Greetings, Second Brigade. My name is Dave Lowe, I have been appointed the new Officer in Charge of the Second Brigade. Due to this appointment, I grudgingly accepted a promotion from Gunnery Sergeant to Chief Warrant Officer. You can call me “the Chief” if you wish.

I would like to thank Wade Olson for his service to the Brigade and wish him good fortune as the new DepDant of the SFMC. Also, thanks to Rebecca Self, who went before him as OIC of this Brigade. I certainly have some big shoes to fill.

Essentially, what I feel is “wrong” with the Second Brigade is lack of communication. I hope to improve on this in the coming days. Notice, I said days. Not weeks. Not months. I like to get things done. I am a communications “junkie” and it shows. If it’s online, I’m into it.

As many of you know, for the past year, I served as Deputy Commander of Information Command (DCOINFOCOM). Before I left my secure bunker the Data Warfare Center (the janitor’s closet downstairs) I pulled a large chunk of data from the Matrix. I have all the reports from all of the units from the past year or so. I will be assimilating this
data this weekend.

To that end, and I know this may ruffle a few feathers, I am relieving the current DOIC and all Battalion OICs. We’re starting fresh. I would like to thank Mary Morris, Raye Crews, William Duane, and Neil Yawn for their service. Do feel free to reapply, however. You’re not “fired” we’re just shaking the sandbox a little.

Currently, we have 14 units on the roster, however two of them do not have an Officer in charge listed, and many have not reported. Additionally, a full 1/4 of the Marines in the Brigade listed as “unassigned.” I have a few that are just plain screwy in their assignment, and I need to clear it up and get it to COFORCECOM for correction ASAP.

We’re going to take this a step at a time.

1. I would like all of you to reply individually to this email. At least let me know you got my email and that you are the current OIC of your unit. if you are not, please tell me who is in charge.
2. Please re-send your MSG report for October 2009.
3. I will respond back and discuss with each of you your unit’s status. I won’t air dirty laundry in public. Some units may very well be inactive, and should stand down and be merged with other units. I will go over the “unassigned” Marines I have, plus the possibility of merging in Marines in closer proximity, etc, We’ll discuss reporting history, awards needs, and anything else you may have.
4. I need each and every OIC to subscribe to the Brigade listserve, if not already. This will keep me from sending out these “all hands” emails. This is MANDATORY as of now that the OIC of the MSGs are on the Brigade listserve. If you do not wish to join the list, please contact me privately and we’ll discuss it. Here’s the link to sign up.
5. I will be taking applications for Brigade Staff. I need a DOIC, and a few key staff positions. I will put another post out on the Brigade listserve once people are subscribed. I have some ideas in mind.

More to come. Please stay in touch.