Constant Combat
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.
Episodes
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
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, ...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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
• fe...
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 int...
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 un...
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 l...
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 t...
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 ...
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 <...
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
• reflect...
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 cu...
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
• ...
Part 2 of Doc Dealca’s memories as a Navy Corpsman in Ramadi 2004, from treating brutal wounds under fire to what follows him home, including grief, anger, work at the VA, and the pull toward camaraderie and purpose.
He digs into the decisions and limits that define battlefield triage: how you move casualties under pressure and how dark humor shows up right beside fear. Doc Carlo Dealca also shares a hard memory...
Ben Thibeault’s story starts fast, and it only gets faster from there. He describes what it’s like to arrive in Iraq as a new Marine with big briefings, blurry timelines, and the sense that you’re stepping into something nobody can fully explain until it’s already happening. Ben talks about how he kept steady at Hurricane Point, then the warning signs of trouble, and first big fights that make the mission feel &apos...
In Part 2, Ben Thibeault zooms in on the memory that nothing about Ramadi felt built for success, and then digging into what combat looked like when equipment was short, plans changed mid-move, and you still had to bring everyone home. Ben shares blunt memories of recovering wrecked Humvees without a wrecker, dealing with evolving threats and equipment, and split-second problem solving. He wraps with discussions of ...
We start off part 1 with Lew Layton to trace how a Marine goes from Okinawa, some California training, and squad leader school... to the confusion and violence of Ramadi in 2004. We swap stories about the gear, the radios, the near misses, and a lot of unique moments about small unit leadership.
• Lew’s background and early leadership roles
• The flight over, Kuwait preparation, and early weapon safet...
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