MICROSOFT
ON THE BUZZ
Ombudsman Contact
Information:
Brenda Walker
(805) 218-2323
Linda Mendoza
(805) 218-4096
nmcb4ombuds@yahoo.com
Subscribe to NMCB-4
Ombudsman Newsletter by
e-mailing us.
Check out our website:
http://www.orgsites.com/ca/
nmcb4fst/index.html
Facebook (link to Facebook
found at orgsites website)
Careline (805)-982-2200
Inside this issue:
CO’s Corner 2 August 14, 2010 Location: Naval Base Ventura - Port Hueneme
Calendar & Important 3 Are you in need of school supplies for your children this school year?
Numbers
Free Entrance to Muse- 4
ums
Welcome CMC Tho- 5 through E6 for this location only. School age children grades K-12 are
mas to 4!!
FRG Friends of Four 6
ON THE BUZZ JUNE 2010
YOUR CONCERNS:
Q: With NMCB 3 doing their FEX in August, will NMCB 4 be asked to
participate as Aggressors?
A: With our Homecoming happening around the same time as NMCB 3’s FEX, our
Battalion will not be affected by their training exercise.
Q: What am I allowed to post on my social networks in regards to
homecoming?
A: This is an extremely touchy subject for all Military Personnel and
Families. The best policy is the less that is written, the better. As we re-
ceive information we will relay it to our families, but again this will not
happen for several weeks, so please be patient with us. Once dates are
announced, please do not post them on your Social Network accounts.
You never know who may be following your blogs. If you want to tell ex-
tended family, the phone is the best way to do so. Again, do not post
certain days or times and please NO countdown tickers, because that
may cause our Bees to be delayed for security purposes. If you are still
unsure about what to post, feel free to visit www.facebook.com/
NavalOPSEC?ref=ts to learn more about OPSEC!
Operation Homefront Backpack Brigade
Operation Homefront wants to help your children have a successful
start! To qualify you must be an active duty military, activated Re-
serve or activated National Guard family, with paygrades of E1
eligible to receive a backpack and school supplies. Children in pre-
school or college do not qualify to participate. Registration begins
June 15th visit www.operationhomefront.net/socal/events.aspx?
id=3993 for information and guidelines on how to register.
 Page 2 ON THE BUZZ

CO’S CORNER
Greetings Friends and Families of FOUR,
With my change of command approaching on July 12, this will be my last Ombudsman newsletter and my chance to say farewell to those
who have made NMCB FOUR successful over the last 2+ years. Commanding the great Seabees of NMCB FOUR has truly been a pleas-
ure, and the only thing I really have to say as I leave are some “Thank You’s!” to those who have made this the best job of my career:

THANKS to my Lord God in Heaven who has granted me the wisdom to serve the Seabees of FOUR and who has answered our many
prayers for their safety as they have gone into harm’s way again and again to accomplish our Build and Fight mission.

THANKS to my lovely wife Veronica and my great kids Naomi, Isaac, Jacob and Grace who have supported me through long deployments,
long hours and many moves while I pursued my dream of being a Seabee.

THANKS to our dedicated Ombudsmen, Brenda Walker and Linda Mendoza, who have sacrificed so much time and energy to the care of
our Seabee families.

THANKS to the Family Readiness Group President, Jenn Cobbel, and the rest of the board—Heidi Oglesby, Anna Richardson and Michelle
Tholen—who have dedicated countless hours to providing mutual support and an understanding social fabric for the families and friends of
FOUR.

THANKS to the families and friends of our hard working Seabees who support them, change the dirty diapers, fix the broken screen door,
take the kids to soccer games, listen to the complaints and take care of all the other unglamorous but extremely important duties on the
homefront. Your contributions are no less important than those of us Building and Fighting in Afghanistan, and FOUR could not be suc-
cessful without you.

THANKS to my bosses, RADM Handley, CAPT Schmader and CAPT Worcester, who saw fit to entrust me with the tremendous responsi-
bility of leading Seabees into combat and provided me the guidance, examples and mentorship I needed to succeed.

