When Optimism Meets Combat - Elijah Mann (part 1 of 2)

High Value Targets - Andrew Kern (part 1 of 2)

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2525088/fan_mail/new] Andrew Kern leads off part 1 arriving as a brand-new Marine in Weapons Company and how the path from San Mateo training to Ramadi changes his view of what “ready” really means. He walks us through the early Iraq War confusion, the shift from SASO to a more kinetic fight, and some key moments from April 2004 and Hurricane Point.  • checking in as a boot and learning the personalities fast  • pre-deployment training  including MOUT Town and control techniques  • Arabic benefits and fails  • March Air Force Base;  early-war training gets improvised  • chaotic flight overseas  • Kuwait staging then the cold convoy North • first impressions of Ramadi • early hearts and minds patrols • Morris’ death, the Farhan brothers raid, and kicking the hornet's nest  • bug hunts, loudspeaker taunts, and the mortars  If you like what you've heard, this is a multi part episode. Make sure you listen to the rest of the story.  ---------------------------------------------- If you like what you heard, please subscribe on your favorite podcast service or follow our webpage for direct downloads @ https://www.buzzsprout.com/2525088 [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2525088] If you are a member of Weapons Company or someone with a story about Weapons Company 2/4 in 2004, please come tell some stories with us - 20 mins or 20 hours! Help paint the canvas of an archival story for others to know what it was like. Contact us @ RamadiPodcast@gmail.com, or via the podcast website above.  All music used with permission by soundbay: https://www.youtube.com/@soundbay_RFM

High Value Targets - Andrew Kern (part 2 of 2)

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2525088/fan_mail/new] Part 2 of Andrew Kern from Mobile Assault Platoon One shifts from a summer lull into intense July and August gunfights, including a rooftop engagement that breaks an ambush and relieves pressure on pinned-down troops. An RPG comes straight at him and he has enough time to think, “Well, I’m dead,” before it blasts into the Humvee instead. We also get candid about Iraqi security forces, the randomness of getting wounded, and what service means when the paperwork never matches what happened. • an Iraqi unit’s reputation  • rebuilding Iraqi police and army forces  • the July 13 government center run-in and the July 14th aftermath • a Route Michigan battle and the rooftop overwatch • the moral debate around a wounded combatant • an RPG strike on a Humvee door and a Purple Heart story • bridge duty, rockets, return fire, and the boredom between chaos • left seat right seat, the handover to the next unit • looking back after 22 years on brotherhood, identity, and meaning ---------------------------------------------- If you like what you heard, please subscribe on your favorite podcast service or follow our webpage for direct downloads @ https://www.buzzsprout.com/2525088 [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2525088] If you are a member of Weapons Company or someone with a story about Weapons Company 2/4 in 2004, please come tell some stories with us - 20 mins or 20 hours! Help paint the canvas of an archival story for others to know what it was like. Contact us @ RamadiPodcast@gmail.com, or via the podcast website above.  All music used with permission by soundbay: https://www.youtube.com/@soundbay_RFM

Endurance for One Moment More - David Silton (part 3 of 3)

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2525088/fan_mail/new] Dave closes out the days in Ramadi when one unarmored truck, one hit, and one Marine leader’s absence changes the emotional temperature of the whole platoon. We also talk honestly about what comes after, when you make it home with your family but your body still remembers and reacts like you haven't left combat.  • Recounting late June and July contact and casualties • What Sgt. Conde represented as a leader, mentor, and friend  • The way grief shows up as rage, focus, and routine work  • How constant contact blurs together and makes you numb  • July 21 QRF memories and the ethics of firefights near a mosque  • Left seat right seat missions • Coming home with a new baby  • Compartmentalizing for years and getting cracked open by a reunion • Starting therapy, finding the right fit ---------------------------------------------- If you like what you heard, please subscribe on your favorite podcast service or follow our webpage for direct downloads @ https://www.buzzsprout.com/2525088 [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2525088] If you are a member of Weapons Company or someone with a story about Weapons Company 2/4 in 2004, please come tell some stories with us - 20 mins or 20 hours! Help paint the canvas of an archival story for others to know what it was like. Contact us @ RamadiPodcast@gmail.com, or via the podcast website above.  All music used with permission by soundbay: https://www.youtube.com/@soundbay_RFM

Endurance for One Moment More - David Silton (part 1 of 3)

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2525088/fan_mail/new] We start part 1 with Dave Silton of MAP 3 about the long buildup to Ramadi, from broken barracks and platoon hazing to urban combat training and the messy logistics of finally leaving. He shares what it feels like to arrive with a “hearts and minds” mindset, confront how unprepared everyone is for IED reality, and still find ways to cope when the pressure hits.  • Dave’s role in 2/4 as a driver and team leader • Barracks life, hazing, and how a unit gets tight  • 9/11 memories and the strange limbo of Operation Noble Eagle  • Okinawa training, ship life • Pre-deployment schools, language training • Deployment-day chaos, missing gear, and a rushed goodbye with family  • Kuwait acclimatization, scavenged gear • Camel spider fear, early IED training gaps • First impressions of Ramadi and Hurricane Point • Care packages, trading food, and crucial routines  • Stress after firefights, and how Marines try to shut the brain off  • Getting sick after eating local food  If you like what you've heard, this is a multi part episode. Make sure you listen to the rest of the story.  ---------------------------------------------- If you like what you heard, please subscribe on your favorite podcast service or follow our webpage for direct downloads @ https://www.buzzsprout.com/2525088 [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2525088] If you are a member of Weapons Company or someone with a story about Weapons Company 2/4 in 2004, please come tell some stories with us - 20 mins or 20 hours! Help paint the canvas of an archival story for others to know what it was like. Contact us @ RamadiPodcast@gmail.com, or via the podcast website above.  All music used with permission by soundbay: https://www.youtube.com/@soundbay_RFM

Endurance for One Moment More - David Silton (part 2 of 3)

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2525088/fan_mail/new] We keep the timeline moving in part 2 with David Silton as he relives the IED on April 2 and the brutal stretch of fighting that follows in Ramadi. We talk through what it feels like to operate with a concussion, how split second decisions get made in combat, and why the rules and the reality sometimes collide.  • IED strike, shrapnel injuries, and getting knocked unconscious  • Concussion symptoms, memory gaps, and still going out on missions  • April 6 heavy contact near Easy Street • Improvised breaching, close quarters shooting, and finding a weapons cache  • Army 113s arriving under fire  • Mark 19 and .50 cal employment • Time perception in long firefights and what it does to recall  • Rules of engagement: compassion vs survival mode, and civilian casualties  • April 10 bug hunt, Cobra support, lioness teams, and getting stuck under fire  • Operation Treasure Island drownings, sleep deprivation, and hallucinating while driving  • Training Iraqi police and doubts about the handover plan  • Constant incoming and becoming numb to mortars  If you like what you've heard, this is a multi part episode. Make sure you listen to the rest of the story.  ---------------------------------------------- If you like what you heard, please subscribe on your favorite podcast service or follow our webpage for direct downloads @ https://www.buzzsprout.com/2525088 [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2525088] If you are a member of Weapons Company or someone with a story about Weapons Company 2/4 in 2004, please come tell some stories with us - 20 mins or 20 hours! Help paint the canvas of an archival story for others to know what it was like. Contact us @ RamadiPodcast@gmail.com, or via the podcast website above.  All music used with permission by soundbay: https://www.youtube.com/@soundbay_RFM