Constant Combat

Ramadi Podcast
  • 5,0 (8)
  • HISTOIRE

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. -1 H

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

    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 2/4 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 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

  2. -1 H

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

    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  • 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 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

  3. -1 H

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

    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 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 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. 15 MAI

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

    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 rituals, music, writing, and the pranks • incoming mortars, near misses • the bicycle IED and the shock of civilian reactions  • switching roles from dismount to driver and up-armored Humvees  • QRF missions, overwatch at key sites, and seeing death up close  • searching the Euphrates River for missing Marines, the toll of exhaustion  • recovering fallen Marines, rumors, media presence • the mosque incident, the sandstorm, and leadership moments 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

    40 min

  5. 15 MAI

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

    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 Force Base and Mount Town training • the value of practical hip-pocket classes  • April cordon and search missions • casualties that shape the platoon and rumors that spread in the hooch  • VBIED warnings and comms choke points  • late July and August tension rising and the fear of VBIED tactics  • coming home on the Freedom Bird • leadership influences and the lesson of staying alert ---------------------------------------------- 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

    41 min

  6. 13 MAI

    Fast Track to the Front Line - James Anderson (part 1 of 2)

    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 unit has already been through intense fighting.  • getting pulled for deployment at the end of SOI to Combat Replacement Company 2  • the rushed gear-up cycle, hurry up and wait • the journey through Kuwait and Al-Asad with no clear assignment • arriving at Hurricane Point at night and meeting the platoon • early lessons on IED awareness, five and twenty-fives, and rookie mistakes  • learning the M240 and TOW routines  • first major contact, comms failure, and pushing through an ambush  • movement to contact fights, rooftop shooters, and the reality of urban density on combat operations.  • the long view on Ramadi’s pace, identity as a replacement, and what gets forgotten  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

    56 min

  7. 13 MAI

    Fast Track to the Front Line - James Anderson (part 2 of 2)

    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 Ramadi lessons forward  • feeling the surreal safety of large bases compared to city outposts  • getting tested by leadership games, inter-service friction  • finding normal life inside the hooch   • navigating family contact and never knowing the real timeline  • First Sergeant Mack as a leader who knows his Marines  • coming home, and a first night lapse in judgement • learning why post-combat training feels fake  • fighting morale-killing busywork • reliving a rocket strike, a fire, a working party gone wrong, and a near miss injury  • naming the Marines who stood out, the value of reunions, and what it all means  ---------------------------------------------- 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

    1 h 1 min

  8. 8 MAI

    A Ground Pounder in the Gun Line - David Escalante

    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, and the convoy into Iraq • arriving at Hurricane Point and settling into task cycles • first KIAs, early missions • firefights, door kicks • raids with Army soldiers and the confusion of who gets credit • bridge watch, seeing air support, and hearing the fight from a post • hooch life, smoke breaks, cards, workouts, and calling home under incoming • the round that hits his flak jacket and what it felt like in the moment • IED pressure, EOD waits, wire hazards in turrets, and tough QRF recoveries • coming home, delayed processing, and leading junior Marines on later deployments ---------------------------------------------- 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

    1 h 11 min
Tout afficher (90)

Notes et avis

5
sur 5
8 notes

À propos

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.

Informations

  • Création
    Ramadi Podcast
  • Années d’activité
    2025 - 2026
  • Épisodes
    90
  • Classification
    Contenu explicite
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Constant Combat
  • Site web de l’émission
    Constant Combat

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