Constant Combat

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

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We share raw, funny, and hard memories with Louie "Fuey" Fuentes about raids in Ramadi, field life defined by chow and improvisation, and a harrowing detour through Balad that ends with a midnight flight back to Hurricane Point. Every detail is tactile: dust in your teeth, a McDonald’s on the horizon when the chow hall is closed, and the kind of laughter that only shows up when the stakes are unbearable. The talk closes on grief, therapy, and why telling these stories keeps people connected.

• raids, rooftop overwatch, and a high-value target capture
• locked gates, cultural misreads, and a lesson in knocking
• Bridgeport training, heavy guns, and field leadership
• the Balad hospital detour and a hitchhikers story
• chow as morale: powdered eggs, bacon, and protein mishaps
• Afghanistan later, friends lost, and honoring names over dates
• why Ramadi is underwritten in books and official histories
• mental health, therapy wins, and open-door peer support

Supplemental link to a TED talk we reference from former Weapons Company commander, Marine Officer and former midshipman Chuck Smith: https://www.ted.com/talks/charles_p_smith_how_the_us_can_address_the_tragedy_of_veteran_suicide
(Semper Fi sir, thank you for sharing your leadership and thoughts!) 


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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_01:

This is part two of our interview with Louis Fuentes from Mobile Assault Dune One.

SPEAKER_02:

Funny story about Jax and Pace. We did a satellite patrol, and so Pace and Jax were left in the truck. When we got there, Hannah, when we got back to truck, I'm sure you guys are aware Pace jacked off probably like eight times a day back then. Oh yeah. Even before we went over there. Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, he was well known for uh taking up a lot of a lot of toilet paper and a lot of jurgens in Okinawa.

SPEAKER_03:

Jax was like, like we're we just got done walking in the middle of the day. I mean, like, I'm tired, I'm fucking dehydrated because I ran out of water.

SPEAKER_02:

And it's like Jax was like, hey, Foo, uh, I need to talk to you when we get back. I was like, bro, just say it. I don't give a fuck. And he was just like, Pace was jacking off while we were driving.

SPEAKER_03:

Dude, this is in the high back, and they had those little cutout doors. And I just I just look over, and it was the funniest thing. Pace was like, I told that motherfucker to mind his own business.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, you can't make shit up like you can't make that shit up. There's no no one would even understand. That's a true 2-4 story right there.

SPEAKER_02:

That's talking about uh I know I I read part of the book. I haven't uh finished it. Um I to me the uh the book that just came out about the our deployment, yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Unremitting by uh Greg Zaroya, yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. Um I know it's like the you know, first few parts that I read, um, a couple enlisted guys, but to me it is mostly officers. Uh I I didn't, you know, finish the book. I haven't finished it. I should. And uh the funny thing is when we raided that house, the first house, there was nobody in that first house.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

There was uh kind of a small hut in the back. And uh we were just like, okay, like hey, we need to clear that house and uh the little hut. So we went back there. There was this dude sleeping with his wife and kid. And you know, we were told, hey, grab every male adult, we're taking them in. And that's where the dude was like, Mr. Mistress, leave me, I give you somebody else. And we're just like, no, dude, you're coming with us. He's like, No, no, no, you want this, you want this person, and like who I was like, who is he's like, my brother. He's like, he's next door, so we jumped the wall to get into that house, and that's where we caught that one dude.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, wow. Uh and uh Adnan Hassan Farhan, he was uh Republican Guard colonel, right?

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

He was like the two of clubs or some shit. He was one of those, like he was on the cards of the most shit, yeah. He was one of those people.

SPEAKER_02:

Uh yeah, but the so we ended up getting like getting that house. I think there were some two Delta dudes out there in their little striker vehicle back then. It wouldn't surprise me. They showed up at random times, yeah. But it was funny because like we had guys like on the rooftops across the street, like doing stuff, and they're like, There's people on the roof. I'm like, bro, that's us, don't shoot. But uh, but uh it was funny because like I really feel bad for this one. They're just like, hey, we want to get in this house, it's gated up like a mother. There's one of those ones that, like, hey, did you bring the preaching kit? Nope, forgot it. Uh I forget who was supposed to bring it. So, like, we're trying to get into this house that's has security doors like a like no other. And we're just like, oh, this is gonna be a gold mine. We're trying to break in and everything and you know, do what we can. And the door opens, and I will never forget this lady, Iraqi lady opens the door.

