Constant Combat

Ramadi Podcast

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. 3d ago

    Canvas Doors, Confidence, and Camaraderie - Marcel Williams (part 1 of 2)

    Send us Fan Mail MAP3's Marcel Williams gives us the path from machine gun instructor to Weapons Company in 2/4, where early confidence collapses under a real ambush and the reality of unarmored convoy warfare. We walk through the April 6th thru 10th, the hard lesson to be mentally locked in, and the moments of courage and humanity that still don’t sit neatly in memory.  • Marcel’s background, MOS, and why he chose Weapons Company  • Whiplash between home life and rapid deployment • Kuwait sustainment training and the long convoy to Ramadi  • First contact on Route Nova • How combat mindset changes after the first firefight  • Early Ramadi missions, and the city’s rising violence  • The April 6 QRF, channelized streets, and the Easy Street assault  • Civilians moving through gunfire • PsyOps missions, palm grove shooters, and fighting around occupied homes  • A sucking chest wound, and the rescue under fire 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

  2. 3d ago

    Canvas Doors, Confidence, and Camaraderie - Marcel Williams (part 2 of 2)

    Send us Fan Mail Part 2 with Marcel Williams revisits the moments that still feel raw: an IED on Route Michigan, and the anger, guilt, and brotherhood that follow. He also talks honestly about how that deployment shapes a 28-year Marine Corps career, from leadership lessons to the feeling that history sometimes forgets the people who wrote the playbook.  • IED sweeps, observation posts, and rotating armored vehicles  • The immediate rage after losing Conde and what restraint prevents  • Guilt, second guessing, and learning to let go of blame in war  • Why Conde stands out as a genuine Marine and a true hero  • Saddam’s mosque firefight, and what “saving the day” costs  • Handoff, friction over TTPs, and the chaos at the end of a deployment  • Dark humor in the hooch, field improvisation, injuries, and survival routines  • Homecoming joy mixed with survivor guilt and grief  • Being left out of official narratives while influencing doctrine and SOPs  • No air, no indirect fire, constant comm issues, and being each other’s 911  ---------------------------------------------- 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

  3. Sep 30

    Overwatch, Explosions, and Fast Humvees - Matt Kuroda (part 1 of 2)

    Send us Fan Mail We talk with Matt Kuroda, known by most as KK, about what it really feels like to be a driver and 'Guardian Angel' overwatch in Ramadi, from night convoy chaos to the quiet pressure of making decisions with bad gear and incomplete plans. We trade the stories that still stand out, including a 21st birthday under fire, raids that blur together, and how IEDs turned every routine movement into a gamble.  • switching from Rainmaker to Sledgehammer • why combat driving in Ramadi breaks every stateside habit  • drivers and turret gunners as the overlooked backbone  • limited ACOGs, extra duties, and getting tasked with overwatch  • the stress of rooftop observation without comms  • early patrol problems like lost routes, weak radios, and maze streets  • Bridgeport, Oki carryover, and the Fuji “speak Japanese” fiasco  • the weird transition from SASO to heavy contact  • close calls on QRF runs and learning vehicle limits the hard way  • night raids, joint targets, and the moment Oliver North shows up  • detainee handling, improvised hoods, and the shortage of proper cuffs  • IED tactics, triggermen frustration, and the early injuries that changed everything  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

  4. Sep 30

    Overwatch, Explosions, and Fast Humvees - Matt Kuroda (part 2 of 2)

    Send us Fan Mail We pick up part two with Matt Kuroda where an IED detonates, a friend is hit, and there’s no clean pause to process it. We’re right back into decisions, movement, and clearing buildings while trying to understand what just happened. From Ramadi firefights to mortar rounds on base, we talk through what sticks after 22 years and what it takes to ask for help later.  • Savage IED aftermath  • repeated IED exposure, overpressure, and what “not wounded” can still mean  • taking fire from buildings, rushing in, and finding only casings  • QRF work, shifting mission tempo, and the strange task of “keep contact”  • downtime on base, smoke pit life, improvised PT rules • indirect fire close calls and how shelling becomes normal • bridge post duty, exposed positions, civilians nearby, and the lack of clear SOPs  • end of deployment decompression classes, and fear of being labeled  • non-medical counseling options, what helped, and why getting support felt risky  ---------------------------------------------- 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

  5. Sep 25

    Attention on Deck - Robert Weiler (Part 1 of 2)

