Constant Combat

High in the Sky with Fuey - Louie Fuentes (part 1 of 2)

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Having a laugh with Louie "Fuey" Fuentes as we trade hooch humor for hard lessons from Ramadi, from convoy ambushes and botched handoffs to the training that saved lives when plans fell apart. Between a Humvee in a sewer and a colonel on a rooftop, we cut through some bullshit and put names with some of the moments we still carry.

• boot camp starts and variable first days
• hooch banter as stress relief - the legend of Joe
• first convoys and early IEDs
• civil affairs rollover and leadership in the sewer
• LAR night fallout and risky door-knocks
• market ambush, Bradleys, and split-second calls
• left-seat right-seat with 2/5 and “cowboy” labels
• training, MOUT drills, and muscle memory
• UFO sightings in Ramadi !! 
• compound fire, civilians, and restraint
• fog of war and first rounds under fire
• farm cordon, getting separated, and re-linking

If you like what you've heard, this is a multi part episode. Make sure you listen to the rest of the story.


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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

SPEAKER_03:

I don't know a lot of map one stories, so I think it'll be it's gonna be fucking interesting. Because I I know some because we talked some, but all right, you know, I don't know, for some reason we were on opposite schedules, so I just didn't get to see you as much over there as I used to.

SPEAKER_00:

Sounds good, but since you talk about dicks, I have a funny story.

SPEAKER_03:

All right, good.

SPEAKER_01:

There, it includes it includes somebody from any ones.

SPEAKER_03:

That's good. Let's start from the beginning and just have you introduce yourself and what platoon you're with, and then after that, please tell your dick story.

SPEAKER_00:

All right. Louis Fuentes, uh, I was with Map One. Are you guys calling it Weapons Company or Map Company? No, it's good. Weapons company's good. Okay, I like weapons company more, and uh was uh with everybody from what I think I got to 2-4 in 01. Yep, and uh the end of 01 because you guys were on Christmas break when I got there. And um yeah, it was funny. I'm probably the only Marine in the Marine Corps. Well, there's other guys when we went to boot camp. I never stood on the yellow footprints.

SPEAKER_03:

I didn't either. Really? Yeah, no, I did not. No.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

Yep, never stood on the yellow footprints, never had a DI jump on a bus and yell at me to get off the bus or any of that. I showed up in a van and uh in the middle of the night, driven by a Lance Corporal, who told me to shut the fuck up and walk me slowly to the uh the thing with like six or seven other dudes.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, thanks. I just I didn't get that. We were on a bus, but uh we arrived to San Diego, uh MCRD in San Diego at like two o'clock in the afternoon, and there's a drill inspector that came on the bus and in like civilian PT gear, like those green jumpsuits back in early 2000s, and it's just like don't say anything, get off the bus and follow me. And yeah, and sat in a gym for like eight hours.

SPEAKER_03:

Nice, nice. Yeah, it's interesting how the experience is so variable across everybody. Everybody always has like they think there's this universal experience that you're gonna get. It's definitely not true.

SPEAKER_00:

Nope.

SPEAKER_03:

But uh so well, you wanted to start out with a funny story, man. Tell me the next story.

SPEAKER_00:

So we're in Ramadi, right? We're in our hoot one morning. I don't know how it gets brought up, but Marines always talk about cock, like it just it just gets brought up, dude.

SPEAKER_03:

Even right now, that's good. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

But uh, so you know, Justin Harrison, black dude in map one. Um, I don't know, like I don't know. I stepped into a conversation late and he's talking about there's no way a white dude has a bigger dick than a fucking black dude.

SPEAKER_02:

And this is gone.

SPEAKER_00:

So, like, you know, you're talking about it, and it's like, you know, as a kid going in the bathroom and spinning around yelling, bloody Mary, bloody Mary, and see if something's gonna pop out. Well, you know, when you're talking about cock, who shows up? Joe. Yeah, and so it's just like Joe walks into our hooch and he's like, Hey, what's up? And like, we're just like, Hey, Joe, show Harrison your fucking cock. And it was so funny because like Harrison's like, no, no, no, no, not right here.

SPEAKER_01:

We're in the middle of this, like this squad be hoops and Ramadi, like, who the fuck cares? And he's like, Lo, we'll go in the back.

SPEAKER_00:

And they they the two of them go in the back, and you hear Justin go, Oh my god.

SPEAKER_01:

And uh they could they come back, he's just like, Yeah, white dude has a bigger cock than a black dude.

unknown:

That's awesome.

SPEAKER_00:

But yeah, that was my uh that was the one thing I'll never forget is that that moment. It's just like here we are, you know, in the middle of you know, bum fuck nowhere, and you got guys talking about who's Cox bigger for whatever race.

SPEAKER_04:

Right, right.

SPEAKER_00:

But yeah, um, yeah, that was my uh I'll never forget it. It's kind of funny because um Joe came driving through with his wife uh through Salt Lake one time, and we met um my wife and I met him for dinner at the sushi place. I actually brought that up and I was just like thinking about it later. I was just like, how gay did I sound in there?

SPEAKER_03:

Um I wonder uh his wife is the nicest person on the planet, and I wonder if she gets tired of hearing dick stories from his friends. Because I think everybody has a has a Joe Herscher dick story.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh yeah. One of the funniest was uh before we deployed to Ramadi, Captain Wyler is just like we were walking. I don't know why I was with him, but he's just like uh, hey foo, is it true about Hersher? And I was just like, what, sir?

SPEAKER_01:

You've never seen it? He's just like, no. I was like, well, we could go, I'll go get him and show you.

