viking newsletter october 2010 web

8/8/2019 Viking Newsletter October 2010 Web

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To our Viking families, hello from Iwakuni, Japan!

By the time you are all reading this, VMFA(AW)-225 and allof its associated pieces and parts will finally be finished withits deployment to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni. It has

been a long and interesting transit and not without its shareof interesting situations. As always, though, your Marinesand Sailors do what they do best adapt, improvise, andovercome all obstacles.

We just completed a 2-week exercise on the island of Guam at Andersen AirForce Base. I cant think of a more appropriate test of a combat unit. Wedeployed ten aircraft and almost 200 Marines over 6,000 miles to an unfamiliarfield and began simulated high intensity combat operations within days. To putit simply, had the nation said GO on September 6th, 2010, this squadronwould have answered the call.

I cant thank the Marines and the families enough. The hard work and the longhours over the past year paid off. We couldnt have executed our missionwithout those long hours and the sacrifices made by each and every Marine andtheir families.

Now that were settled, hopefully youll be getting a few more phone calls and e-mails each day. Im watching Marines right now walk past my door checking inwith admin, finalizing travel claims, and figuring out what to do and where togo next. Im sure theyll hit the base exchange for the necessities internet,cell phones, comfy pillows, and the like.

This is an exciting time to be a CO. I look forward to a successful and SAFEdeployment with your Marines and Sailors. Dont hesitate to contact me or myFamily Readiness Officer if you have any concerns. I promise to take care ofyour Marines. Please take care of each other back home.

Semper Fidelis,LtCol Goodwin

Commanding OfficerLtCol Dan Goodwin

Executive OfficerMaj Chad Sund

Sergeant MajorSgtMaj Scott Boyer

Family Readiness OfficerMrs. Stephanie Early

VIKINGSRULE!!

A word from the

Commanding Officer

TTHHEEVVIIKKIINNGGVVOOIICCEEVMFA(AW)-225FAMILY READINESS NEWSLETTEROCTOBER 2010


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To our Viking families, greetings from Iwakuni, Japan!

The Viking Marines are doing a tremendous job here at their new du

station. The Marines have overcome obstacles that they havent seenpast deployments which brought out the finest quality in any Marineadaptability. The pack-up and movement across the sea had challenbut we overcame the obstacles and landed in Guam safely.

While in Guam the squadron was tested for their combat effectiveneIt was good to see the members of this unit working together in order to overcomehomesickness and work related stress while maintaining 11 aircraft. Although it may haseemed like the Marines were living high on the hog they worked tirelessly every day iorder to accomplish the aggressive flight and maintenance schedule. With the days andnights being consumed with maintaining the aircraft, the Marines only had a few days inwhich to enjoy the climate and local hospitality.

The sacrifices that family members have given allowed the Squadron to be successful ancombat mission ready up to this point in time. I know at times it is difficult to let yourMarine go to various locations to perform their job. I cant thank you enough for beingstrong and holding down the fort while they are gone. I know that since arriving inIwakuni the Marines have been given the opportunity to get internet, phones, and creatucomforts of home. Without your support we would not be where we are today.

I hope that since we are settled into a routine everyone has heard from their Marine. I aexcited to be the squadron Sergeant Major and I look forward to a successful and safedeployment. I will take care of your Marines and ensure they stay in contact and connecto you. This is a great time to be a Sergeant Major, do not hesitate to contact me if you h

concerns. Be safe, and stay connected with other family members.

Semper Fidelis,SgtMaj Boyer

Viking Families and Friends,

As we settle into week 6 of the deployment I hope you are all beginni

to find stability and confidence as you tackle life on the homefront.Take this time to discover a new hobby, join a club, or participate insupport group. I have many of these resources and more and I amhappy to point you in the right direction for whatever you may belooking for.

Im excited and proud of our families for all you have been doing to keep busy. We hadfantastic group of ladies join us at our Fight Like a Girl workshop in September to learn

A word from the

Sergeant Major

A word from the

Family Readiness Officer

Resources:

AlertSanDiego, is aregional notificationsystem used to send

telephone notifications toresidents and businesses

in San Diego Countyimpacted by an

emergency or disaster.As the wildfire season isupon us it is a great

service that I encourageeveryone to sign up for.

In the case that yourhome is at risk

AlertSanDiego willautomatically notify youwith suggested actions

(such as evacuation). Ifthe telephone called is

busy or does not answer,the system will redial that

number up to three timesin an attempt to deliverthe message. To register

your cellular telephone oremail address, please fillout the registration form

at:http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/oes/ready/signup.html

MILITARYONESOURCE

Whether its help withchild care, personalfinances, emotional

support duringdeployments, relocationinfo or resources needed

for special circumstances,Military OneSource is

there for militarypersonnel and theirfamilies 24/7/365!

All Services are available

by phone 1-800-342-9647and online. When you

call Military OneSource,youll talk with a

Masters level consultant,trained to offer

confidential support andpractical solutions.

www.MilitaryOneSource.com
http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/oes/ready/signup.htmlhttp://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/oes/ready/signup.htmlhttp://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/oes/ready/signup.htmlhttp://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/oes/ready/signup.html


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some tactics to feel more safe and secure at home while our Marines are away. We also an amazing group of families and friends join us at Omas Pumpkin Patch at the beginnof October for a potluck and to enjoy all of the Halloween festivities around the farm.Thank you so much for your participation and support of one another. Were building great network of Viking families, something that will carry us all through this deploymetogether.