SPEAKER_03:

She's like, Stop, you're ruining my fucking door. And we're just like, holy shit, your image is good. It's like, all you had to do was knock, I would open it. And we're like, oh crap.

SPEAKER_01:

You're sitting there bagging rocks on it, trying to break in.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, it was that same night though. Like, it was that was one of like the more my that night, that was like probably one of the funniest things. Like, it was just like, stop, just knock, I would open it.

SPEAKER_01:

There were so many things like that too, where we didn't we didn't think about shit. We didn't think about it. You know, you're just like, Oh, I've gotta complete the mission, and then you don't realize how you're fucking up all the local populace or breaking something that's super important to everybody else. So many of those things.

SPEAKER_02:

Or one of the other ones was uh one of the card on searches. We were just going house to house, but I wasn't paying attention, it was dark. We broke into uh or we were searching, we ended up in a clinic. Oh, and uh didn't take anything um like bad, but I did take a scale to weigh myself while I was out there. That's awesome. And uh it was funny because they used it on a couple guys that were like, you know, hey, we gotta, you know, make sure they're you know putting in packages, whatever. And it it was uh, I remember once Weiler comes over and he's like, hey, Fooie, uh, someone said you had a scale here. And I was just like, yeah. He's just like, I was just like, it's in uh kilograms, so we just gotta do the math. And he's just like, should I ask where you got it from? And I was like, nope.

SPEAKER_00:

No, it's true all the time. Yep.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, but yeah, one of the I forget what we were doing. It was a raid, it was right when I was about to pick up Corporal, and I I got it with the cutting score, but I also had wanted through that meritorious combat promotion they were giving out. Oh yeah. And uh first arm back was just like, boo, hey, uh, you picked up corporal with the cutting score, and you also had that uh combat meritorious combat promotion. He's just like, if you pick up with your cutting score, we could give that promotion to Monroe, who was uh the other guy that I went up against. And uh I was just like, he's like, go ahead and think about it. And I was like, okay, we were doing a raid, we're gonna be doing that raid that night, and we went to headquarters, battalion headquarters to you know go over everything. No, and it uh Sergeant Major Booker, he's like, hey, let's go Fortes. That's pretty good. One rifle range and one PFT in two years, and you still got corporal. I was like, Hey, thanks, Sergeant Major. And I think Anthony and whoever else was there is like, dude, he's being sarcastic. I'm like, me too. And that's what I was just like, you know what? Fuck it, I'm picking up corporal with my cutting score. And that's why got the uh the combat promotion. But yeah, I was just like, I was just like, yeah, one rifle range and one PFT, like I thought we were supposed to do more. Like, what happened?

SPEAKER_01:

I mean, you're supposed to do it at least once a year, if not twice or three times a year. But our dude, our workup was so brutal the whole time. We didn't have time for any of that shit.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, it's it's pretty interesting to think about like the all the stuff that we went through.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah. Actually, speaking of workup, did you did you end up going to any uh schools prior to uh deployment?

SPEAKER_02:

No, I went to Bridgeport.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah. I got sent like I got sent out constantly.

SPEAKER_02:

And uh the other one was uh like we out they went to schools and I we went out there and uh I think it's like I don't think Solise was out there. I remember Drake was like the senior guy for heavy guns when we went out there. I don't think I told Drake this, but I should. It was pretty funny because uh we had just got all the new lieutenants, like JD and uh all those dudes, and uh JD was for was with heavy guns, and like Drake gets he picked up staff there, and then he get he was sent to anti-armor, and it left me like the senior guy, and or Hardin was out there, maybe I don't know. Everybody's like we were out there somewhere, and everybody's getting in the trucks, and like guns is just sitting there, and I'm like, oh crap, I'm like the senior guy right now, and you go ask Lieutenant Stevens what he wants us to do. Like, can I go over and um I'm like, hey sir, do you guys you want guns to get in the truck? He's like, Yeah. Drake comes over, he's like, Burry, you don't fucking talk to a lieutenant, you're the last cover. You get somebody senior, like come talk to lieutenants and oh dude, JD's behind Drake going like this.