SPEAKER_03:

Oh yeah, I'm I'm sure. That's fucking hilarious.

SPEAKER_00:

But yeah, it was kind of yeah, that was uh one of I think the funny moments of like you know, of the situations that we were in back then. Like those are the things I I try to remember and laugh at later on in life. Yeah, man.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh yeah. Some of the antics that we got up to in in the hooch is whether it's in Iraq or anywhere, are are literally some of my favorite memories ever of the absolute. Well, what bored what bored young men get in uh get up to when uh Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

It's definitely uh interesting life.

SPEAKER_02:

So who did you guys get anything weird in the uh in the mail uh that uh created for semantics over there on that larger topic?

SPEAKER_00:

Not me. I got a lot of food all the time, you know me. I was a fat kid, by the way, which neck, I know like you're the one that started fooie. The nickname. No, and when you guys went to Okinawa, we were at that gun comp. And when we got there, you're like, dude, there's a fat fooie. I became fat fooie, dude. I put on like 40 pounds, and I'm like, damn, I'm fat fooie now.

SPEAKER_01:

That's hilarious.

SPEAKER_03:

Uh that's awesome.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, but I I really try to lose some weight. I was just like, damn, I I don't do anything. I work behind a desk and I work part-time at a gun store just to talk to people and play with guns. Nice. Nice.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, it's weird.

SPEAKER_02:

Did you pick up a oh go ahead?

SPEAKER_03:

No, that's all right. I was gonna say it's weird how fast those habits die from literally PTing every day once or twice a day to nothing.

SPEAKER_02:

What were you gonna say, but did it did you uh uh speaking that you're working at a gun store now, did you ever pick up uh any sec secondary weapons uh while you're in Ramadi? When uh when certain individuals were no longer using them?

SPEAKER_00:

No. No, um we came across a lot, but like nah. If it was anything was gonna happen, I was just gonna pull the trigger.

SPEAKER_02:

Sorry.

SPEAKER_00:

So this looks like oh well.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, I ended up picking up a pistol for myself just because I didn't have a you know, I had my rifle, but 81s didn't get issued side side arms.

SPEAKER_00:

So I don't think I don't think gunners were the only ones that had them.

SPEAKER_03:

There was a few people who had them because I had a pistol, but there was not many, and I don't even know why I had it, but I had a pistol.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, you were in the turret, right?

SPEAKER_03:

Or no, I was a vehicle commander. No, I jumped in the turret a few times for different things that happened, but mostly I was vehicle commanding and largely running the radio and directing traffic and everything. So so who was who was in? I mean, we all rode in trucks basically. Who was in your truck team?

SPEAKER_00:

Uh when we first got there, it was um Jack's Chico and Kagley, which insane. Like um we went to that 20-year reunion, what last year? Year ago. Yeah. And uh it was crazy because I didn't I don't know if I knew it at the time or just forgot. But uh Kennedy was talking about um what was it, how there's a group of Marines that showed up like two weeks before we deployed. Yes. And I was just like, really? We had guys like that showed up two weeks, and Caxi was like, that was me, dude. And I was just like, what? Seriously, dude? And I'm just like, holy crap, dude, I thought you were there longer with us. Like, never knew that. Or if I did, I forgot.

SPEAKER_03:

I mean, and we integrated people very quickly, but yeah, same. We had a couple of guys, uh, I think in every platoon that showed up about two to four weeks right before we left. And then we spent that what three weeks in Kuwait. So we had a little bit of time to bond there and do minimal training. And then we did you drive up or did you fly up?

SPEAKER_00:

Uh no, I was uh we drove up. Um that was uh so it it was map one. Um, I think you guys were on a separate convoy from us, but we were with uh uh Captain Weiler and that group, and uh we had uh I want to say he was from Gough, uh one of the lieutenants and a staff sergeant. Um Lieutenant Hessner and Staff Sergeant Rodriguez. And uh they put us in the middle of the convoy, and uh we were uh you know blocking traffic while the convoy was going, and Tico drove through really quick on like on the sidewalk and everything, and um we halted for like about an hour because there was an IED that uh blew up that we probably drove drove over, but it hit some of the cough points of like the air wing that we were escorting up. But it was like, oh okay, this is real.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah. Yeah, there was a couple there was a couple of different IEDs that popped on the way up. And did any of your guys get hit in that convoy or no?

SPEAKER_00:

Uh I think the um part of the uh one of somebody from the air wing got hurt, but nothing serious or anything. Yeah, but uh yeah, that was that was about it. And um I do remember uh it was a squad and uh it was a funny um moment, like because we were in the middle, and so like we were away from everybody else. Like it was just this squad and Lieutenant and Sassar and uh we went to like meet up with the CO uh Weiler, and like we were talking, like they were just briefing everybody. We stopped at one of those locations, like fill up rest and everything. And we're there, and we're walking back, and like Captain Wiler was like, Hey Fooie, make sure you know this, this, this. And I was like, All right, and we're walking back, and uh Lieutenant Hestner's like, uh, hey, that's cover pointes. And I was like, what's up, sir? And she's like, is it okay if I call you fooie? And I was just like, yeah, sir, it's the nickname. I was like, everybody calls me fooie. But yeah, it was pretty funny. Like, and there was the they were they had told me, they were like, hey, fooie, make sure nothing happens to this lieutenant or any other guys, and make sure you you keep track of them at all times. And I'm just like looking and I'm just like, I'm a Lance Corporal, he has a staff turn and he's a lieutenant. Like, why do I gotta keep an eye on him?

