JULY 15, 2010 INTERNATIONAL SECURITY ASSISTANCE FORCE

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Not only are our Marines and Sailors demonstrating

superior performance within their designated Mili-

tary Occupational Specialties, they are also taking

advantage of the various professional growth oppor-

tunities through on-site, resident education. I com-

mend our Marines for looking beyond their daily

requirements to ensure our leaders of tomorrow are

prepared and equipped with the requisite knowl-

edge and skills to assume greater leadership respon-

sibility. Similarly, I salute our families, friends and

volunteers for their tremendous sacrifice to ensure

our sustained support, no matter the geographical

location.

My sincere congratulations go out to many - now

that we have reached the halfway point for this

portion of the OEF 10.1 deployment. Our skillful

planners have begun to work the redeployment sched-

ules and timelines. Please stay tuned for information

from our Family Readiness Officer notifying the fami-

lies of the latest deployment news. Remember the

sensitive information of reunions should be held in

the strictest confidence to ensure safety for one and

all.

In closing, I extend a fond farewell to the Marines,

Sailors and families entering the normal summer

Permanent Change-of-Station rotation cycle. We wish

you Godspeed in all endeavors. It has been a real

pleasure to serve with each and every one of you. For

those who remain in MALS, you can count our entire

leadership team to stay focused on safety and provide

steady, reliable support to 3D MAW Squadrons.

It is an honor and privilege to serve as your Com-

mander!

Semper Fidelis,

J.C Carroll III

LtCol USMC

From the Commanding Officer

Families and Friends,

Can you believe it is already July!

Wow - time here has been flying by

for your Marines and Sailors!

June has been a very dynamic

month for us. We continue to have

the squadron augments check-in and

check-out - it is a good process to

say goodbye to the Marines we have

grown with and also to welcome

aboard the new Marines who are

itching to get into the fight!

MALS-16 (FWD) Marines constantly

show what they are made of. That

was never more evident than during

Marine and NCO of the Quarter Boards.

The competition was tight but only

one winner could emerge for each

category. A hearty congratulations

goes to Cpl Charpied (AVNSUPDEPT)

and LCpl Murphy (AVI DEPT) for win-

ning these prestigious awards for the

3rd Quarter!

MALS-16 (FWD) hosted Professional

PME this past month with the MALS-

16 (FWD) Corporal’s Course 2-10. We

had 83 students from 9 different units

attend our courses. Special Kudos to

Cpl Cotto (Honor Graduate), Cpl Pohl

(Gung-Ho Award), and Cpl McLaughlin

(Leadership Essay Winner)!

Families, thank you again for your

daily sacrifice! Know that your

Marines are making a difference!~

~Semper Fi,

MGySgt Diane M. Sharpe

Sergeant Major’s Corner

e

MALS-16 Family and Friends,

As our daily pace continues to increase, the Ma-

rines and Sailors of MALS-16 continue to perform at

the highest levels of excellence. Each team member

has exhibited a personal commitment for success in

spite of the enormous logistical support challenges

throughout Southern California and across three

operating bases in Afghanistan.

Standing Out Page 2 Announcements Page 3

A Marine’s Point of View Page 5 Cpl’s Course Page 6

4th of July Page 7 A Little Bit of Kandahar Page 9 2010 OEF Souvenirs Page 10

In Other News Page 4

LtCol Carroll with the Headquarters Marines

MGySgt Sharpe addressing Marines

on the 4th of July Celebration

The Marine Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO), the emulating display of our core values of honor,

courage and commitment that make us stand above all the rest. The inspiring performance of the 14

leadership traits pull together those junior Marines around us in the wake of our duties. The demon-

stration of unyielding pride in enforcing discipline yet we show compassion and humility to those in

need and worthy of praise. The Marine NCO lives our history and bleeds our traditions because in

order to be a Leader of Marines, that is what our Corps requires from us.

Honor, courage and commitment; the values instilled in our minds and hearts since the very moment

we landed on those yellow footprints. A Marines will never lie, cheat or steal. A Marine will have

physical, mental and moral strength to accomplish the task at hand. A Marine will have the selfless

dedication to our Corps and to our country. As NCOs, we must demand nothing less of those Marines

in our charge, “and by example will inspire them to the highest standards possible.”

