpl John Black, LCpl Thomas Estep, Cpl Craig Green, Cpl Jarrod Anderson, 1stLt Kenneth Greer, LCpl Charles Mills, LCpl Mitchell Medlin, Cpl Bryan Mclain, SSgt Robin Lee, Sgt Roby Dugan , Cpl Steven Gibson, LCpl John Brunnemer, and 1stLt Alli-son Williams. As always, we appreciate all the emotional support you provide us from the homefront. It has been instrumental in the ability of Marines of H&S Company to provide continuous sup-port to the Marines who rely on us here in Afghani-stan! Semper Fidelis! Captain Nathan J. Green

Page 3 Volume 2, Issue 5

Headquarters and Support Company “With the weather finally breaking, an

additional surge of energy has

returned to the Marines. “

A FORWARD MAINTENANCE AREA

A SNAPSHOT OF THE ADMINISTRATION

SECTION IN FRONT OF THEIR TENT

A RARE MOMENT AS THE OPERATIONS OFFICER

TAKES A BREAK TO PLAY SOME CATCH

To all the families friends and loved ones, I continue to thank you for all the love and support you show your Marines. The packages and letters flow in every day and you can be as-sured that every item is being put to good use. The month of October has been as busy as reported. The Marines are fully en-gaged in the task at hand and I wish you could see how well they perform their duties on a daily basis. Even with a hectic pace, they have shown repeat-edly they are more than equal to the chore. The Marines enjoy a good repu-tation here as reliable, effi-cient and dedicated indi-viduals who get the job done regardless of the ad-versity. I see them work, patrol and plan every day with a set determination that I‘m sure most every-one who knows them would recognize. I knew we had an outstanding group of Marines when I first saw them operate in Fort Bragg in the Spring. There‘s something special about a group of professionals working as a team to carry

the fight to our Nation‘s enemies. Be very proud of your Marine and know that they are making a differ-ence every day. After these last few months, it is an honest assessment to say that after many years of service between the two of us, that I and 1st Sgt Moore have never been prouder or more humble to serve alongside each and every one. Promotions: We are happy to announce that SSgt. Winchester has been promoted to his cur-rent rank as of October 1. Additional promotions are: Corporal Dustin Frederick-son, Corporal Saadi Ka-mali, Corporal Joseph Les-ter, and Lance Corporal Lanae Gonzalez. All of these Marines are well deserved of their promotion and I have no doubts that they will continue to be successful with the added responsibility that comes with rank. Awards/Recognitions: Of note, MLG (Fwd) re-

cently conducted a Corpo-ral‘s Course to continue in the education and profes-sional development of our NCO‘s. Two Marines from Alpha Company graduated and have returned to the Company to continue lead-ing from the front. Our two Corporal‘s Course gradu-ates are Corporal Ivan Baires and Corporal Mat-thew Kresge. Semper Fi, Capt J.C. Fuller 1st Sgt R.L. Moore

Page 4 CLB-2, CLR-2, 2D MLG OCTOBER 2010 NEWS LETTER

Alpha Company

“There’s

something

special about

a group of

professionals

working as a

team to carry

the fight to

our Nation’s

enemies. “

Mail

CLB-2 works out of many

large and small bases over in

country. Any mail sent to the

main base, Leatherneck, will

be processed and sent to all

the smaller outlying camps.

Camp Leatherneck (do not include base name)

Rank, Last name, First name, MI

CLB-2 (Company)

Unit 73960

FPO AE 09510-3960

Dear Friends and Family of Bravo Company, CLB-2: First Sergeant Baker and I, are extremely proud of all the hard work and long hours the Marines in Bravo Company put in each day, as are the Battalion Commander and Sergeant Major. The month of October has been extremely busy for everyone in the battalion and I anticipate November will be the same high operational tempo. The weather here is beginning to cool down in the evenings and those Marines assigned to the outlying Forward Operating Bases (FOBs), which are north of Camp Leatherneck will definitely notice a change in the temperatures at night in the months to come. All the Marines have plenty of warm clothes and we are sending them plenty of the Hot Hands warming packets that you mailed to us to keep them warm. Bravo Company welcomes its combat replacements: Cpl Leonard Brojakowski, Cpl Lucas Burch, Cpl Gray Davenport, PFC An-thony Ebert, PFC Bryan Fuchs, and Private Miguel Huasasquiche. This month we were able to send three Marines to the resident Corporals Course for three weeks where they learned a little about everything for the small-unit leader in the Marine Corps. Classes covered topics such as leadership, Combat Life Savers, legal rules and resources, small unit combat tactics, and basic troop leadership. Each Marine is required to teach a class to his peers and lead a four-person fireteam and a squad during training exercises. This month‘s Corporal‘s Course Graduates were Cpls Mathew Lynskey, Jared Dunn and Lloyd Leslie.

At the beginning of each moth we pause and congratulate Marines for their hard work and dedication. I am pleased to announce the following promotions in Bravo Company for the month of October 2010:

Page 5 Volume 2, Issue 5

Bravo Company

Sgt Dustin Baldwin Cpl Oscar Fernandez Cpl Ryan Fields Cpl Rafael Gonzalez Jr.