SPEAKER_03:

I remember that from Kat though. Even before we split off into the map platoons, you were always treated like like basically an NCO, even when you were a PFC and a Lance Corporal, because I probably because you were old. But uh yeah, that's uh that's funny. I remember you always catching a lot of extra responsibility.

SPEAKER_00:

I don't know why that was the least person that should have had any responsibility. Or how uh Nicolas would say later on, he's just like, dude, you're permastoned. I was like, what the hell is that? He's like, You're permanently stoned, dude. I'm like, oh my god.

SPEAKER_03:

So you said you drove up with Cackly, Chico, and Jax, but then did you change once you got there?

SPEAKER_00:

We got a high back when they started giving this to the highbacks. So um they combined like we they wanted that dismount squad, so they they put like Anthony and uh my truck together. So it was like Anthony Pace, Jax, Harrison, Chico, me, and one time like Minor at one time was with us with us too. But yeah, like they they took that away, and then there is that time where they're like no more highbacks, you guys need to be right in a barman. So ended up getting put in the, you know, I think that's when we went from like five trucks to four trucks at a time.

SPEAKER_03:

Hmm. That's a pretty full high back, too. I mean, that makes a uh pretty uh good target of opportunity, right? To hit a highback with that many marines in the back of it.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, there's uh there's a few of us back there. I don't luckily, like, you know, unfortunately stuff happened, but um nobody got hurt, like in our in our tank. But um to go off subject, do you guys remember on now that you have to? It was when Jax and Chico broke the clue. Oh yeah. I still don't know, I still have never asked Jax, like, what were you guys doing? Like, how did it fall off the bridge?

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, no one knows. Yeah, but like uh, I mean, those things are what, a hundred thousand dollars? And he dropped it off the off the north bridge post.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, and then held a Iraqi at gunport early in the daylight morning to to pick up all the pieces. Yep.

SPEAKER_03:

Yep. Uh it's awesome. Yeah, we were talking about that north bridge post, I don't know, a couple days ago. And uh did you were did you go up there? Were you working like the last one?

SPEAKER_00:

I was up there like when um when we first got there, they're just like you're only a last corporal, so you're going up there. And I was just like, whatever. So I would go up there and hang out with somebody, but then they were like, Oh, we need uh I don't know whatever happened. It could have been from your platoon when that incident happened, but then they were like an NCO needs to be up there too, or someone senior.

SPEAKER_03:

Oh, potentially, yeah. You mean when the guys got caught drinking and all that?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, yeah. And uh, so I that's when they were just like, okay, you're gonna go up with you know somebody else, and but yeah, it was one of those like okay, whatever, I don't care, I'm just here to do whatever. Because like we had what Santiago and Anthony as uh right our sergeants in the platoon, and then uh Garcia Pateco Minor Solis. I forget for anything.

SPEAKER_02:

I don't know, Minor started off in your platoon.

SPEAKER_00:

I thought he was always with headquarters. He was with headquarters, and then uh he they sent him over to us, uh what I don't know, whatever reasons, but there was that weird there was that weird reshuffling in like May or June.

SPEAKER_03:

I I don't remember the exact date, but it's the same.

SPEAKER_02:

They took people from our platoon and reshuffled around like people to be is that is that when they were given uh they they gave a lot of 81s, like they gave an 81s like uh someone that actually knew how to use the tow. Oh, like frankly going over to your guys' platoon. Yeah, yeah, we got we got a two machine gunners, yeah, like oh like like 31s, you know, top you know, level, not not just not just someone that kind of knew how to load it.

SPEAKER_00:

Right. Uh so okay, that makes all sense. I just I just remember like minor showing up and I was just like, cool, dude. Some at least it's minor, like it's not you know somebody that is new, like some of those combat replacements that don't get me wrong, some of them were good, but some of them were weird too.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah. Did you guys I mean I've actually liked all of our combat replacements. I felt they were pretty uh pretty good, but I didn't have anybody that was weird. Do you have some weird ones?

SPEAKER_00:

We had one weird dude. Um, I don't know. Uh he just I don't he wasn't weird, he was just loud. Oh god. It was it was just like dude, be quiet. Like no one really like cares.

SPEAKER_02:

Like I know, yeah, I know our our replacements, not all of our guys made it easy for them to integrate. I I was always I always tried to be welcoming and stuff like that, but I know ours well, I also had we had a couple difficult Marines and leadership positions in mind, and so that we're not uh warm, fuzzy people.

SPEAKER_00:

You know the funny thing is I went to Drake's uh retirement when he retired, and uh I didn't no joke. Um Captain Smith was there oh wow, and uh first sergeant Lee. And Drake was just like, you remember first sergeant lee? I was like, yeah, he was just like that's him. And I was just like, whoa. That dude blew up. Oh, did he? I was just like, I would not have recognized him if you know, like compared to like, you know, I I bleed Scarlet to uh you know, hey, I'm a a biker now, and I'm just like holy shit, you how is Drake because Drake was your guys' Drake was your platoon sergeant, right?

SPEAKER_03:

Because your platoon commander.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, and uh yeah, so then he ended up, you know becoming a but uh battalion gunner.

SPEAKER_03:

Drake did, yeah. Oh wow, I didn't know that. I didn't know he went to the warrant officer school and all that. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, he ended up being uh the gunner. I uh ran into him like he was in uh with 3-5 in uh Singan. He was their uh gunner there, and that's I ran into him out there.

SPEAKER_03:

Good for him. He was always a smart dude, all except for uh diving into that shitter water.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh yeah, that was funny.