SPEAKER_01:

I'm like trying to keep a straight face. I'm like, oh my god, dude. For those that are listening to that, he was flipping him off and making a jerk-off motion. Oh sorry.

SPEAKER_03:

Dude, that's fucking hilarious. Yeah, it was just like, dude, like I was trying so hard not to laugh because like I was just like, oh fuck, oh fuck, don't laugh, don't laugh.

SPEAKER_02:

But yeah, that was pretty funny. I was just like, dude, and I went Breedsport was pretty fun. We went to uh we shot some heavy guns out there, went to a high altitude.

SPEAKER_01:

You guys got to go and do a detour and go out uh out into that range in Nevada and shoot all the long guns while the rest of us stayed there and froze and got the shits and everybody got sick.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah. Had people dying on the mountain, had people falling down the mountain.

SPEAKER_03:

Oh, dude, that was that was so funny because like we stayed in that that night, we stayed in the squad base over there in in Bridgeport, and uh we were growing out and we're fucking like JD and I are just like in the back of that little white truck freezing like everybody else because it's fucking cold and we get out there and everybody looks so miserable, yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Because we were it was just like what the fuck?

SPEAKER_02:

And I think that's when somebody goes, Oh yeah, first sergeant lee told us so all we could do was bring our green bibby like green sleeping bag, yeah, like tell us like oh damn, yep.

SPEAKER_01:

We were sleeping two people to a bag to keep warm because there's it just wasn't enough, yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, and that's when my fat ass, like when we were at that shoot, I remember I was just like looking at my watch and everything. I'm like, dude, we're not gonna make time, like we won't get to the chow hall in time. And I was just like, Hey sir, um, we're not gonna make chow hall in time. He's like, What? And so uh this hill where we at where we were at. You could see a McDonald's in the distance.

SPEAKER_03:

And I was like, sir, there's a McDonald's right there. We should hit that up. He's just like, fuck it, we're not gonna make child, so we don't have any MREs because they had them locked up and he didn't have a key. So we were just like, Yeah, let's let's go to the McDonald's. That's funny. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04:

Making a fast food. I remember uh when we were in Camp Victory, the uh the pop-up uh was it Burger King? And I just it was in uh it was in a trailer. Yeah, and uh I just remember when we first got there with seeing that, being like, man, I down in Kuwait. Yeah. So just being just being surprised that they had that and then knowing that they didn't appear anything like that.

SPEAKER_01:

Burger King and a green bean coffee company, yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh dude, and Balad. So my eye was all jacked up and Ramadi. I woke up and couldn't open it, not like pink eye or anything, it was just jacked up. Yeah, and uh it was a little bit after uh Fox Company, Captain Carlton, the CO got hit with the RPG.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

So uh they were like, hey, they're gonna sing you Balad. And I'm like, okay. And they're just I was just like, what is that? They're like, it's the hospital, you know, you'll go out there for a day and come back. And I was like, okay. And uh they were like, hey, yeah, you need to watch over Captain Carleton. And again, I was just like, he's an officer. Like, what the fuck am I gonna do? And uh like that happened a lot to me. And uh, so I was just like, whatever. And I remember like, hey, boo, you can't take your rifle. And I was like, what? They're like, I'm like, you want me to fly over Iraq without a rifle, and you're telling me to watch Captain Carlton? And I was just like, what the fuck? And I'm just like, whatever, dude. So they fly us out. I'm with Captain Carlton, and uh, we were at this hospital, they checked me for my eye, and I'm like, okay, cool. And like, they're just like, here, here's some petroleum jelly, put some in your eye like once a day. And I'm just like with the Q-tip, and I'm just like, yeah, cool, you know, we had the cleanest conditions right now. Yeah, and uh, so like uh I'm sitting down and in this tent outside of the main hospital, and uh he comes in, he's like, Hey, I found a pizza hut. Let's go. Nice.

SPEAKER_03:

So like we went and got pizza. So, like in Bilad, they had a pizza hut, they had a Chinese food restaurant, and I'm like, what the fuck?