Cpl Christopher Joiner Cpl Julian Donawa Cpl Joshua Nantz Cpl Jeremie Vazquez Cpl Christopher Wing

We have been graced with two new additions to our Bravo Family this month. I am pleased to announce the birth of Emma Grace Bruening, 7 lbs 6 oz, who was born on 12 Oct at 1:32 PM. Cpl. Jacob Bruening, recently transferred over to Headquarters and Service Company to assist with the maintenance section in keeping our vehicles up and running. Cpl. Breuning will always be a valued member of Bravo and will return back to the states with us at the conclusion of this deployment. First Sergeant Rusty Baker joins the growing collection of ―sand box‖ dads with his and Melissa Baker‘s third child, Levi Russell Baker, born on 22 Oct., at 1:10 p.m. Texas time, Levi ‗Rusty‘ weighed in at 9 lbs 3 oz, at 21 1/2 inches tall, and was immediately assigned to BCP. The Marines are very grateful for all the care packages being sent out and we‘ll keep pushing them out to the outlying FOBs as they come in. On behalf of First Sergeant Baker and myself, thank you for your prayers and support and personal sacrifice. Semper Fi! Captain Jeremy Henwood, USMC Bravo Company Commander Combat Logistics Battalion 2

In addition to our promotions for this month, I am exceptionally proud of the following Marines for their outstanding performance over the last five months. These Marines have demonstrated they are strong, and continue to work to improve Bravo Company

and the Battalion. Marines recognized/awarded this month:

Purple Heart Cpl David Gon-

zalez Cpl Christian

Roeder

Second Award Cpl Hank Bennett First Award Cpl Allison Buedel

Second Award Sgt Benjamin Hannon First Award LCpl Christopher Wilson

Certificate of Commendation: Sgt Benjamin Hannon Cpl Matthew Lynskey LCpl Thomas Elliot

Meritorious Mast: Cpl Mathew Adams Cpl Joshua Nantz LCpl Kyle Snodgrass

Good Conduct Medal

Selected Marine Corps Reserve Medal

Dear Charlie Company Family and Friends, The month of Octo-ber has brought a little re-freshment to the Company with the re-establishment of the Company Headquarters. Our company relocated to Camp Leatherneck with the intent to consolidate our re-sources, increase our produc-tivity, and decrease the amount of traveling required in order to provide the sup-port needed. With everyone spread to the winds towards the beginning of the month, it was somewhat of a feat to move the gear without losing accountability, but we were able to do it without interrup-tion. With both platoons back at home station, the Com-pany was able to get a couple of days rest while conducting reset training and preparing for the upcoming missions. Reset training provides a chance to step back and re-flect on some of the training that was previously received that may have been forgot-ten. It‘s kind of like refresher training that helps jog the memory of the proper way to do things. The training re-

ceived was an added bonus with the line of work our Ma-rines and Sailors conduct daily and will continue to aid us in our future endeavors. After much needed rest, train-ing conducted, and planning that occurred, the Company will be able to carry-out many more projects that come our way. First platoon com-pleted many construction projects for our brothers and sisters-in-arms and after re-set training they were able to go forth and continue their good deeds in other loca-tions. As well, First Platoon and Second Platoon were able to assist the Battalion with some of the wood work-ing projects around here like a display board for the Marine and NCO of the Quarter Board Photo, sound barriers for the morale tent, furniture for various company office spaces, and the Marine Corps Birthday Ball Cake display table. The quality of work displayed is representa-tive of the solid caliber of Marines we have within the Company and it never ceases to amaze those who see the quality of work we produced. Second Platoon also finished supporting our broth-ers in arms after a month and a half long journey away from the Company Headquarters. They too worked many long hours building outposts and replacing culverts and their work continues to be re-garded with great apprecia-tion. In addition to the work outside the wire, Second Pla-toon was instrumental in helping with the establish-ment of the Company‘s tem-porary and permanent work-ing space. Until the new ex-pansion can be completed and we‘re able to move our gear to the permanent site, they worked to ensure we

had a location suitable for storing and staging our equip-ment. The work provided by both platoons not only aided in our establishment, but also aided the Battalion in consoli-dation and security. I‘d like to recognize Corporal Ulices Gonzalez , Corporal Frank Nelson, and Lance Corporal Charles Cook for promotion to their current ranks. I‘d also like to recog-nize Corporal Shane Evans, Corporal Ulices Gonzalez, Corporal Richard Kindred, Corporal Bryan Seward, and Lance Corporal Scott Saal-feld on their reception of the good conduct medal for hon-orable and faithful service. They have all worked hard and are extremely deserving of the recognition. I look for-ward to capitalizing on these young Marines‘ expertise and leadership that they have continued to exhibit prior to and throughout this deploy-ment. As we have com-pleted roughly 112 days of this deployment, the Marines, Sailors, and I appreciate the continual support that we receive from our family and friends. The daily care pack-ages, conversations, and letters are truly a blessing of the love and friendships we have awaiting our return. Thanks again for all you do and please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we continue the good fight.