SPEAKER_03:

You want to tell that story? Because I wasn't there for it, but I saw the aftermath.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, dude. So you remember what did they call themselves back then? Uh CAG.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Combat operations group or something they would tell everybody, but they were the civil affairs group. Nope. Um, so we were escorting them out, and uh your your gunners are supposed to, you know, keep an eye on the truck behind them, you know, make sure nothing's going on. And uh we're going to the government center. And uh, you know, Crawford took all those backstreets all the time, and not just run the gauntlet. He did once in a while, he just didn't like it. So we were taking these backstreets, and uh, I think I was the third vehicle, and all the civil affair trucks were behind my truck. And we're pulling into the government center, and like Jax goes, Hey food, there's nobody behind us.

SPEAKER_01:

That's a terrible feeling. Like, I was just like, What?

SPEAKER_00:

Chico stops, I get out, I look down the street, there is nobody there, and I'm like, What the fuck? And I go, hey sir, uh, there's no trucks behind us. And he's just like, what do you mean? And he's he's like, I was like, there is nobody behind us. He's like, hey, backtrack now. Dude, backed up, ran through where we were, you know, we were what we drove through and everything, and we found him and uh we found everybody, and there's the Humvee upside down in the shooter's sewer, and it was just like fuck. They all got out, nobody was in there, but uh it was a like I think at the time there's maybe two majors and a colonel in the truck with the last corporal, yep, and a corpsman behind the gun. They uh that truck was like upside down in the shitter canal, yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

It was in like a 16 foot by 16 foot slurry pit. It was so gross, dude.

SPEAKER_00:

It smelled so bad, and like we were just like, what the fuck? And like, you know, at this time, like, well, the record's gonna be coming out, and we gotta wait. And we were waiting, and like Drake's like when the they pulled the truck out, like there's weapons missing. And Drake's like, dude, somebody needs to go in there and get that stuff. And this is one of the rare occasions, like like it's funny to talk to Drake today, and you know, where he was at then to, you know, when he got out, like being becoming the uh the leader that he became. Um, he was just like, All right, I'm gonna do it because I can't make any of you guys do it. Like he was talking to just you know the senior dudes. He's like, if you know, if if I'm gonna make somebody do it on down the road, I'm gonna have to do it first. And so he jumped in and grabbed all the weapons. Yeah, probably one of the nastiest things like I encountered. I was just like, dude, you're gonna have to get shots.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, it I I don't and he didn't get sick either, which was amazing. I was sure he was gonna get super sick.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, that that truck was nasty. Ended up back in our base.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, oh yeah. Yeah, covered in shit and no one else ever took it out again. It they hosed it out and left it there and they farmed it for parts. They never did it.

SPEAKER_01:

I was just like, oh my god, that's disgusting.

SPEAKER_02:

I think we were in your I think we were your quick reaction force for that one. Because I think you were tasked, they task about that day. Because I remember being out there for the it being upside down, still out there. Maybe we went out and maybe escorted the uh the wrecker end.

SPEAKER_03:

Well, you might have because there was there was like a two or three teams that responded to that one, yeah. And somebody had to escort the wrecker because they brought out that stupid Hercules wrecker that drove five miles an hour all the way through town.

SPEAKER_02:

I think that's I think that's why I got out there because I remember it still being in the pit upside down.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, okay. Because there was another class civil affairs. I don't know who we got called. We were curious this day, and we got called out, and it was just one of those things that's like I don't even know why we went out because uh the Humvee was like, I've never seen a Humvee like this, but like there was nothing left other than the frame, like it was completely burnt, and I was just is that the one that was way outside of town? Uh yeah, yeah, I don't even know this story at all. Yeah, I I dude, we went out there and I think we were out there for like 10 minutes, and it's just like, yo, records out here, whoever brought the record out, it wasn't us. I because it was civil affairs had to I at the time I didn't know this, but later when I got attached to civil affairs, I realized like why, like when I was walking up to uh Lieutenant Crawford's truck, I no joke, there was two F-16s that were probably like 200 feet off the ground, flew right over us and they went straight up. And then two cobras like on station right then and there, and it's just like, who the fuck's out here? Finding out when I went to civil affairs, like, dude, civil affairs has nothing but senior officers like that are proficient at what they do. So you have like the lowest ranking officer is like a captain, which we had like one or two, and everybody else is a major tooth colonel, full bird colonel, like from all MOSs. Like I had a my uh uh debt commander was a like a full bird colonel, and like it was just insane. And like realizing like when I got there to civil affairs later down the road, like that's why there's nothing but like senior officers out there.

SPEAKER_03:

So yeah, they're gonna bring out all the yeah, they're gonna bring all the assets for them. Not not for a not for a Lance Corporal, but they'll do it for a colonel.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. But yeah, it's pretty, it was pretty interesting, like just like holy crap, dude. But um, yeah, and uh the other time I will never for this one. I mean it was so dumb to go out there, and I remember going out there and like they they wanted us to go knock on doors after LAR the night before lit the area up.

SPEAKER_02:

Yep, because they got about yeah, that became an investigation later on, but go ahead.

SPEAKER_00:

Um, so they told us, hey, we want we're we're sending you guys out there to go knock on doors to make sure everybody's okay. And I was just like, wait, what? After LAR just lit the fucking place up, you want us to go out and knock on doors? Hey, are you guys okay? I remember walking out there and I was on point. And Lieutenant Prof was like, foo, you your uh your weapons on fire and your fingers on your trigger. I'm like, yeah, and it's gonna stay there.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, that was uh an interesting incident. I'm trying to remember the date. I thought I had it written down here. Yeah, it was June 7th. June 7th when the when Mattis went out on racetrack road and it was their LAR unit and they go ahead.