SPEAKER_02:

What where is like what is this place? It was one of those times, like I felt like tiny, like a little, I mean it was so wrong for me to be there because uh like walking through the hallway at the hospital, like there's dudes that were so jacked up, and here I am, like a little crusted eye. And I'm just like, what the fuck? And uh like don't get me wrong, Captain Carlton had been hit by an RPG. He was gonna be sent home later. We're sitting down and outside this tent, and you know, it's AC, they have atheist playing and everything. We're just in there, and this nurse brings in this marine from but wherever, and uh this dude had been blown up. He stepped out of his stepped out of his truck, and an ID went off, blew out his perforated both eardrums, so his eager the room was all jacked up, and his he was yelling to talk because he couldn't hear himself really. Of course. And uh he's just like, it's this tent is like a probably a chow haul too, and he's looking for food. He like comes over and is like, you know what? I can get some food. And I just looked, I was just like, hey sir, I'm gonna go get some this dude some Chinese food. He's like, Yeah, do that. I went and got him like some Chinese food. Hey, sit down, dude, relax. The nurse is gonna be back. And uh I looked at Captain Carlton when they took him away, and like I was just like, sir, I can't stay here. This place is gonna drive me insane, you know. And he's just like, Yeah, I get that. He's just like, I was just like, how do I get out of here? He's like, you know, that desk we were like in the corner where we were at earlier. I was like, yeah. He's just like, go there, you know, ask them to, you know, for a flight back to Hurricane Point. I was like, cool. Well, went there and I'm like, hey, I need to get out of this place. Like, and they're like, Oh, you're not supposed to leave for another week. Oh, geez. I was just like, huh? And I was just like, no, I need to get out now. And I'm like, I'm done. I saw the doctor, he gave me what I needed. I need to go. I was like, I need to get back to Hurricane Point. And they're like, um, we don't have anything going, but you're more than welcome to ask the uh people when they land the helicopters. So I spent like four hours asking every crew chief of every helicopter dropping off people to the hospital, hey, can you take me to Hurricane Point? We're not going that way. Blackhawks 46 is everything. This 40, this little frog lands, and I'm just like, like, I'm beat, dude. I'm like, dude, I've been out here like forever. This frog lands, and I'm like, crew chief jumps out, and I was like, Hey, can you take me to Hurricane Point? And he's like, Yeah, we'll do that. And I'm like, fuck yeah. He's like, we're just gonna land somewhere else to refill, you know, near Falun. I'm like, I don't give a fuck, just get me out of here. Like all night we're flying. I get to uh hurricane point, probably like three o'clock in the morning. I'm walking from the LZ to the Hooches, and all the trucks are lined up. And I'm like, Oh yeah, everybody's going on the raid, yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

And uh I like run into the COC. And since I had no hearing protection, I can't hear shit. And I was like, I walk in, I'm like, hey, I'm back. Can I go out? What are you fucking doing here? You're not supposed to be back yet. And I was just like, I can't stay, and they're like, Can I go on the the raid? And they're like, No, you don't know what's going on. And I was just like, Oh, okay, it's fine, fuck it.

SPEAKER_02:

But uh yeah, dude, that was like one of those things, like, like, there's no way I would have stayed there, dude. It would have fucking I would have probably lost my shit there, like if I would have stayed in like because like I was just looking around, like I was there for my eye, but same dudes who had been like fucked up beyond like anything. I was just like, Holy shit, dude.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, Blood was like, I think the biggest hospital just north of Baghdad, right?

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, but yeah, I was just like, Holy crap, I need to get out of here. And then it was front and kept him on was like, yep, just go ask him for you know, tell him you need to get out of here. And I was like, Yep, I'm out of here, sir. Good luck.

SPEAKER_01:

That right there, sir, is one of the craziest stories I've heard so far. Uh, in that you're a Lance Corporal out on the airfield, just like, hey man, I'm trying to hit your ride. Can you get me back to my back to my hooch so I get shot at some more?

SPEAKER_02:

Dude, I I dude, I was not gonna stay out there, dude. It was so fucking gnarly, dude. Like, I was probably like the crew chief and the two gunners on the hilo. Like, there's this like sitting in the back of that uh uh 47, and I'm just like, I'm going home. Like, I'm I'm stoked, I'm going home.

