Constant Combat

Send us Fan Mail Part 1 with Rainmaker Mortarman Justin Weaver to trace the jump from rushed pre-deployment training to the first hard weeks in Ramadi 2004, including the moments that flipped the switch from joking around to understanding the stakes. Along the way, he talks the dark humor, the unit bonds, and the way combat stress scrambles the timeline even when the details remain in memory.  • M...

Send us Fan Mail Part 1 with Sergio Wallace of Sledgehammer Platoon.  His story tracks a young Marine Corps infantryman who arrives with confidence, friction, and a simple motive, then learns how fast combat erases simplicity, trying to make sense of what Ramadi demanded. He leads us through early patrol optimism, the shock of IEDs and loss, and the lingering moral weight of night raids.   • joini...

Send us Fan Mail Part 2 with Sergio Wallace goes on with the everyday reality of war, from heat and mud rain to the little “keep your head together” routines. He gives a deep look at what it means to accept death at 19, come home changed, and try to lead younger Marines with respect while carrying pride, shame, and unanswered “why me” questions.  • extreme heat and the strange mud rain during sand...

Send us Fan Mail Part one with Michael Hanson, who shares about becoming a Humvee driver and how trust, training, and tiny details decide whether a patrol goes smooth or goes sideways. We also get honest about the cost afterward, from drinking and stress to VA support, blast exposure, and hearing loss.  • moving from Rainmaker to Sledgehammer • getting picked as Gunny Cook’s new driver  • learning...

Send us Fan Mail We pick up Part Two with Mike Hanson as he relives Ramadi through the details that didn't fade: from weapons caches and watch posts to split-second calls that still don’t have easy answers. We also talk about what it feels like to come home, carry the friendships forward, and remember the people who didn’t make it back. • trying to stop incoming mortars and rockets • finding...

Send us Fan Mail A man who needs little introduction to the Marines of Weapons Company, Sergeant Major Alphonso Mack joins us to give some of his history as a mortarman and recruit depot First Sergeant... then becomes the First Sergeant who holds Weapons Company 2/4 together before, during and after Ramadi 2004. We talk about trust, standards, grief, and the moments leaders carry for decades after...

Send us Fan Mail Gavin Callais from MAP 2 recounts the whiplash from getting tossed into a unit to rolling up the Iraq highway, where dark humor and constant confusion give way to IED blasts. He paints a vivid picture, from early barracks chaos and field-expedient Humvee fixes to the night several Marines were severely wounded and confusion, blood, and radio problems compress time into fragments....

Send us Fan Mail Part 2 with Gavin Callais starts with April 7th contact through a wrong turn, an RPG that never detonates, and the slow realization that five hours have passed while ammo runs out. He also opens up about the bridge-post incident, the NJP that followed, and what these memories mean more than 20 years later.  • learning the city under fire  • the wrong turn and heavy contact  • an R...

Send us Fan Mail We talk with Mike Rakebrandt about what it takes to prepare Navy Corpsmen when everything is fast, messy, and unforgiving. You can train for trauma medicine, but you can’t rehearse the moment you’re staring at a catastrophic wound and the only objective is “get him to the bird alive.” We also dig into the hidden work: medevac planning, moral injury, and the quiet counseling Corpsm...

Send us Fan Mail Part 2 with Navy Corpsman Mike Rakebrandt about the hidden weight a senior line Corpsman carries in Ramadi, from quiet BAS check-ins to making split-second calls that keep Marines alive. We also discuss what hits hardest on the way home: Gold Star families, survivor’s guilt, and a system that does not follow up when the war is over.  • how BAS conversations keep doubt from spirali...

Send us Fan Mail 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 personaliti...

Send us Fan Mail 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 for...

Send us Fan Mail 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...

Send us Fan Mail 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  • C...

Send us Fan Mail 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 S...

Send us Fan Mail This interview starts out with Eli Mann about arriving in Ramadi in 2004 and watching early optimism get replaced by a new kind of focus built from heat, mortars, and the grind of convoy life. He walks us through a bicycle IED, the long recovery missions, and the small moments of humor and music.  • first days at Hurricane Point and adapting to the squad bay life  • downtime ritua...

Send us Fan Mail Part 2 of Eli Mann and he paints how a brand-new Marine grows up fast, from early training and culture shocks to the hard specifics of 2004. His story gets  into fear, guilt, and communication breakdowns, then land on what “constant vigilance” really means when you carry the lessons forward.  • arriving to the unit as a PFC and feeling "lost in the sauce"  • March Air Fo...

Send us Fan Mail We talk with Jim Anderson from Mobile Assault Platoon 2 about getting rerouted from SOI into a combat replacement pipeline and how a brand-new Marine earns a place in a weapons platoon through truck workups, call signs, brutal first contacts, and the relentless tempo. Jim also reflects on being a “replacement” and the quiet ways that can shape belonging, pride, and memory when a u...

Send us Fan Mail We pick up Part 2 with James Anderson as he connects the experience of Ramadi 2004 to the weird contrast of other people's big bases outside of town, ship life, and the small moments that define a deployment. We talk reintegration, leadership that actually shows up for Marines, and how combat reshapes training, responsibility, and the meaning of brotherhood.  • carrying Ramad...

Send us Fan Mail Its a flurry of moments from David Escalante to trace his path from a half rations private to a combat-tested Marine in Ramadi in 2004. He talks us through the moments that are still clear in his mind, from incoming mortars and raids, to taking contact on the bridge posts.  • landing in 81s without mortar training • pre-deployment training memories  • the flight over, Kuwait heat,...

Send us Fan Mail We talk with William Webster about arriving as a brand-new Marine and getting rushed into a Ramadi deployment where the mission keeps changing and the gear never feels caught up. Billy relives the night of April 4, the first major casualty for weapons company, and what it does to you when there is no time to grieve but you still have to roll out again.  • getting rerouted after SO...

Send us Fan Mail Part 2 with Billy Webster from Mobile Assault Platoon 2 and trace the days when contact kept stacking, ammo ran low, and every decision started to feel permanent. He also talks honestly about what follows you home, how we cope in the quiet moments, and why asking for help can be the most disciplined thing you do.  William shares what he saw, what he did, and what he still carries,...

Send us Fan Mail Curt Neill walks us down the strange chain of events that takes him from reenlisting before 9/11 to getting promoted so fast that Headquarters Marine Corps later flags it as a mistake. Then we rewind and fast-forward through Panama, Desert Storm, and Ramadi to pull out the leadership decisions and combat realities.  • reenlisting after a long break and landing back at Camp Pendlet...

Send us Fan Mail In Part 2, Curt digs down into Ramadi’s early fights, from a tense rescue at a pump house to the street-level choices that are still vivid years later. We also unpack a chaotic Abrams friendly fire incident, the injuries and silence that followed, and how a sudden ODA assignment pulled Marines into the hunt for Zarqawi. • Recovering a missing Marine • Suspected IEDs and the ugly u...

Send us Fan Mail Closing part 3 with Curtis Neill, we trade stories about Ramadi 2004, from split-second rooftop decisions to convoy fights where an RPG almost hits the truck. We also talk about leadership, ego, and how we keep the people we lost present by preserving their stories.  • rejoining the platoon and what the ODA partnership made possible  • the warning shot that ricochets  • A “Trojan”...