SPEAKER_00:

Was he even with them?

SPEAKER_03:

Yes, yeah, he was there. He was in in the trucks, and they supposedly took small arms fire and lit up in every direction, shot everything, including the 25 mic mic, in every direction. And we both of our platoons, my platoon map to and his uh 81's platoon, showed up to relieve that and we looked around, there was there was dead people, uh, and there was a lot of dead sheep. And but I do not I I think I saw a Glock on the ground, but that could have been an Iraqi police officer who dropped it and ran. I I honestly don't know about any further anything. That was crazy. And I did not know that you guys went out the next day to go check on them. So I don't blame you for being nervous. That neighborhood was tore up.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, it was just like, hey, you guys are gonna go out and knock on every like doors and see if everybody's okay. I'm just like, dude, this is stupid. Like, like, holy crap.

SPEAKER_03:

There were a lot of things like that that probably had really good intentions, but just bad execution.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I think. And how, you know, none of it, the Marine car wasn't prepared to do what happened out there. Right. Like they I still have like, I don't know if it's a a jacked-up five by five card, which had a little box truck with the little dotted line with the little dude with the dynamite, you know. I'm gonna blow you up with the IED. Yep. And uh looking back on it, it's just like, dude, we it was the first time the Marine Cards gone into uh uh an area after a war. We never did babysitting, and it was probably the largest relief in place since World War II.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, so yeah, and we were one of the first battalions to go back after the initial invasion, uh, as far as to do what they thought was going to be security and stability operations, but it certainly didn't happen that way.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, definitely not.

SPEAKER_03:

I feel like every every platoon has a story of going out and like handing out food or going to the hospital or or uh playing soccer with the Kids or something like that, but uh it certainly wasn't the majority of your stories.

SPEAKER_00:

No, talking about that one, um, going to the hospital. I don't know when they were there, but uh two fives, uh advanced party.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah. The advanced party came July 14th, or at least that was one of the days they were there. They may have came on the 12th, but I think we started taking them out on the 13th and 14th.

SPEAKER_00:

So we escort Bass Street 6 and everybody to the hospital to go look around. I'm upstairs with them, you know, holding security, just me and a couple other guys. I have the, you know, our little walkies that we had to talk to everybody in the trucks. Yep. And uh it was uh parent proper, don't bastard six, devil six just got hit in the marketplace. And I was just like, oh god, no. Cause we have all these officers, and I was just like, God dang. And I was like, hey, sir, and he's just like, hey, what's up? And he's just like, Crawford just said devil six has been ambushed in the marketplace by uh small arms and IEDs, and and like he's pinned down, and I was just like, tell him we're coming down, we're going out. Go to go get him. And I was just like, oh dude, this is gonna be great. And uh, no joke, like we get to the marketplace, and I don't I don't think the movie was out of definitely if it was, I'd never seen it. But uh he the movie with the bell camera and everything, bro. It sounded like that. There was gunfire everywhere, like just echoes everywhere, and it was just like, what the fuck? And uh, like I honestly like was like, yeah, it's probably the day I'm gonna die. And uh like we're just like, what the fuck? Like, don't even know where to go. Like, I'm looking around and um bastard six is in this between two buildings, and uh Massar and Humphreys is like get over here, and I was just like, uh-uh, like I gotta run across this parking lot to get to where you're at. And uh he's like, get over here. So I'm just like, fuck it, I'm gonna take off. And I sprinted over to where he was at, and um, there was two explosions, one behind me and one in front of me. And it like I was just like, oh shit.

SPEAKER_01:

I kind of like did the filling around and it was like not hit, turned around right back to a wall where like I was just like safe, safe place, safe place, and uh Pace all pace goes like this, hey foo, that wall just got lit up, and I'm just like, yeah, cool.

SPEAKER_00:

And then Massar and I'm just get over here. I'm like, fuck it. And uh they're like, hey, you're gonna take a couple guys, Devil Six is pinned down there, you're gonna walk them back over here. And it was just like, huh? And I was just like, dude, this can't be happening. Like, what? Like, can he just drive, dude? Like, and uh, nope. We went. It was one of those like crazy things. Like, the army dudes were like around this Humvee in this like little corner next to a building. I was just like, hey, where's Double Six? They're like, he's inside. I'm like, well, let's go. We're gonna get him out and take him over to Bastard Six. And they're like, uh, okay. They like he knew they'd come out. We're just gonna walk him down Michigan to uh where bastard six is at. We get out there, man. That motherfucker gunned it, left us a no. And like I was just like, oh, like great, just looked at everybody like, hey, let's get to the wall, like next to the buildings, and walk back. Because what happened was the Bradleys finally were coming out, and he saw the Bradleys and took off, and it was just like, son of a bitch. And they left, the Bradleys left, and we continued fighting that day out there. And it was that uh what made it worse was when we had the two five people and Oliver North. That was the day it was that Iraqi coalition. Um, they were shooting from that building over there, and uh I mean they they raided that building, they found all these weapons, and uh for the longest time I thought those were RPG rounds that it blew up in front of me and behind me, but it was I think it was golf company that had a Mark 19 were shooting at that building, but they were lobbying them over so far it hit it in front of me and behind me. I was just like, oh my god, dude.

SPEAKER_03:

It'd be ironic for you to get hit by a Mark 19.

