THE FRAG. 2D Recon Battalion Association Newsletter. 2d Reconnaissance Battalion Newsletter Spring 2018

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1 THE FRAG 2D Recon Battalion Association Newsletter Brothers, The time is fast approaching for us to head back to Camp Lejeune to share the camaraderie and company of warriors who have, during their lifetimes, each walked paths similar to each of us. Like nomads, we make our annual pilgrimage from all points of the compass to return to our old stomping grounds to be revitalized by the salt air, surf and the steady flow of stories. The activities and the food scheduled for this year promises to be every bit as satisfying as we each enjoyed last year. We may be a small band of brothers but we can all take pride in the huge accomplishments of our tribe during the past few years. I am proud that during my tenure I have presided over award presentations to the active duty Marines and Corpsmen; distributed travel money to help some of those folks get home at Christmas; awarded scholarships and assisted with a memorial scholarship provided by the family of one of our deceased brothers. We have hosted cook outs at the Battalion and had amazing reunions; we have launched and maintained a firstrate website and now enjoy an amazing biannual newsletter thanks to the efforts of Wayne Dillon and Linda Ritch. (cont d.) 1

2 (cont d.) But now the time has come for all of you to do an assessment to see if we are meeting your expectations and think about what we should be doing in the future. I have never been an advocate for term limits if the leader serving that term was moving the organization forward. However, no organization can grow if it is limited by the vision of the same leader. The time has come for you to step forward, as we were all taught in boot camp, to take over when a Marine in the chain-of-command above you were no longer able to lead the unit in accomplishing its mission. I am honored and grateful to have been given the opportunity to work with the members of the Executive Board and to all of you who have helped make our Association a success over these past few years, but I will be stepping down from the Presidency, effectively at the end of this year s reunion. I leave you with this one verse from a poem I came across years ago: There's quite a program scheduled That means success if done, And it can be accomplished With the help of everyone. So attend the meetings regularly, And help with hand and heart Don't be just a member, But take an active part Are you truly a member, or do you just belong? Semper Fi, Bob 2

3 Editor s Corner Greetings Recon Marines and Corpsmen, Can you believe that the reunion is only a couple of months away? If you haven t registered or made your hotel reservations, what are you waiting for, Marine? Remember, the hotel has only so many rooms. I can assure you that it is very convenient to stay at the Comfort Inn, our CP during the reunion. For those of you who attended last year, you know that the Battalion put on quite a show, which included a high-altitude free-fall parachute jump over the Atlantic Ocean; allowing us to fire M4s and M1911A1 MARSOC.45s; and a static display. The Battalion s operations chief, MGySgt. Brad Dean, has promised that though he is departing for duties at Headquarters, Marine Corps, this year s events would be better than ever. I also ask that you reflect on why you joined the Marine Corps did you join to serve, or to be served? Obviously, you joined to serve, or you would not only have become a Marine, but you stepped up to become a member of a very elite fraternity. Here s where I am going with this the Association needs your support. If you feel called to do so, step forward at the meeting, and offer your time and services. Serving the Association doesn t involve a huge amount of time, and there are no cold, wet nights involved (unless you want that you re on your own there and probably need a psych eval). I would like to thank Monroe Steuber in advance for being the man on the ground in assisting Bob Moody with this year s reunion, Jason Oliver for taking care of the Membership piece, and as always, many thanks to Linda Ritch for making our newsletter look so professional. I and the rest of the staff look forward to serving you. I may be reached at leatherneck75.wd@gmail or at (931) (CST). Semper Fidelis, 3

4 2018 Association Reunion Our upcoming reunion will be held 21 to 24 June, at Jacksonville, NC. It was agreed upon to hold the reunion in the Camp Lejeune area for the third year in a row, due to a large turnout and the relationship with the Battalion. Registration: To register for this year s reunion, go the 2d Reconnaissance Battalion website: Also, while you re there, check to ensure your membership is current! Lodging The Comfort Suites, located at 130 Workshop Lane, Jacksonville NC 28546, is proud to be the reunion s host hotel for Please call the hotel directly at for reservations. Mention the "2d Recon Battalion Association Reunion Group" to receive the reunion group rate of $ Tax for 2 Double Bed or 1 King Bed up to 2 persons. Rate is effective until 1 June Thereafter, the rate increases significantly and availability decreases. The Comfort Suites offers a free hot breakfast, daily, and many places that you can lounge around and catch up with old friends. The hotel is within close distance to restaurants and shopping. 4