SPEAKER_01:

And you got to ride a helicopter in a combat zone, which most of us can't say. That's pretty damn awesome. And as much as you love helicopters, that's like triple awesome.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, but I didn't have a gun in case something happened.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, that's all right. You just have to trust them.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04:

I remember them trying to disarm us as uh towards at the end when they were we were supposed to decompress at you know junction city, and we were supposed to like start turning over our like our weapons. And then when we transitioned, especially up to the airfield that we were gonna fly out of up by Baghdad. They kept going like, no, you can't have you can't have anything, you can't have anything. And then there was the final shakedown as we were trying to get onto the plane. And I remember people were just pulling like grenades and magazines and extra pistols tucked in their and like the guy that was doing the check had just this little tiny like ammo crate or whatever, thinking that he was gonna get like maybe a bullet or something like that. But it all started overflowing because everybody threw something in there.

SPEAKER_02:

They took the they you didn't have a nail file there on the toenail clippers or whatever. They they were taking everything like that.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, they're trying to be like TSA.

SPEAKER_04:

Stupid. Yeah, I can't remember who somebody had a grenade even. Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Multiple people had Russian grenades because we found Russian grenades and we carried them. They were the only ones that would blow up. The Iraqi version, the ones that had the Arabic writing on them, they never, I mean, they never did anything. If they would blow up, it would be 20 seconds later.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, no shit.

SPEAKER_04:

No, we've uh we've brought up chow twice now, but I'll be in I'm embarrassed to admit some of the my most vivid memories and thoughts of uh of Iraq surround chow and uh either not having enough, making special runs out to Blue Diamond, praying that we get to go to Junction City for whatever reason, just trying to just eating those goddamn hurricane hockey pucks that were called hamburgers.

SPEAKER_02:

Uh that's where I started. Honest the honestly, the one thing I was grateful for at Hurricane Point when they brought in the chow was the breakfast, the hard-boiled eggs and the bacon. Like, that was the only time I ate breakfast there. Like anything else, like those runny eggs, those like 10 pounds of eggs in one of those little green containers. Like, no, I can't do that. You can't even put enough hot sauce on that shit to make me eat it.

SPEAKER_01:

No, those are those nasty powdered eggs, too. And they would mix it, they'd mix them with the regular water. Oh, they're awful. They're supposed to be mixed with milk and they'd mix them with water, and you're like, oh, these are terrible.

SPEAKER_02:

Uh, I got a funny story about uh this one, another one of uh foo's greatest moments. My brother sends me protein and asked that, you know, I could have something, you know, help with my muscle growth and everything. Unlike some of the other people in the company that were taking steroids. I wish they would have said something to me. I would, you know, I would have shot up. I don't know, but but uh so for the longest time, uh I didn't know this, like because I, you know, I wasn't a weightlifter. I just did, I never I lifted weights, but I never was into like drinking protein or anything. So my brother sends me shit. So I start using the milk from the chow hall, that goat's milk um from the chow hall with my protein shakes. Dude, got the shits all the time. I'm just like, oh my god. One time we've I was at the gym, we get called for QRS, running back, drank a protein shake, and I was just like, crap, I shouldn't have probably done that. So throughout past the you know, the arches out there. Yeah, yeah. Michigan, yeah. Yeah. And uh we're uh we're on foot, and I was just like, dude, you guys bring it in, school circle, and they're like, what's up? I was like, dude, I got a shit.

SPEAKER_03:

They're just like, what? I'm just like, dude, school circle, just push out. Bro, I fucking took a shit, a nasty shit, a protein shit next to this house. And like, dude, it was so bad. Like, when it came out, everybody like that was out there, like even pushed out further. Just like, dude, what the fuck? And I fucking I I had to paper with me because I had my bag, I always had everything in it.

SPEAKER_02:

And I I just wiped and I was just like, you know what? I don't even fucking care to even try to cover this shit up.

SPEAKER_03:

Like it's why I just left the toilet paper in the shit right next to the house.

SPEAKER_01:

You shit so nasty that you actually overpowered the smell of armadi. So that's uh that's an impressive, that's an impressive feature. Because out, especially out by the arches, because they had open sewers out by the arches and the burning trash pit. That was the smelliest place on the planet.

SPEAKER_02:

That was that was that nasty out there, but yeah, took my took my combat shit out there.

SPEAKER_01:

So did you ever get wounded while we were over there?

SPEAKER_02:

No. No, um, it was funny, so um you bring that up. Uh I deployed a uh Coleman in uh 2011 to Afghanistan, right?