Many have asked themselves which of the 14 leadership traits is the most important? I have to

answer, “All of them.” There is no one trait more essential and imperative than another. When used

in proper correlation to the given situation, the NCO must be able to use all distinctively separate as

well as in combination with “training new Marines and influencing the old.”

When asked the question, “What is the most important characteristics of being a Marine?” I first

replied with a clear and concise, “Discipline.” The instant willing obedience to all orders; to do

what is right when no one is looking. Although every recruit that makes it past processing and

forming has some sort of discipline. With the roar of a drill instructor blasting in your face, it is

quite easy to “do this” and “don't do that.” What makes a recruit a Marine and, eventually, a

Marine an NCO is something entirely different. If I were asked that same question today, I would

have a very different answer: humility. The humility we have for our rank and for the Corps. Humil-

ity in knowing, understanding and perceiving that no one Marine is greater than the mission, their

unit or the Corps as a whole. We have humility as the small unit leader knowing that the smallest

task, when put together, adds up to the accomplished mission. “Their performance will reflect an

image of me.”

Honor, courage, commitment, bearing, decisiveness, dependability, enthusiasm, endurance, integrity,

initiative, judgment, justice, knowledge, loyalty, tact, unselfishness, discipline, humility. All impor-

tant individually in their own way, all needed and required of a Marine Non-Commissioned Officer.

Our history lives in each and every one of us, from the sword we carry, to the stripe marked with

blood down the side of our trousers. And it is up to us to enrich our traditions to our junior Marines,

it is up to us to keep them alive and well.

How is the Marine NCO the embodiment of the Corps’ history and traditions?