SPEAKER_00:

Right, and but that was uh so when we got back, I got to over to uh uh Kennedy and I was like, hey sir, uh devil takes all those Bradleys. He's took off, he's not here. He's like, Yeah, he called me, he'd let me know, and he's like, Hey, watch the battalion commander for 2-5. Like, like, hey, watch a battalion commander. I'm like, like, I don't like babysitting officers, okay. And the like there is the uh captain that was in from 2-5 that had, I don't know, he jacked up his foot and was like on the corner of like this alley, like holding security, but couldn't like stand or nil. And it's just like, oh my god. I think I got called Jackson Chica over and they replaced him. And we threw like threw him, like getting ready to throw him in a Hum V. And he just starts shooting at this gate. This and it's just like he's like, somebody opened the gate. And it's just like, bro, relax. Uh that was when Kennedy was just like, just lob a grenade over it. And like Jackson Trueger was like, Oh, can I do it? I was just like, here, you guys can fight over it. They ended up throwing the grenade over. And it was just like boom, and then it was like turnaround, and the baton commander's like, hey, Lance Corporal, let's uh let's go up and uh clear this building. And I'm just like, uh like looking at it's like three or four stories. I'm like, uh sir, we don't have enough guys to do that. And so like I'm trying to look for somebody to like call over, like, hey, maybe they could talk this dude out of the stupid shit he has in mind. Turn back, he's already going up the stairs. I was just like, what the fuck? But I I think like there was a my guardian angel watching over me. The staircase he took went straight to the rooftop. This is one of those stories you don't forget, like the you know, middle of a firefight, everything's blowing up around outside, you know, and we go up. I remember this rooftop, like there's two doors when we get out there next to each other here, one door here. He's like, You go that way, I'll go this way. And I'm just like, sir, it's better sticking together. Like, you know, Carl taught us, oh Carl Meraki. Like, yeah, yeah. And uh, I'm just like, it's better stick, no, no, trust me. I'm just like, God, kick the first door, it's just a closet. And I'm like, cool. Go into the next room, empty, another door. I was just like, please, I hope nobody's up there. I open it. There's like four dudes in the room just talking, and I'm like, they're like, Mr. Mr. No, no, no. We're you know, we're we're not doing anything. And there's another door, and this colonel comes in from the other side, like uh he almost got shot because I don't know who's coming in. There's this room, sir. I need to clear that. These guys have nothing, there's no weapons here. Like, I made them like lift up their shirts and everything. Okay. And I'll never forget this incident because I kicked that door open, and there's the families of the dudes in this one room eating dinner while there's this goddamn firefight going on outside. And it's just like, fuck, dude. And I was just like, sir, we're gonna uh leave them here. I told the dudes, like, you know, the best that I can, don't leave. Don't fucking leave. Like, they're like, okay, Mr. OP. Like, I'm sure they, you know, left, did something stupid afterwards. But uh, we go back to the outside on this rooftop, and the wall's pretty big. Like, I couldn't see over it unless I was probably standing on like something or my tippy toes, like looking over this fucking colonel. It's like, oh, this is a great spot to like look at the battle space and everything, and like looking over the wall and everything. I'm just like driving by his drag handle and pull him down. Like, Spare, you gotta go downstairs. Like, I'm just a Lance Girl. I something happens to you. How bad is that gonna look? Like, hey, you know, you should have done something. And I was just like, You're done, just go back downstairs, please. And it it didn't surprise me when we um two five got there later in the deployment, like when we were getting ready to leave, when they're they were told, oh, we were told not to listen to you guys because you guys don't didn't know what you were doing here, and like blah, blah, blah. And then, you know, not even like five days down the road, hey, tell us what you know. Like, the shit's not like what they said. Yeah. Did you end up doing the left seat right seats with them? I did, and then but they were just like, uh, we don't need you guys. And it's just like fine, like, cool, whatever, dude.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, that so you stayed for the uh September 11th and and 12th when there was like basically the whole city uprise against their the patrols and the and the log train and everything in the government center.

SPEAKER_00:

Uh I by that time, I think I was sent to uh Hurricane Point when all of that was happening. Yeah. And uh, but I know that you guys were like a couple of you guys were still out there.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, we were all all of my people were still out there. Uh and I think all the some several of the 81s were out there.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. Yeah, but at that time I was just like Blake almost got his head taken off by an RPG. So who did?

SPEAKER_03:

Blake. His vehicle got hit with an RPG, and and he was the only one who walked out of it. And Jesus, dude. Um I don't do you if you remember Sardin Diaz. Sardin Diaz broke his he got broke his femur uh from a mortar round that hit at the government center and blew Blake off of a ladder. Uh there were there all sorts of of uh excitement that happened. That wasn't necessarily my point to say all that, but just that uh there was a lot of action as that handoff went. And it was unfortunate that they were told by their senior leadership, and they told us the same thing. Well, we were told that you guys were were cowboys. Bunch of yeah, exactly, a bunch of cowboys. You guys like to just shoot at anything and you would just do it. It's like, I I don't know, man. I feel like we were pretty reserved compared to what we could have been.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh yeah, I I think so. But yeah, that's crazy. Like I just yeah, I was just like, okay, dude, you guys have fun.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, it's unfortunate that that's the way it had to go too, right?