5 A Member s Story Ray Jones I enlisted in the Marines on 5 June, I attended boot camp at MCRD San Diego, Infantry Training Regiment at Camp Pendleton, then off to Marine Barracks, Treasure Island to attend Navy Electronics Technician A school. After completing that school, it was back to MCRD for Radar Tech School. After completing that I was sent to the 2 nd Marine Division. I reported in, handed over my orders and sat on my seabag for about a half-hour when a corporal came out, called my name, handed me my orders and said Recon. Everyone in the receiving center laughed, but the corporal told me to catch the base bus outside the door and tell the driver where I was going. After the guided tour of Camp Lejeune, we finally arrived at Stone Bay where I reported in. Then the fun started. The clerk took me to the H&S Co. Office, (same building) met the first sergeant and was handed off to the communications chief. Got situated with a bunk and locker, fell out the next morning for PT and ran my butt off. Four days later there was a field exercise, during which I became famous. All the radios were remoted into the back of a 6X6 that served as communications center. Since I knew absolutely nothing, the communications officer decided I could guard the comm center while everyone went to lunch. He handed me a pistol belt with a loaded.45 and said don t let anyone besides the comm chief or myself into this truck. I asked him what to do if someone tried to get in and he said shoot them. Then some lieutenant colonel came up and decided he was going to come into the comm center. Yeah, I was the PFC who pulled a.45 on the CO. The CO came back with the lieutenant by the ear. I got yelled at a lot until the CO stopped the BS and told me to go get some chow. All the officers thought that was pretty funny. (cont d) 5

6 (cont d) I did learn he had put me on the list for promotion to corporal (E-3*), but I didn t have enough time in service, the next time around, I was promoted to lance corporal. At that time in Recon, every available body attended the training, whether it was firing a grease gun, machine gun, mortar, rubber boat training, or EOD training. We also held a lot of comm schools for the grunts. There wasn t a Recon MOS then and all three recon battalions were trying to get an R tacked on to everyone s MOS who went through all the Recon on-the-job training. A lot of the senior NCOs were from the World War II Raider Battalions; pretty awesome men. The H&S company gunny taught hand-to-hand combat; don t ask me how many times I got thrown out of the pit. He and a staff sergeant from A Company taught camouflage and concealment, plus sniper techniques. In 1960, Hurricane Diane took the roof off several buildings, and the battalion moved mainside to 8 th Marines barracks while they were on a Mediterranean deployment. Later we moved to 6 th Marines area. The H&S Company first sergeant told us to let him know if we d like to attend any schools, I put my name on the list for the Mountain Leadership Course. Several months later, I had orders to go. There were about ten from the Battalion who went at the same time. Unfortunately, when we returned to Camp Lejeune, the first sergeant showed me a letter from Headquarters, Marine Corps that was to be put in my service record book. Technicians were not allowed to attend jump school, scuba school, or mountain leadership school. That wasn t very nice of them. I did make one excursion to the Dominican Republic as a member of a 20-man Recon unit. I was the radio operator/technician/driver for the crew. We were pumping up the rafts on the deck when the captain of the ship came down and told us the mission had been cancelled. It was a nice diversion from the normal routine. Ray later served as an instructor at Communications/Electronics School, with 3d Force Service Regiment (similar to today s Logistics Group), with 2d Battalion, 6 th Marines, and with 1 st Radio Battalion in Vietnam. He currently resides in Alabama. *During this period, the Marine Corps was transitioning from seven enlisted pay grades to the current structure of nine enlisted pay grades. The lance corporal rank was not instituted until

7 In Memoriam Fallen Warrior-In Memoriam: MSgt. John Hayes, U.S. Marine Corps Editor s note: Many of us knew and respected John Hayes. I knew him as a lance corporal in Bravo Company, and later saw him in the spring of 2009 at Camp Lejeune, just prior to his deployment. I was saddened when I heard a few months later and saw that he had been killed in Afghanistan. This moving tribute was written by Bill Janson, a former Recon Marine and the founder of Eleven 10, a tactical gear manufacturer. This article appeared on the SOFREP website, 10 July July 8 marked three years since the Marine Recon community lost one of its finest. MSgt. John Hayes was killed in action in Afghanistan on July 8, When I passed the indoc and was actually assigned to 2d Recon Battalion, John was one of the first faces that we learned to fear. We were ropes, and he was a seasoned Recon sergeant. We were reminded quite often that we didn t rate s**t, and to make things even more uncomfortable, all of the new ropes were assigned to the barracks that John s platoon lived in not a great situation for us ropes living with an operational platoon. Of all of the hazing and thrashing we dealt with, John was always the one who made sure we learned something every evolution. No matter how small or big of a lesson, we learned something. (cont d.) 7