PROMOTIONS

LCPL LASHWAY, CODY

CPL BRU, GABRIEL

CPL CASAREZ, DEREK

CPL DUTILE, JUSTIN

CPL FLAGG, ANDREW

CPL FLORES, CHRISTOPHER

CPL HARPER, CRAIG

CPL LOVETT, GORDON

CPL MOORE, ROGER

CPL PRICE, WILLIAM

CPL ROBERTSON, JOSEPH

CPL RUTTER, JONATHAN

CPL SHOLTIS, ANTHONY

SGT COCIMANO, ANTONIO

SGT RIOS, LUIS

SGT VEGA, ANTHONY

GYSGT HAMILTON, MICHAEL

GYSGT SIMMERS, JOSHUA

AWARDS SSGT HOLTFRETER, KURT

SSGT WAGNER, ROBERT

SSGT EDENS, MATTHEW

SSGT MILTON, CHERYLE

SSGT PAYNE, WILLIAM

SSGT ROBERTS ELIZABETH

SGT LUNSFORD, ZACHARY

SGT JOHNSON, KENAN

CPL COLLINS, DONNOVAN

CPL CABEZAS, BRYANT

CPL MAXWELL, BRANDON

CPL PEREZ, CALEB

CPL CHILDRESS, CHRISTOPHER

CPL NEWCOMB, BENJAMIN

CPL LATOUR, DANIELA

LCPL COX, CHRISTOPHER

LCPL WHITE, JAMES

JULY BIRTHDAYS SSGT ARNOLD, JASON 1st

LCPL VERMILYER, MATHEW 1st

SGT CORONADO, VALENTIN 2nd

LCPL BOBBIT, ERIC 3rd

MSGT FONSECA, ADRIAN 3rd

GYSGT BARNWELL, LEONARD 4th

CPL KNEZECVICH, NICHOLAS 5th

SGT KNIGHT, MICHAEL 5th

SGT LOVELESS, AMBER 6th

LCPL NEWTON, JAMES 6th

SGT WEST, TRAVIS 8th

CPL ADRIATICO, RAMON 9th

LCPL CRUZ, ANGEL 9th

CPL MARTINEZ, JOSE 9th

CPL OLIVER, LAWRENCE 10th

SSGT WILSON, RICHARD 10th

SGT MARCIAL, CHRISTOPHER 11th

SGT GARCIA, CARLOS 14th

LCPL RUDE, RODNEY 14th

SGT ALVARADO, ANDREW 15th

LCPL CHAUTIN, BRANDON 15th

CPL DINATALE, ANTHONY 15th

SGT WARNER, JERMAINE 15th

CPL WYER, TREVOR 17th

SGT WHITMORE, SAMANTHA 18th

CPL COSTA, ARTHUR 19th

CPL BECKER, PATRICK 20th

CPL COHOE, DAVID 20th

MSGT RODRIGUEZ, FELIPE 20th

CPL TEIXEIRA, JOHN 20th

CPL ZARRABI, SEAN 20th

LCPL TURNER, SPENSER 21st

SSGT CASTILLO, ORLANDO 22nd

LCPL KRIZO, DAVID 22nd

LCPL MARTINDALE, ZANE 22nd

CPL OLIVE, JACQUELINE 23rd

LCPL PETERSON, STEVEN 23rd

SSGT DEVOY, ANTHONY 24th

LCPL PREMACHANDRAN, DYLAN 25th

SGT BALDONADO, SHERYL 27th

LCPL HALL, ZACHARY 27th

MGYSGT SHARPE, DIANE 27th

MGYSGT ALYWARD, DAVID 29th

CPL ASKIN, WESLEY 29th

SSGT BENHAM, BRIAN 29th

SGT FLORES, ADRIAN 29th

SGT NEIL, VINCENT 29th

CPL PLACHNO, HAILEE 29th

CPL VAZQUEZ, MIGUEL 29th

LCPL ALVAREZBALMACEDA, JOSE 30th

CPL DUTILE, JUSTIN 30th

LCPL EVERETT, DAVID 30th

CPL GERRITY, SHANE 30th

SSGT MONTES, ALFONSO 30th

SGT RIOS, MERLINA 30th

CPL MITCHELL, ZACHARY 31st

LCPL RICHARDSON, STEVEN 31st

GOOD CONDUCT

MEDAL

When we first arrived here, I remember how easy it was to spot

the Marines who had been for almost a year. You could see it in their

faces, in the way they held themselves, even sense it in the way they

spoke. Everything about them was screamin exhaustion. They just

seemed...tired. They seemed worn out, mentally drained. Physically ex-

asperated. They seemed impatient with this country and their eagerness

to be home was overrun by how lifeless they had become over the course of

the past year. And here we are, only 5 months in and, I feel it. I feel the exhaustion that I saw in the

faces of the Marines I came here to replace, and I have only been here a meager 5 months. I have only one

to go. For any of you reading this, in any branch of the military that have ever done an entire year over-

seas, my utmost respect and admiration goes out to you. I don’t know if I could do it. I just don’t know if

my body and mind would hold out another 6 months.

June and now the beginning of July have been interesting months...to say the least. Things that

have stuck out to me the most over the course of the past and a half:

One: The animal life in Afghanistan. The mice. THE MICE– THE MICE– THE MICE. Who knows

where they come from, but they have taken up residence in our clamshell and we dare not fight them

anymore. We started out with just one - Mama Mouse. Mama Mouse finally met Papa Mouse and the

two must have hit it off because they continue to work on their family. Now we have meeces and mices of

all sizes. The itty bitty guys are the fearless ones (they are my favorite). You open a cupboard and see

their little black, bead eyes staring back at you while they sit there perched on SSgt’s jar of peanut butter.

They don’t move or make any attempt to flee anymore. They just sit there - staring. Then they poop and

leave our cupboard a bacterial mess.

And where there are mice, there will be cats. I’ve noticed that a family of cats has taken over the

supply van pad. Skinny little, tiger striped Afghani cats! They have no problem minding their own busi-

ness and we dare not touch them. But just like the meeces and mice, they have no fear. I know this first

hand seeing as though one or two have almost become “rock kill” means of the gator. And quite possibly,

the most surprising of this wildlife adventure...are the ladybugs. It was cute at first. Someone spotted one

in my hair, which is supposed to be good luck. But one turned into thirty. Did I say thirty? I meant

thirty MILLION. It was refreshing to see them around for a while, little red specks in a sea of sand and

dirt...but only in Afghanistan will you find KILLER LADY BUGS. LADY BUGS THAT BITE. Needless to say,

they quickly lost their endearment and fell nicely into the same category as the steroid induced flies.

And last but not least - and quite possibly the most dangerous of all Afghani animals: the desert

bear. Don’t worry. Desert bears only lurk in the daytime and don’t pose an immediate threat to all Ma-

rines. For the handful of you who know and understand this joke, I hope you are laughing uncontrollably

right now.