    Send us Fan Mail General Rob Weiler talks through his view in Ramadi 2004 and why the hard, specific details still matter, from old after action reports to the leadership culture that kept young Marines steady. We trace how counterinsurgency forced constant adaptation, how April shattered assumptions, and what practical lessons still apply to urban combat and command.  • why Unremitting resonates beyond one unit and one time period  • how intimacy becomes a warfighting advantage  • rediscovered logbooks and after action reports as real operational history  • Weiler’s path from enlisted Marine to officer and the role of mentorship  • the urge to deploy before knowing the true cost of war  • action reaction counteraction as the engine of IED adaptation and enemy learning  • how intelligence shaped missions • predeployment training shifts • leading from the front, building culture, and making hard calls • urban survival lessons: dismounting, overwatch, reducing vehicle risk  • April’s turning point and why the fight did not “end” after major contact  • the failed handoff and the uncertainty at the heart of counterinsurgency  • readiness management under nonstop tasking and why squad patrols can be a trap  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

  6. Sep 25

    Attention on Deck - Robert Weiler (Part 2 of 2)

    Send us Fan Mail We continue with part 2 with General Rob Weiler and he paints a vivid picture that the most dangerous moments are not always the firefight itself. Sometimes it is the handover, the quiet planning period, or the instant after contact when you realize you had to decide and live with it forever. We talk about what leadership looks like when there is almost no downtime, only orders, rehearsals, and the constant effort to keep Marines prepared. The conversation moves from planning under fire to grief, transition, and why purpose and options matter as much as any tactic.  • downtime that turns into planning, orders, and taking care of Marines  • mental rehearsal as a leadership tool for firefights and contingencies  • how confirmation briefs, terrain models, and visualization reduce surprise  • writing families after a KIA and carrying responsibility • memorial services, unit culture, and functioning through sorrow  • blunt views on PTSD, resilience, and the pressure to keep moving  • how the Marine transition process has improved and where it still fails  • mentoring junior Marines on money, relationships, fitness, and choices  • dark humor from Ramadi and why standards still matter  ---------------------------------------------- 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

  7. Sep 21

    The Line Between Life And Death - Clayton Hall

    Send us Fan Mail For this one, we catch up with Clayton Hall, a Marine radio operator attached to Weapons Company in Ramadi 2004. He recalls memories through the lens of near misses, hard leadership, and the brotherhood that carried us through. We talk through the moments that kept us alive, from comms discipline to the strange little economy of batteries and snacks.  • Clayton’s path into the unit • First arrival in Kuwait and the mental shift when the first IEDs hit  • Hurricane Point early days and the “Wild West” • Close calls on Route Nova and Route Michigan • The VBIED strike that killed several Marines  • The loss of Lance Corporal Savage and the way casualties reshape a unit  • What comms responsibility really means in combat • Battery shortages and the barter system  • Night raid planning, speed, and the difference knowing the plan  • Rockets, mortars, and the constant reality of “feet and seconds”  • Warlock jammers and the uncertainty of battlefield tech  • Faith, age, and how Marines respect and mess with everyone equally  • How Clayton talks about sacrifice and leadership as a football coach today  If you like what you heard, make sure you subscribe for future episodes on your favorite podcast service. ---------------------------------------------- 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

  8. Sep 16

    We Were Forced to Look Beyond Ourselves - Jesse Stephens (part 1 of 2)

    Send us Fan Mail We reconnect with Jesse Stephens from MAP 1 and trace how a motivated teenage Marine arrives in Iraq ready to win trust, then watches that belief burn away as the fight in Ramadi changes shape. The conversation moves from funny early memories to the lasting cost of IED shock, grief, and the moral complexity of fighting an insurgency filled with outsiders and coerced locals.  • first impressions, seeking approval  • checking into Weapons Company 2/4 and deploying fast as a young Marine  • learning the driver role, switching between driving and dismounting • Kuwait memories, gear “acquisition,” and the long convoy into Iraq  • first-day IED blast south of Fallujah • early “hearts and minds” attempts and kid interactions  • the internal shift after Morris dies • foreign fighters, coercion, and how locals get trapped between sides  • Iraqi perspectives on Saddam, security, and instability  • empathy as a survival tool, moral injury, and an life shaping incident on recruiting duty  • hooch life juxtaposition, mortars, QRF, and pausing Dirty Dancing mid-war  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

See All (124)

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
    124
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Constant Combat
  • Show Website
    Constant Combat

You Might Also Like