Semper Fidelis,

Captain Christian R. Felder Charlie Company Com-mander

Page 6 CLB-2, CLR-2, 2D MLG OCTOBER 2010 NEWS LETTER

From Left to Right:

GySgt Brandon Betz, LCpl Scott Saalfeld, Cpl

Shane Evans, Cpl Richard Kindred, Cpl Bryan Sew-

ard, Cpl Ulices Gonzalez, and 1stLt Robert Jakucs.

Charlie Company

“Our

company

relocated to

Camp

Leatherneck

with the

intent to

consolidate

our

resources,

increase our

productivity,

and

decrease

the amount

of traveling

required in

order to

provide the

support

needed. “

Greetings to the Marines, Sailors, Family and Friends of CLB-2. Remember the holidays are about giving and sharing the holiday spirit with others less fortunate than us. Enjoy the holidays and spread good for-tune and cheer with others. This month I am going to give you some information on the Student Online Achievement Resources (SOAR) program.

SOAR is a program for military families and the school districts that serve them. It aims to address the unique challenges facing military children in our nation‘s public schools, while benefiting the overall stu-dent population. SOAR Home is an internet-based application, which is easily accessible worldwide

Partners The Military Impacted Schools Association (MISA) sponsors SOAR in partnership with the University of Northern

Iowa, The Princeton Review, and Skills Tutor. We have come together to provide resources to assist with the

unique challenges for military children. Our hope is that SOAR will help children improve in their academic en-

deavors, and ease the transition of moving from one military installation to another. While we are working to assist

the 550,000 children of our military personnel, we know that their classmates will also be the beneficiary of these

resources.

Student components include:

Assessments aligned with state standards to identify their strengths and weaknesses in reading and mathematics

Tutorial lessons to reinforce and review skills not mastered

Page 7 Volume 2, Issue 5

Family Readiness Officer

Parent components include:

Easy access to their children‘s accounts

Links to military installations, transition resources and

school websites.

Resources for at-home learning activities

Message board

State-specific resources, such as state learning standards

Links to Department of Education and other educational

resources websites

****************IMPORTANT****************

Out With The Mass Communication Tool And In With Marine On Line

At Present when you receive an automated message or e-mail from the Family Readiness Officer it comes out through the Mass Communication Tool, MCT. This program is able to send out a message to all the family contacts of CLB-2 in a matter of hours. The message goes out by E-mail, home phone, cell phone and even by text mes-sage. The Marine Corps is fading this program out in the next couple of months and replacing it with an automated mes-saging system through Marine Online, MOL. The Marine Corps has been using MOL for years to account for Ma-rines and to keep track of other information. At present MOL is only able to send out messages by e-mail. So if you only receive messages by phone you will not receive any updates when we start to use the new system. We have approximately 400 family members in CLB-2 that do not have an e-mail address. To ensure that you continue to receive messages please look at doing one of the following; Current e-mail address—if you currently have an e-mail address please forward an e-mail to the Family Readi-ness officer from this account letting him know who you are and who your Marine or Sailor is. He will then add your e-mail address to his system. Create a new E-mail address— This can be done by any home computer, friends computer or at your local library. Many of the services are free such as Yahoo, Gmail, AOL and Hotmail. Once created please e-mail the Family Readiness Officer your name and your Marine/ Sailors name. He will then add your new e-mail to his system. Please take some time out of your schedule and set up an e-mail account. Once this account is set up its important that you check once a week or more when it gets closer to your loved one coming home. It is very important that you are still in the loop and will receive any and all updates. If you have any questions or concerns please contact your Family Readiness Officer at 910-382-9175/910-451-0593 or by e-mail at Jeffrey.m.peters@usmc.mil.

SLIDE SHOW - REMINDER TO ALL CLB-2 FAMILIES THE SLIDESHOW IS STILL PROGRESSING!! WE

HAVE RECEIVED ONLY A COUPLE OF PICTURES SO FAR. WE ALL WANT THIS PRESENT TO BE A SUC-

CESS SO DO NOT FORGET TO SEND IN YOUR MARINE OR SAILORS PICTURES TO BE INCLUDED!! We

have asked for 4 photos: 1 photo of your Marine or Sailor in uniform, camis, 1 photo

of your Marine or Sailor’s family, 1 photo of your Marine or Sailor’s children, and 1

photo of your Marine or Sailor kissing or hugging their spouse, significant other,

etc. If you do not have any children and your pet is considered your child please

send that as your “child” picture. Please ensure that all pictures are tasteful. If

not, they will not be included. Send all pictures to e-mail address

clb2pics@yahoo.com , please include the name and rank of your Marine or Sailor and the state they reside from, also include what company your Marine or Sailor is in. THE

DEADLINE IS 15 NOVEMBER 2010. We look forward to getting this all together so that

our Marine’s and Sailor’s have a little piece of home for the holidays. SO HURRY!!

Slide Show Update