THANKS MOST OF ALL TO THE DEDICATED SEABEES of NMCB FOUR. From my somewhat biased point of view, I don’t think there
has ever been a more hard-working, disciplined, professional and talented group of men and women than the Seabees I have the pleasure of
living and working with every day here in Afghanistan. They have worked through extreme heat, bone-chilling cold, 3-foot deep mud, heavy
snow, floods and high winds. They have overcome seemingly overwhelming obstacles to always accomplish the mission, no matter what.
They have put the mission ahead of their personal well-being, pushing ahead with critical Forward Operating Base (FOB) expansions before
they even had set up a place to lay their heads that night. Through it all, they literally “Built the Battlefield” across Afghanistan, to the
amazement of our Supported Commanders. The Force Expansion in Regional Command-North could not have happened without the
superhuman efforts of the Seabees from FOUR. Leading a group of men and women like this is every Commanding Officer’s dream, and I
have gotten to live that dream in FOUR for the last 2+ years. NMCB FOUR is a great unit not because the Commanding Officer is any-
thing special (I’m not; just ask Veronica), but because we have a truly heroic group of men and women who are willing to work together as
a team to accomplish something great together, to put aside our individual goals to be part of something that is bigger than ourselves. I
am just glad to be a part of it. THANKS, Seabees of NMCB FOUR, for the best 2 years of my career. I’ll miss you.
God Bless, CDR Dean VanderLey
Commanding Officer, NMCB FOUR

NMCB 4 Careline

CONGRATS TO CEC (SCW) HARRISON AND

WIFE CATHY WHO CELEBRATE 18 YEARS OF
MARRIAGE ON JUNE 19TH!
Want to know what’s going on with our Battalion? Please
call our careline at 805 982-2200! The Skipper updates the
careline every other week. If you would like to make an
announcement as well please contact the Ombudsmen at
nmcb4ombuds@yahoo.com
ON THE BUZZ Page 3

IMPORTANT NUMBERS TO HAVE ON FILE

NAVY MARINE CORPS RELIEF SOCIETY: American Red Cross:
805-982-4409
Local:805 982-3074
Dispatch:805 982-4591
Emergency Message:
Fire Division:982-4595
1-877-272-7337
FFSC:805 982-5037
Remember these numbers can also be found in the NMCB 4 Calendar along with other impor-
tant contacts. If you do not own a calendar, please contact the Ombudsmen at
nmcb4ombuds@yahoo.com

June 2010
Schedule of
Events

 June 17-Seabee
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Chapel 6-8pm, free
childcare, bring
your favorite dish.
1 2 3 4 5 Last chance to pur-
chase first kiss tick-
ets!

6 7 8 9 10 11 12  Call CDCs on Hue-

neme982-4849 or
Mugu’s CDC 98-
3675 to reserve a
13 14 15 16 17 FRG 18 Parents 19 Free free night out! Free
MEETING night out daycare provided 6-
Food 9pm at the CDCs
on June 18.
20 Father’s 21 22 23 24 25 26
Day  Free Food Distribu-
tion Building 19,
NBVC 9am-1pm.
27 SIGN 28 29 30 Don’t forget your
PAINTING laundry basket!

 Welcome Home
Sign Painting. 2-
4pm at Bolles Field.
Bring your paint-
brushes!
Page 4 ON THE BUZZ

Free Entrance to Museums Nationwide!

Blue Star Museums is a
partnership among Blue
Star Families, the National
Endowment for the Arts,
and more than 750 muse-
ums in all 50 states to offer
free admission to military
personnel and their families
from Memorial Day, May 31,
2010, through Labor Day,
September 6, 2010. Please
visit www.arts.gov/national/
bluestarmuseums/
index.php?st=IN#list

to view locations!
 Page 5 ON THE BUZZ

Welcome Aboard CMC Charles Thomas!

I would like to open by saying THANK YOU! Thank you for your hard
work which often goes unnoticed and I want you to know that I/we at
NMCB FOUR notice and appreciate all that you have done to make our
deployment as worry free as possible. The efforts you put forth to solve
the often complex problems at home allow us to concentrate on and
execute our mission safely. The Navy has challenged you to care for and
assist with the most valuable asset we have and that’s the Navy Family.
Ladies you and your team have done an exceptional job in all areas.
Thank you again for being the protector of the homefront! Bravo-Zulu!

