I recieved the following email from  Mr McPeeks Commander.

As you can see Doug is making his mark in Afghanistan.

Yours in Scouting

Darin Heckendorn

Classification: UNCLASSIFIEDCaveats: FOUO 

Mr. Heckendorn,

I have received your letter regarding IT2 McPeek, thank you.  I just want you to know what a privilege it has been to have such an outstanding Sailor working for me. His work is what I expect from a Chief Petty Officer. I don’t know if you are aware of this but IT2 McPeek has been awarded Seabee of the Month for May and has been recently nominated as War Fighter of the Month for Task Force Alliance!

 This is a BIG deal! IT2 McPeek is a Information Technician Second Class(IT2) based with Navel Mobile Construction Battalion TWO ONE (NMCB 21) One of 9 similar units in Task Force Alliance. He himself is a very small fish in a very big pond. He is what we call a Non OF-13. OF-13’s are Navy constructionmen. The reason his accomplishments are so impressive is because he is not a “hammer swinger” (OF-13). He is surrounded by constructionmen doing great work, but because of the man he is and the impact he has made the awards were hands down in favor of him. This time the small fish made a great impression. I have attached his write-ups for both awards along with a story recently in our “Black Jack” newsletter. I hope you would share them with your Cub Scout Pack.  

In closing I would like to thank you, his family and loved ones back home for his service. It has been an honor and privilege to serve with such a high quality person. I consider myself have been Blessed to be able to call him “One of my guys”. I know you miss him but know while he is serving here, he is making a positive difference for many soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines everyday. Taking care of our troops allows them to focus and nobody does it better. 

May God Bless

Dave Shute   CECS(SCW)Shute David V.S6A

Kahdahar, Afghanistan

it2-mcpeek-jsom_final.doc 

the-blackjack-buzz-may-2010-part-2.pdf

mcpeek_wfom-_2_.pdf

“The patriot’s blood is the seed of Freedom’s tree.” — Thomas Campbell

As I write to you on this Memorial Day 2010, I sit at work with thoughts of home. Knowing there will be barbaques to attend, and graduation parties occuring, I am really missing home and my family and friends today. Walking into work this morning, the flags are at half-mast again. Another fallen warrior is being sent home today. I really felt the true meaning of Memorial Day. We are to honor our servicemen and women who have paid the ultimate price for freedom. “It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.” — General George S. Patton

Well it has been a few weeks since my last email to all of you. Things are starting to get a little crazy here over the past couple of weeks. The work load is increasing due to my co-workers are being sent outside of the base to remote locations in Afghanistan to set up Forward Operation Bases (FOBs). Please keep them in your prayers and ask for their safe return. I have been tasked to pick up their share of the workload so it has been keeping me on my toes.

I hope this message finds you all well. Have a SAFE and HAPPY Memorial Day!!

Best Regards,
Doug McPeek

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 Please check out what the pack has planned this summer.

Summer Events 2010

Yours in Scouting,

Darin Heckendorn

We will be holding our rain gutter regatta at our Pack picnic on June 5th

http://cubpack72.org/2010/05/21/pack-picnic/

“Just what is a Raingutter Regatta?”

The Raingutter Regatta is a boat race that is designed to be a parent-son project. Please feel free to give guidance and minimal assistance to your Scout as he builds his Raingutter Regatta boat, appropriate to friendly competition with his peers. These “Raingutter Regatta Rules” are written to help you keep it simple and fun for your child, and to know what to expect when it comes time to race your boat.

A special note to all parents and scouts: Together, please read the concluding article (Section on sportsmanship. While everyone will be trying to win, it’s always a good idea to start out by remembering the Cub Scout Motto, “Do Your Best,” and some of the basic ideas behind good sportsmanship.

Please talk to your den leaders if you still need a boat kit. 

Each kit should consist of a wooden block, a dowel mast and a plastic knife.  There is one sail template in your bag.  Attached is pdf of the sail template.

The scouts are to be creative and use recycled materials for their sails (Cereal boxes are great).  Like the pinewood derby they can reshape the block but be careful it doesn’t lose buoyancy

I’ve attached the rules and guidlines  along with some supporting documents.

2010-pack-72-raingutter-regatta-at-the-family-picnic-rules-and-guidelines.pdf

raingutter-regatta-sail.pdf

kit-composite.pdf

A special thanks goes out to Mr Scott for putting this event together.

Yours in scouting,

Darin Heckendorn

pack-picnic-fun-2010-_3_.pdf

Monday, May 31^th, 2010

 10:00-10:30 AM  

Fogelsville Cemetery, Church Street

 This ceremony will honor all those who have served our country and gave the ultimate sacrifice defending freedom and liberty throughout the world.   Please join our community in this day of remembrance.   Parking will be available at St. John’s U.C.C next to the Cemetery.   Colors and wreath will be presented by the Breinigsville V.F.W. and assisting will be Boy Scouts/Cub Scouts and Girl Scouts.  

The 2010 schedule for lawn mowing at Camp Spirit has just been posted. See the mowing page for more information and this year’s schedule. A copy of the schedule will be circulated for sign-ups during the Fishing Pack Meeting on Tuesday. I hope you can find time in your schedules to take on this task at least once this season!

I am writing to you all from Afghanistan. I made it here safely, and am holding up well. It is now Noon on Sunday April 25th, and back home it is 3:30 AM on Sunday April 25th. An 8 and 1/2 hour time difference, makes calling home a little more difficult. Cindy and I get to talk via the phone at least twice a week. She sounds like she is holding up well, and I really look forward to talking with her, and the boys.

Well….Let me fill you in on what I have been doing. If you are all familiar with the POD moving containers, that is basically the size of the room I am sleeping in, and sharing the room with another guy from North Carolina. When we moved in it was just 2 beds on steel frames, and now after 3 weeks of being here it is a little more accomidating. Bought some sheets and blankets, and a rubbermaid chest of drawers to hold the clothes. Other than that, its a safe place to sleep, beats living in a tent!!! The food has been outstanding believe it or not. The bases now outsource to private companies who feed the THOUSANDS of servicemen and women from around the world. We have countries here like Romania, Germany, UK, Slovakia, Sweden, Denmark, and some that I am not even going to try to spell. The base is dusty, not the dust like we get in our homes, but the sand is so fine that it is more like a dust. So any wind that kicks up is blinding and makes it hard to breathe. We do have a lake here on base, but it is not one that I will EVER going swimming in, or fishing in (full of CRAPPIES). It is a lake of sewage. All of the bathrooms are sent into this lake. So you can imagine the SMELL of this under 90-110 degree heat. It really makes your eyes water.

I am working as a liason to the army taking care of the computer network infrastructure for my Navy Battallion. Trying to keep this network up is a 24 hour a day job, not getting much sleep but enjoying it! Great bunch of people to work with. However the technology is a little out dated. The sand builds up in the computers and printers, we are constantly having to take them out of service for cleaning. My unit is in the process of building numerous SWA (SouthWest Asia) Huts for the base, pouring tons of concreate, and fixing the airfield for future operations. We are all keeping busy and doing our own parts to hopefully put an end to this conflict once and for all. Please keep us all in your thoughts and prayers! Even though we are still on base doing our work it is still dangerous. From working on the jobsites, to the attacks on the base from the locals (very few, but still happens, 4 since I have been here).

Sorry for the delay in my emails, I will try to keep them coming more often.

Take care of yourselves, and each other!!!

Warmest Regards,

Doug