The other thing, my number 2 and almost seemingly impossible to ignore now that summer has

arrived, is the temperature. It climbs everyday. The kind of heat that makes it annoying to breathe in

the daytime. You inhale and your lungs just want to deny the hot air you’re taking in. They want noth-

ing to do with it, but then again...it’s all there is, so they are forced to adapt. I vividly remember coming

home from Iraq and the first breath of fresh air I took once we landed in Germany. No sand, no dirt, no

stench of porta potty whirling about my nostrils. Just air. CLEAN, FRESH, LADY BUG FREE AIR. It was

great then; I can only imagine what it’s going to be like this time around. I dream about that first breath

of fresh air. The kind of dreams you don’t want to wake up from.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 9

A MARINE’S POINT OF VIEW

FACULTY ADVISORS: Sgt Stevens, Anthony Sgt Taylor, Byron

SSgt Cardona, Diego, SNCOIC Sgt Knight, Jared Sgt Weiss, David

SSgt Castillo, Orlando Sgt Gonzalez, Karen Sgt Land, Mario

Sgt Spoon, Tyler Sgt Osorio, Gunther

ACADEMICS: DIRECTOR:

GYSGT GREENE, CHRISTOPHER MGYSGT SHARPE, DIANE

IN AFGHANISTAN

PIE

EATING

CONTEST

BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS

W

I

N

N

E

R

The heat has arrived and welcomed us with open arms. One thing that you will never forget about your time

in the desert is the heat. Something that I can say for Marines is that they are inventive; adapt and overcome. If your

AC is out, hook up a C17; if the sun is beating down your work space, build an awning; if your work space is hot, build

AC ducting using water bottles and duct tape to ventilate it. Even with the motivating Marine Corps Martial Arts Pro-

gram (MCMAP) training going on, Marines are getting up before the sun so they can get to class and get all their train-

ing before the heat hits. MCMAP is motivating in its own right. It is great to watch these Marines progress in their

belts. They are out there doing their daily Physical Training in the dust and dirt, and then continuing on the mats

learning new moves. It is awesome to see these guys and girls at the end of their training, covered in dirt, faces white

with dust and smear marks from rolling on the mats, but they are smiling and happy because it is good training.

Maintenance here at MALS is ongoing. With a month under our belt of having the F18s aboard station, we have identified most

all glitches and have quickly fixed problems or found solutions that will keep gear returning to the squadrons.

GSE has made the downed Pettibone operational in order to help the squadron with engine lifts. They have also assisted the

squadron with their support equipment to keep their maintenance running smoothly. Supply has been n the move non-stop, inventory-

ing AV8 gear being moved to a safe storage and ordering needed gear for the F18s. Tire shop is constantly turning tires around to keep

the birds I the air. An astonishing amount of liquid oxygen and liquid nitrogen has been produced by Cryo to not only support the F18s,

but also to support the British and other contractors here in KAF.

Celebrating the 4th of July here not only helped camaraderie, but also reminded us that we are fighting for our great nation

and protecting our loved ones at home. It is going to be wonderful to get home to our families when we are done with our deployment.

Sgt Ihnen, Jessica

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

And now to my number 3 - the constant chit chat about our departure dates. It’s gone by quick, it really has. There is no

more getting used to this country. I think for me, as well as many others, this country has really gotten the best of us. It’s drained s

in every way possible. I’ve changed over the course of the past month and I can’t seem to put my finger on how or why. It’s almost

certain that I go into panic mode every night, I finally know and fully understand the meaning of the phrase, “running around like a

chicken with its head cut off.” I do that. I literally do that. And it’s been an exhausting experience. I want to blame it on Afghani-

stan, but I know that the underlying reason is all in my head. I know that one more month may be all that my little body can han-

dle and California has never seemed so beautiful. I see it in my dreams, the same ones where I think I taste fresh air. I see GREEN

and SHRUBBERY. I see the ocean. I see the skyline of San Diego. I see my hand wrapped around a glass of wine. I see all these

things and they are finally within reach. We are on the last leg of this deployment, ladies and gentlemen. Where that old saying,

“There’s no place like home” means more to us than it did to Dorothy and Toto.

Cpl Gerlak after MCMAP training Training never stops Sunset over Kandahar

FOR SALE

Coin $ 3.50

Patch $ 2.00

Coffee Mug $2.00

MALS-16 (Fwd) Deputy Family Readiness Officer

Sgt Sheryl Baldonado

sheryl.baldonado@afg.usmc.mil

Newsletter Point of Contact

POINT OF CONTACT: GYSGT GREENE

email: christopher.greene@afg.usmc.mil