Since this is my first letter to the Ombudsman’s Team, I think I should

introduce myself. I am Charles “Buck” Thomas, the Command Master
Chief for NMCB FOUR. I joined the Navy in 1984. Yes I know that was
before most of you were born! My tours include five battalion tours, two
of which have been here in NMCB FOUR, four shore duties and one
overseas tour. My philosophy is simple: “Take care of the command and
take care of your Seabee”! To lead them and guide them to accomplish
more than they think they can accomplish both personally and profes-
sionally. I’m always here to assist you and the Ombudsman Team when
ever and where ever I can. It would appear that most of you in Port Hueneme, California know my wife more than I do,
as she talks about all of you almost every time I call home. That’s a good thing because is makes her feel welcome into the
NMCB FOUR family.
There are a few Seabees that are making a big difference this month and their chain of command wanted to call them out
in front of everyone.
These Seabees are really making it happen. First is CMCA Thelen, although a new Seabee he is always looking for some-
thing to do. He has a “See a need, fill a need” attitude and can fix just about anything. If he’s not fixing something then
you will find him on the construction projects lending the helping hand to get the mission accomplished!
Next is EOCA Leclaire, a mature, skilled Equipment Operator who is a “Fire and Forget” Seabee. You can give him task-
ing and walk away knowing the job will get accomplished on time, every time, with good quality. Always on the job and
never afraid to take charge and lead his fellow EO’s.
UT1 Hullsiek has been nothing short of exceptional! He was a major player in the early planning of Det Sharana and took
charge of the execution phase when the troops hit the ground. He has guided the Sharana team to complete 60 discre-
tionary projects ahead of schedule. His troop motivation is exceptional, inspiring his subordinates to accomplish their
Seabee Combat Warfare designations ahead of schedule. UT1 has developed positive command relationships with the
Army that will pave the way for follow on Seabee Dets. Definitely leading from the front!
From the Electricians we have CE3 Vardham, he has a high level of motivation and is always eager to learn whatever skill
that is required to get the job done! A non-stop worker that asks for and willingly accepts more tasking. He has worked
on the reinforcing steel crew, concrete forming crew, and the concrete placing crew, all of which are out of his rating and
excelled at every one!
Lastly is EA3 Clark, this guy is “Getting it Done” as he bounces back and forth between two challenging projects. Dedi-
cated to completing the mission, often working extended hours at each site to ensure the construction is not delayed. He
works with no supervision and consistently produces accurate quality work the first time!
These are just a few of the Seabees that are out there every day, giving it their all, day in and day out making history for
the Seabees. They are doing what we do best which is quality construction the first time. If you’re the spouse or the fam-
ily member of one of the five mentioned above you should be justly proud of them. They are just a snapshot of all the
hard working Seabees we have at NMCB FOUR. I’m proud of this group and very proud of the NMCB FOUR Seabee
Team!

Sincerely,

CMDCM(SCW) Charles “Buck” Thomas

 FAMILY READINESS GROUP

Friends of Four Families and Friends of NMCB 4 FRG,

Well, summer is getting here and we all know what that means. The guys will be
home soon!!! YEAH!!! If you are like me, I can’t wait for Dave to walk off that
plane!!
Important FRG Board This also means that we have very few meetings left for you to get those First
Contacts: Kiss Tickets. July is when we will be drawing the lucky winners. But, first we
have to get through June. Our June FRG Meeting will be on Thursday, 17 June
from 6-8pm at the Port Hueneme Chapel. This meetings theme is Summer Treats.
Jenn Cobbel, Bring your favorite main dish, dessert, or side. Our speaker for this meeting will
President be Monica James, the school liaison officer. She will be able to answer all of
805 271-1051 your school questions.
nmcb4pres@yahoo.com
At our May Meeting we had elections for the New FRG Board, that will be in-
Heidi Oglesby, ducted at the Home coming Picnic. And the New FRG Board is:
Vice President
805-889-3292
President: Jenn Cobbel
nmcb4vpb@yahoo.com Vice President’s: Anna Richardson
Yeisy Balmaceda
Anne Richardson, Treasurer : Nicole Ostrowske
Secretary Secretary : Bridget Harmen
805-483-3073 Hospitality: Deanna Maddox
nmcb4sec@yahoo.com
Fundraising Chair : Christina Velez
Michelle Tholen, So, here is a run down of the things that your NMCB 4 FRG has going on:
Treasurer 1. June FRG Meeting - Thursday, 17 June from 6-8pm.
805-832-4739
nmcb4tres@yahoo.com 2. Father’s Day call - Saturday/Sunday, 19/20 June
(See Jenn Cobbel at the June FRG Meeting for more information.)
HPL: Chief Lonnie Cosper
805-982-3612 3. Sign Painting - Sunday, 27 June from 2-4pm at Bolles Field.
lonnie.cosper@navy.mil
4. July FRG Meeting - Thursday, 15 July from 6-8pm.
Advisors: Veronica 5. Secret Sister Reveal - Sunday, 25 July from 2-4pm at Bolles Field.
Vanderley, Kelly
Hendricks, and Jen 6. Point Mugu Air Show - Saturday/Sunday, 7/8 August.
Lampman (See Jenn Cobbel for a sign up time to help out.)
nmcb4advisors@yahoo.com
Well, I think that that covers everything that we have going on. Let’s stay active,
involved and informed. We are almost there!!

NMCB 4 FRG President MEETING DATES:

Jenn Cobbel
Nmcb4pres@yahoo.com  Thursday, 17 June
805-271-1051  Thursday, 15 July
 Thursday, 19 August