8 (cont d.) I remember quite a few times being on duty, and John would sit down with me and really go through what we were learning. A lot of guys would ask you a few knowledge questions just hoping you d get them wrong to start a small PT Session, but he wanted to make sure you not only knew the subject but understood it. He exemplified the definition of a silent professional. No yelling or chest pumping was necessary with this guy he just commanded respect when he walked in a room. This respect wasn t unwarranted, because he knew his job and had the reputation that legends were made of One fine morning, John and his platoon decided that they d take the new ropes out for a nice PT session. This wasn t the norm, since we were assigned to our own platoon. This was their way of seeing what we were made of. The PT session was nasty, to say the least, but we all made it through. I might even go out on a limb and say that we all earned a little bit of respect from the old school. Like I said, there was always a reason behind everything John did, no hazing for the sake of hazing. He just wanted to ensure that if we made it through Amphib Recon School (ARS), he d have no issues with any of us being on his team down the road. Time passed, and us ropes went on to ARS and earned our MOS. Once we actually were Recon Marines, the thrashing became more professional hello s in passing. As we grew as Recon Marines, John Hayes was always there for the junior guys to guide us along and help us truly master the skills of a Reconnaissance Marine. Later in my time at Recon, I remember John came to our room (my roommate, Joey, and I) and knocked on the door. Expecting him to pass on some info or just ask us a simple question, he came in and sat down. We shot the sh** for quite a while and had a few beers. This was that moment that we realized we were officially part of the club. It s one thing to earn a title, but to have a highly respected member of the community truly look at you as an equal is quite another. A large portion of my Recon memories include John Hayes in some way, shape or form. I know that I m not articulating these stories as impacting as they were, and I m sure for a lot of folks they may just seem like a few little events. But, everyone who has made it through any type of selection process can tell you about a mentor that truly helped form them into the man they are. That guy who truly inspired and pushed you, taught you those little tricks, gave you real lessons and knowledge, and had such an impact that you aspired to attain his level of respect that man for many Recon Marines was MSgt. John Hayes. John was truly a Recon legend. He had the respect of all he worked with and the admiration of everyone in the community. When I found out about John being killed, I remember saying to one of my buddies this can t be, John s a f&*kin superhero, there s no way he died. I think that sentiment was pretty common amongst us. Rest easy John, you are truly missed. Semper Fi. 8

9 Eligibility Supporting our Community Larry Ashton Memorial Scholarship 2018 The Larry Ashton Memorial Scholarship Fund is awarding a scholarship in the amount of: $1, to either an eligible undergraduate student who will enroll full-time or part-time in a university, college, community college, or a Veterans Administration-approved post-secondary career training school within the United States in the school year, or an eligible graduate student pursuing studies in mental health, medical technology, biomechanical engineering, nursing, or social work. Furthermore, special consideration will be given to those applicants who have been impacted by a personal diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or PTSD diagnosis or suicide of their 2d Reconnaissance Battalion veteran sponsor. Scholarship funds are awarded to offset the expense of tuition/registration, textbooks and materials, and/or room and board for the recipients. Application Applicants must submit the following for consideration: Cover letter including applicant full name, address and status as either a dependent of or veteran of the 2d Reconnaissance Battalion, requesting consideration for the scholarship. Resume to include a description of a career goal in a mental health, medical technology, biomechanical engineering, nursing or social work discipline. Copy of last transcript from accredited undergraduate institution. This does not need to be a sealed official transcript. Copy of letter of acceptance into accredited graduate level education program. Essay, 500 words, describing how this program of study will support veterans in your chosen field of endeavor. Sanitized copy of your 2017 tax records showing an annual income of $90, or less. Application Deadline All documents must be postmarked no later than 15 August for consideration. Send completed packet to: Larry Ashton Memorial Scholarship c/o 2d Reconnaissance Battalion Association P.O. Box 1679 Westminster, MD For questions about the Larry Ashton Memorial Scholarship Fund, send inquiries to: ashtonunc@yahoo.com. 9

10 Today s 2d Reconnaissance Battalion in Action From 2d Recon Battalion s Operations Chief, MGySgt. Brad Dean: This will be my last reunion as the Ops Chief as I will be departing in June/July to go to the Pentagon to be the Reconnaissance Occupational Field Sponsor so I am going to try and make it as exciting as possible. I may make the reunion my last day so it would be extra special for me. Command Structure remains the same: Battalion Commander: LtCol Christopher Bopp (will depart in Jan 2019) Battalion SgtMaj: SgtMaj Tom Costa (will depart in Sept 2018) Battalion Ops Chief: MGySgt Dean (will depart in June/July 2018) (cont d.) 10

11 (cont d.) Company Status: Alpha Co departed in February for deployment with the 26th MEU. Two platoons under the command structure of the Company Commander -Capt Evan Fairfield and the Ops Chief - MSgt Larry O'Connor. Bravo Co is currently in school phase in preparation for a deployment with the 24th MEU in FY20. Two platoons under the command structure of the Company Commander -Capt. Daniel Dellamonico and the Ops Chief, GySgt Nolan Arthur Charlie Co is currently in their UTP and will begin EOTG (SOTG) training in April for an upcoming deployment with the 22nd MEU. Two platoons under the command structure of the Company Commander -Capt Mark Bertolone and the Ops Chief - GySgt Patrick Keeling 11

12 Membership Jason Oliver is our Membership Chairman. Connect with Jason via the following methods: Facebook: Linkedin: Mail: 2 nd Recon Association Jason Oliver PO Box 1826 Los Gatos CA, Holiday Travel Assistance The Association has set aside funds to help active duty Marines in need of travel assistance during the Holiday period. Travel money to be distributed by Battalion. Those wishing to apply should contact the battalion operations chief. 12

13 2D Recon Battalion Association P.O. Box 1679 Westminster, MD