SPEAKER_02:

A lot of guys got a lot of guys got hurt in a short amount of time because they they refused to they're hires, you know. I don't think at least the at least the guys I was interacting with weren't they were only repeating back what they were told, but they weren't they weren't believing it themselves, at least who I was handing off.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh the the dudes that took over for us, they it was just like one of the dudes was like the truck, the he was the vehicle manager for the truck that was, you know, he was taking over my stuff. Bro, I looked at him and I was just like looking, I was just like, dude, you have so many two or three rounds, like getting out of the truck's not gonna be easy for you, dude. And that's what he told me. He's like, oh, we were told not to listen to you, blah, blah, blah. I'm like, cool, bro. Uh have fun doing whatever you're gonna do. Good luck, good luck. Yeah, I was just like, yeah, like it sucked. I do uh when I was with uh 223, the battalion gunner there, um he had told me like he was a staff sergeant in Felugio somewhere with one of the units there. Yeah, and uh how they were just like, Oh, Fallujah this, Fallujah that. And he was just like, bro, he was telling me he was like, when I saw the shit happen in Armadi, he's just like, dude, do you guys not see what's happening over there? Like, we have like multiple units here, they're one unit. And he was just like, Yeah, you guys went through the shit. And I was just like, Yeah, and you meet people, and I've met people in the Marine Corps that have said they were in Armadi when we were there, and I'm just like, Well, huh? And they're like, Yeah, I was in weapons, and I was just like, uh, no, you weren't. Like, um, like I think uh uh in the years past, uh, you know, I I'm gonna like I don't know what it is, but uh I forget. I think it was Drake or Rapaz with that actually said it. Um he's just like phew, you keep in touch with everybody who I'm just like I just try to, you know, keep everybody close. Like even if we don't talk for years, like all of us could get together and still have you know fun doing shit. Because like I like look at our company, weapons company, like it was one of those companies, like at least I know for like map before our cat when we were cat in Okinawa, that that was a tight group. Like we like, you know, we all went out and like had barbecues together and you know, you know, did a lot together. And um it was like I think looking at it, it's just like dude, that was like lucky, like that company, like uh even Meraki had said is like the one of the best companies he ever did in. And um, but like looking back and you know, all of us, you know, all the guys in weapons company, it's just it's amazing, like you know the the stuff that we had and the things that we didn't have, and but the things we accomplished in Ramadi. Like um very little, very like I neck, you probably could uh agree or disagree. Um the stuff that Meraki taught us in Oki is probably one of the things that saved me in Ramadi.

SPEAKER_03:

Uh hands down, hands down without question. Yeah, yeah. Uh we've we talked to Jordan uh before uh before talking to you for this particular podcast purpose. And we both agreed the same thing is that he ran the whole company through drills and his preparation for immediate combat and mount environment and immediate action drills and weapons handling. Hands down. Hands down save more lives than probably any any other preparation that we got. And I I I say we should build a statue to that man personally, just and I hope someday I get a chance to talk to him again. I have not talked to him in 20 years, and I truly thank him for me being alive because I do have his number. Great, I'll get it from you.

unknown:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

I would love, I would love to uh even just tell him uh thanks and and uh from Tom Turkey because he used to always call me Tom Turkey.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, he's had a nickname for everything. He did. He did. Um actually a funny story in Ramadi. Um I was doing radio watch one night, and then it wasn't it wasn't dark yet, and uh I uh went out and started smoking a cigarette, and I know shit. I was just like, what the fuck is that? And like looking at something, kind of going up, like just moving slowly, going up, green light, going spinning in circles. But you know, like you even asked me before when we were in cat, I was like, why didn't you join the air ring? Like you knew all the planes and everything, you could point them out. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And uh, I'm like looking at it and I'm just like, okay, that is nothing that we have. I'm just like, uh, and I'm just like I went in to the COC and I was just like, there's something out there, I don't even know like how to explain it. Like UFO.

SPEAKER_01:

And uh everybody comes out and everybody's looking, and uh like what the fuck is that? And it's just like Captain Wilder's like, okay, I'm gonna call it in.

SPEAKER_00:

And they call it in, and like five minutes later we get a response, and it's just like it's a weather balloon with the chem light.

SPEAKER_03:

You were pretty sure your people were coming back for you, man.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I was just like, what the fuck is that, dude? Like, there is no way, and like I was just like, dude, that is weird, and but like looking at it, it was just like, yeah, weather balloon, chem light, huh?

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. That's awesome. One of the things that I don't know if you guys so we were at that cement soccer field. Yep and uh there is uh there's an RPG, I think, shot towards us and combat outposts. I had walked to my truck to like get a water when everything started going off. And so we all started shooting at this house that had this big old giant wall. I think it was next to like the house where the the guys were uh taken out by assassination wise.

SPEAKER_03:

Uh where the snipers were killed.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, yeah. But uh it was out there. I remember uh it was one of those kind of like weird patrols where we had Oliver North with the tennis cameraman, um Duke, so yeah. Uh one of the one of the air officers. So and uh we started we got into this little firefight, shot up the house, we did, you know, we got close to it where we were able to kick down the gate and uh enter the compound. There was like nine dudes like standing inside the compound and like they're like, Mr. Mr. There's kids in there, there's kids in there. And Anthony and I were like, we were just like, let's just clear the you know floor, the first floor, because the house was on fire at this time. I was kind of like, um, dude, I'm gonna feel bad if there's kids up there and we don't do try to do anything. Yeah. I uh I went up to the second floor, started crawling, but the like that whole song uh smoke gets in your your eyes and makes you teary. Uh yeah, that happened. And uh I went as far as I could, kind of I didn't get to the room or anything, and uh to like I just felt around on my knees and everything, and crawled back downstairs.