Each month one of our volunteers is hosting an informal luncheon at a local restaurant.Please feel free to join us whenever your schedule allows. Its a great opportunity to getknow your fellow Viking families. Stay tuned for the evite for Novembers luncheon.

Hopefully most of you have heard by now that were on Facebook! Weve had a fantastresponse to our site and continue to improve our communication and informationdistribution while utilizing this new tool. Please keep in mind that this is a public tool soinformation about homecomings, squadron movements, and other threats to OPSEC wilnever be distributed via Facebook. We ask that you please use caution as you post thingthe squadron page as well as your personal pages. Use it to network with one another,check in and let us know what you like about our Family Readiness Program, and gain

useful information about deployment, events, and our Vikings forward.

Your Family Readiness team continues to organize and plan events to keep you busythroughout the deployment and we hope youll be able to join us at one of future events.Details for our Glam Gala are included at the end of the newsletter. This is a joint eventwith other deployed squadrons aboard MCAS Miramar. The fee is $30 per person and invite you to bring a friend. Childcare is completely FREE for Viking families! We hopyoull be able to join us!

I encourage you to continue to network with fellow Viking families. Whether this is youfirst deployment or your sixth, no deployment is the same and we can all learn and growfrom one anothers experiences.

Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help support you.

Sincerely,Stephanie Early

To begin our journey the ordnance shop of VMFA(AW)-225 along wother counterparts launched aircraft in early September for ourdeployment to the Pacific Theater. We had a couple of hiccups in thbeginning with having tools and other personnel spread thin overJapan, Guam, and even in Miramar. It did not stop us though fromcompleting our mission at hand, the squadron was still able tosuccessfully launch all the aircraft required.

A day in the life of an Ordie

Cpl Roberts

Mark yourCalendars for

these UpcomingViking Family

Events:

Monthly LuncheonOctober 21, 2010

1:30pmMimi's Cafe

Mira Mesa Blvd

Ugly Gown BallCelebration

October 29, 20106:30-8:30pm

Miramar Room

Glam GalaNovember 13, 2010

6:00-10:00pmThe Palms MCAS

Miramar

Christmas PartyDecember 12, 2010

1:00-4:00pmHangar 3

Important

Phone NumbersFamily ReadinessStephanie Early

wk: 858-577-6537cell: 858-864-4778

[email protected]

MAG-11Group Duty Officer

858-577-1775 or858-577-1666

MAG-12Group Duty Officer

Japan011-81-827-79-4029 or

011-81-827-79-4620

ChaplainRabbi Kreisler

[email protected]

wk: 858-577-4443cell: 858-967-7425


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It took us about a week to get the band back together from the other continents but onall together we started moving without delay. Day crew Ordnance was responsible forloading and launching the aircraft while the night crew of Ordnance was performing thechecks to ensure that every piece of ordnance would release and come off with deadlyprecision. There were so many things going on both day and night crew were running rback and forth into each other slapping hands for the other crew to go home. There we

times when the day crew would be leaving the hotel at 0230 for a delivery of Ordnance athe night crew would not be going home till 0400.

Night and day crew worked effortlessly to ensure that all of the required missions wouldhappen without fail. The Ordnance Shop of VMFA(AW)-225 was successful in getting athe ordnance loaded off of the ground. One key thing that the shop was really proud of wthat we were the only Marine squadron to successfully load and get off the ground, aparticular Air-to-Ground Missile known as the AGM-84K Standoff Land Attack MissileExpanded Response (SLAM-ER) which is a subsonic, over the horizon, all weather standcruise missile. By the end of the exercise the Ordnance crew loaded over $11,000,000 woof live ordnance.

Warmest Congratulations to:

LCpl & Mrs. Compton who welcomeda baby boy.

Maj & Mrs. Sund who welcomed ababy girl.

LCpl & Mrs. Porter who welcomeda baby boy.

Squadron News

Resources:

FREE TUESDAYNIGHT DINNERS

at the downtown USO toall active-duty militaryand their dependents

with current military ID.USO San Diego

303 A Street, Suite 100San Diego, CA 92101

619-235-6503

AMERICAN REDCROSS MESSAGES

(Emergency LeaveOfficial Communication)(877) 272-7337 (toll free)

What you need:*Service Members FullName

* Rank/Rating*Branch of Service

*Social Security Number*Military Address

*Information about thedeployed unit and the

home base unit.www.redcross.org

FREE MAILINGSUPPLIES

Sending care packages isa great way to let yourMarine know youre

thinking of him or her.For USPS rules,

restrictions, and otherhelpful mailing

information visit:

http://www.usps.com/supportingourtroops/maillingrestrictions.htmTo receive FREE

mailing/packing suppliesfrom the Postal Service,call 1-800-610-8734 andrequest CAREKIT04.
http://www.redcross.org/http://www.redcross.org/http://www.usps.com/supportingourtroops/maillingrestrictions.htmhttp://www.usps.com/supportingourtroops/maillingrestrictions.htmhttp://www.usps.com/supportingourtroops/maillingrestrictions.htmhttp://www.usps.com/supportingourtroops/maillingrestrictions.htmhttp://www.usps.com/supportingourtroops/maillingrestrictions.htmhttp://www.usps.com/supportingourtroops/maillingrestrictions.htmhttp://www.redcross.org/


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From the Homefront

Fight Like a Girl


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Vikings in Action

Guam


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January 30, 20100900-1600

Jessica JamesL.I.N.K.S. Program Trainer

(858) [email protected]

viking newsletter october 2010 web

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