Constant Combat

Ramadi Podcast
  • 5.0 (8)
  • HISTORY

This veteran-led podcast highlights the experiences of Weapons Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, starting with their harrowing 2004 deployment to Ramadi; a 9 month combat tour which resulted in the highest casualties in a single deployment - a deployment that most Americans have never heard about. Through candid conversations surrounding these events, the series also explores earlier experiences that shaped the Marines, emphasizing their grit, humor, and humanity while aiming to honor their stories authentically.

  1. 2D AGO

    What Happens After You Accept Death - William Webster (part 1 of 2)

    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 SOI and joining a depleted unit  • the shock of meeting the platoon then hearing Iraq is next month  • pre-deployment training and the long chain of travel into theater  • first impressions of Iraq  • Humvee vulnerability, exposed gunners and learning gear midstream  • insurgency realities and changing rules of engagement  • early missions, driver skill and why convoy discipline matters  • April 4 RPG attack • making peace with mortality  • grieving, lessons learned, and building new SOP 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 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

    57 min

  2. 2D AGO

    What Happens After You Accept Death - William Webster (part 2 of 2)

    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, including the detail that the last things you do might matter more than you realize. • April 6 as QRF and the shock of casualties  • Foot patrol IED sweeps • Relieving pinned-down Marines and evacuating wounded  • A house breach that almost killed a family  • April 10 cordon operations • The checkpoint pickup with blood and bodies  • Taking over as a gunner • Getting shot... and then staying in the turret  • Calling home after being wounded • Hooch life pranks and small rituals that kept him going • PTSD years later, funerals, brotherhood, and choosing therapy  ---------------------------------------------- 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 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

    58 min

  3. APR 29

    Never was a Good Knife Made of Bad Steel - Curtis Neill (part 1 of 3)

    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 Pendleton  • NJP fallout and the long climb back  • a former drill instructor reappearing as First Sergeant  • a “mystery” promotion and the email saying it never should have happened  • moving from the armory into platoon roles • mentoring Marines and why fear-based leadership backfires  • Panama jungle training turning into real-world combat posture  • pre-deployment MOUT training and early CQB lessons  • Desert Storm gas threat memories  • convoying into Ramadi and how the first IED changes everything  • April missions, Morris getting hit, and the pace of no sleep  • tracking a blood trail to a house a Ramadi 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 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

    55 min

  4. APR 29

    Never was a Good Knife Made of Bad Steel - Curtis Neill (part 2 of 3)

    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 uncertainty of movement to contact • Spotting insurgents celebrating and the restraint ROEs • Abrams tank friendly fire and the scramble after • Getting recruited for an ODA with Green Berets and training at an intense pace • Learning the mission focus on Abu Musab al-Zarqawi  • Fireworks, and the strange moments inside a war zone 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 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

    52 min

  5. APR 29

    Never was a Good Knife Made of Bad Steel - Curtis Neill (part 3 of 3)

    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” clandestine plan  • the taxi-stand disguise • RPG near miss • early IED lessons,  and a blue-on-blue scare across the river  • the 2/4 to 2/5 handoff and how replacements learned with blood  • being an older Marine with prior combat experience and choosing when to speak  • remembering Sgt Ken Conde • reflecting on what Ramadi means decades later  • building a memorial project with dog tags and bib numbers  ---------------------------------------------- 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 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

    47 min

  6. APR 24

    How Much Of Survival In War Is Luck? - Chris Winder (part 1 of 2)

    Send us Fan Mail Part 1 with Chris Winder gives us what it feels like to hit the fleet as a brand new PFC and then roll straight into Iraq in 2004. We talk through the small mistakes, the ugly routines, and the weird routines you accept because you don’t know any different yet.  • arriving to the unit and landing in Weapons Company  • rumors, routines, and senior guys’ confidence  • C-141 fear factory  • reflecting on loss in Kuwait • the night vision lens cap mistake • blacked out driving, road hazards, NVG issues  • a rear mounted SAW and good leadership • Hurricane Point living conditions • “short starts” and the body’s stress response before rolling out  • Concertina wire accident at the gate  • QRF aftermath, clearing a mosque • IED realities, armor upgrades  • Warlock jammers, detonators, and why trust in tech fades  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 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

    57 min

  7. APR 24

    How Much Of Survival In War Is Luck? - Chris Winder (part 2 of 2)

    Send us Fan Mail We pick up part 2 with Chris Winder as he walks us through a chaotic moment after an IED blast to the quiet weight of whats in your head during these overwhelming events. He also takes a big picture view including leadership lessons, chemical scares, coming home, and what all of it means two decades later.  • Engineers sweeping for IEDs • Stopping a taxi and losing control of a growing crowd  • A curfew chase • How good leaders raise the bar • Rethinking “shitbag” labels and how the system treats coping  • April 6 bridge watch • The sniper house story • Handling the fallen and seeing the hidden toll of a casualty officers life • CS gas, chemical threats, and changing behavior  • Coming home to Camp Pendleton • What Ramadi means 20 years later to Chris and why it still matters  ---------------------------------------------- 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 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

    52 min

  8. APR 20

    You Don't Mess With Doc - Carlo Dealca (part 1 of 2)

    Send us Fan Mail We interview HM3 Carlo Dealca to trace how a Navy Corpsman goes from a clinic and 9/11 at sea to greenside life with 2/4 and earning trust with an infantry unit. The story builds from Kuwait and the convoy to Ramadi into the shock of IEDs and the chaos of April 6 on Easy Street, where Doc treats wounded under fire and remembers every second.  • getting from a branch clinic into an infantry battalion  • why he chooses Corpsman life • training confidence, mental rehearsal, and early-war gear limitations  • building and hauling medical bags, scrounging tourniquets  • the cold convoy north, first impressions of Ramadi  • the first IED hit  • BAS relationships • guard duty stories, local food, and staying healthy in-country  • April 6 kickoff • treating multiple casualties, triage under pressure 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 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

    1h 1m
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
8 Ratings

About

This veteran-led podcast highlights the experiences of Weapons Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, starting with their harrowing 2004 deployment to Ramadi; a 9 month combat tour which resulted in the highest casualties in a single deployment - a deployment that most Americans have never heard about. Through candid conversations surrounding these events, the series also explores earlier experiences that shaped the Marines, emphasizing their grit, humor, and humanity while aiming to honor their stories authentically.

Information

  • Creator
    Ramadi Podcast
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    82
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Constant Combat
  • Show Website
    Constant Combat

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