SPEAKER_01:

And I will never, I've never been yelled at, like, you know, crawled at is like, Fury, your life isn't worth theirs, like you're more important, blah blah blah. Fucking episode, yeah, that was stupid. Like, don't fucking do that. Even Oliver knocked, yeah, you can't be doing that. I was just like thinking, yeah, but uh you got a Vietnam ass chewing, that's awesome. But yeah, everybody like yelled at me for like going upstairs. It was pretty funny though.

SPEAKER_00:

Like, I don't know. Um uh this happened to you guys. Uh it everybody's different, but uh did you guys go through like heavy fog of war when you got shot at for the first time?

SPEAKER_03:

Oh, of course, absolutely. Yeah, yeah. Uh the very first time that we got shot at was in the middle of the night on a patrol, and we were walking through and we were dismounted, walking through the neighborhood, trucks are driving slowly with no lights on and all that. And it's like, and I was like, what is going on? Like, why I'm like hearing these noises, like what's and everybody's like, it sounds like somebody's throwing rocks. Like somebody, you know, just weird. I was like, why is it making that noise? Just stupid, you know, because you think, well, I've heard bullets going downrange, the rifle range, and all these machine ranges. Like, I'll know what it sounds like when I get shot at. Nope. No fucking clue. And then one pinged off of a Humvee, and that's when we were like, oh shit, that's a ricochet. And all of a sudden we never found that guy, never found the origin of where we're getting shot at, never found that guy. No one had any idea. He got away scot-free.

SPEAKER_00:

Nice. Yeah, my story uh is about that, you know, when everything went to shit in April. They were doing one of those uh let's, you know, do a blockade and block this and block that and yeah, the cordon and search. Yeah. And uh I like calling it cordon blue because that was probably the best meal I had over there.

SPEAKER_03:

I forgot about the cordon blue. No, dude, that was when you went to Junction City and they had the cordon blue, you were like in heaven. I forgot it. I actually remember, so this I've I'm just gonna bullshit and tell a story anyway. But Blake, you were there and looked disgusting. You were as dirty as you possibly could be, covered in dirt and mud and sweat, and you stunk like a foot. And you were like so happy that eating one of those fucking cordon blues. I forgot about those things. That's amazing.

SPEAKER_01:

They were they were amazing out there. It's like it was just like, oh my god, this is the older thing.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, but sorry, I fucked up your story. Your cordon. I imagine it was I imagine it was on April 6th. Is that the one? Because you guys caught a bunch of high value targets at that day.

SPEAKER_00:

Uh no, not that one. Okay. Um, that was the one they mentioned in the book. That was the night one. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

I don't um that was we did the next big cordon search was on April 10th, probably. That was the next big bug hunt.

SPEAKER_00:

I think because that was in the farms, right? Yeah. Yeah, so it was that one. And uh we were on the flank, nobody's supposed to be left of us. It was my truck, Jack's Chico. We had one of those lioness with us. Minor, Harrison, and Cagley and myself were dismounted. And so, you know, they had the the roads that were like up higher than the farms, and uh, it was so funny because like the truck takes off. And I'm just like, like, where did it go? Like, miners like, what the fuck? I'm just like, dude, so I walk up to the road and uh I'm looking and like trying to get calm with them, like Jackass, because I was our call sign, Jackass. And it was just like Jackass, Jackass, and like nobody would answer. And I'm just like, oh great. And out of nowhere from the right side, um, this army Hum V with two dudes walking on each side, uh come rolling up. And I'm just like, whoa, nobody's supposed to be on this slide. And uh that was the like that first, like it went past, and I was just like, what was that? I was just like, like it happened again. Like, like just that snap, bam! And um I just for me, it was just like, I don't believe this is happening. Like, I don't I don't see any muzzle flies, and then it picked up and uh the Humvee went down this down the side of the embankment into a driveway, and the two dudes were like, get to double six, and I'm just like, Oh, double six, shit, the colonel's out here. I don't think I ever told anybody like he was out there. Like, I don't like we're on top, I'm on top of this embank, the road, the embankment, and like you could hear the bullets going by, but it to me it wasn't real, and so I'm just like la la la, like looking for muzzle flashes, finally see like four. And that's when I was like, Oh shit, I am skylining myself like no other. Turn around, start running, but it went into slow motion. Yeah, I couldn't like I was trying to like to me, it felt like I was trying to hug the ground running, like that's how close I was trying, like close to the ground going downhill. Yeah, and like you could I could hear like the rounds hitting the palm trees, like going through the leaves and everything. Like I could hear all of it. I remember sliding into the bottom of this palm tree where Minor and the other guys were, and I just start laughing, like laughing. And Minor's like, what the fuck's wrong with you, dude? And I was like, Yeah, these people don't like us here. And he was just like, Oh shit, dude. We ended up like having to fight for like an hour or so trying to get back to everybody else. Like, um, we ended up finding like guys on a rooftop, and like like, hey, let's make sure we get their attention so they don't shoot us. And it happened to be Drake on the rooftop, who was uh gunny, and like, hey, like we're coming in here. We're just like, what the fuck? Jack has left, and like there was just like, oh, they're in the you know, the house over there. And um, I just like when I finally made it over there, I was just like, Jack's what the fuck? He's just like, dude, we got called out. Like, we were just thought we were just gonna come over real quick, and we ended up getting stuck out there because all the fighting. I'm just like, oh my god. And he's like, Hey, foo, I gotta talk to you. And I was just like, What? And he's just like, dude, this lioness chick's crazy, bro. She was like wanted to keep going outside to see the gunfights and everything. I'm just like, well.