SPEAKER_00:

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

And uh yeah, we were being sent to Singin, and uh it was one of those fucking things like we were doing our like little security shit, like if you get caught or whatever. Like Singin is you know the triangle of death. And uh I looked at him, like, dude, doesn't the Marine Corps believe in like the circle of life or something? Why do we keep getting sent to like triangle of death or this or that? He's like looks at me, he's laughing, he goes, Maybe you'll get your purple heart this time, but like, nah, fuck that dude. Sucks that he passed away, man.

SPEAKER_01:

I agree. I agree. That's one guy that I would really like to have talked to. Uh, and to be very fair, um was one of the reasons why we started talking about doing this specifically. There are too many guys. I mean, you've already I mean, pace is gone too. I can't we can't even talk to Pace, right? There's just too many guys that that die from other causes, like they didn't die from suicide or anything, you know, anything else. Like they got sick, right? I don't know what happened to Coleman. I know he was sick, but I don't know what happened.

SPEAKER_02:

Uh cancer.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I knew he was sick. I didn't know what kind of sick, but um, yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

We just had our a Corman die from the same cancer last week.

SPEAKER_01:

That's too bad from 2-4, or are you a different unit?

SPEAKER_02:

No, uh different unit that uh 123 that deployed to Afghanistan with yeah. Uh he was I and I at the time, uh Coleman. Yeah, it was crazy. It was just like they're out of Houston. So he was in his neck of the woods and everything. The funny thing was when we were in Afghanistan, Sakaki sends me this fucking giant box of these little alcohol bottles. I was just like, fuck, dude, I can't get caught with this. Like it'll be bad. And so nobody saw me open it and saw what was inside of it. So I run it over, Colin. I was like, hey dude, I need your help. He's like, what's up? I was just like, Sakaki sent this to me, and he's like, I'll take care of it. I was just like, that's fine about you. You're gunny, and I'm just a little sergeant. That's good, man. Two four that that the way we were, uh that's like you can't everybody had a part in everything we did from every platoon. Like, you know, there's times Gunny Meraki would come over to map bus and it was like, hey, I need a gunner. And he's like, foo, let's go. And I'm just like, great, I'm gonna be behind a mark 19 and I'll high back. And like with Meraki, something's some shit's gonna happen. Yeah, for sure. The funniest, I don't know if he did it with your guys' plate hands. Did he ever grab somebody and just like, hey, he always grabbed me? Like, let's go search this house. And like, oh yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

That's stuff was so fun.

SPEAKER_04:

I was I I don't know how true, at least in my memory, it says I was uh I was his favorite taskable out of Sledgehammer. Like I got pulled to go do all sorts of episodes about that. Especially if we were on camp guard or on on an opposite, you know, we were like day taskable and there was a nighttime thing and they needed somebody.

SPEAKER_01:

He was good about knowing who was reliable and the fact that you spoke Arabic probably helped.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

Well hell, you could have known Spanish and spoke to those dudes out there. Yeah, true.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh yeah?

SPEAKER_02:

I didn't I didn't know that. Yeah, Sulise, it's we had uh one of the interpreters they didn't know the dialect arrogas or something, and Felice started talking to him in Spanish, and like they used Felice to interpret what they were talking about in the uh government center where the police station was. They used Solis to interpret everything and talked to them. Like it was just like, what like what they know Spanish?

SPEAKER_01:

Solice could barely speak English, that's surprising. All right, that's not true. You can definitely speak English, but boy, that's uh that's really surprising.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, I was I was shocked. I was just like, what the heck?

SPEAKER_04:

Because I I didn't I was just gonna say that when uh as far as like some of the interpreters I went, and then I would think that's true, especially being in Ramadi, is that that last set of interpreters that we got, a lot of them were uh studied outside of the country, Iraq that is. They had they had gone on gone out to uh places in in Europe. And um and with the you know that being the retirement area for the Republican Guard and the Fedayin.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, a lot of them were European educated as well.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah, a lot of them were European educated, and so maybe they didn't know English, but if they studied in Spain or something like that.

SPEAKER_02:

That makes sense.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah. There were there was a lot of highly educated. That was a conversation that I had with uh one of that police chief um that one time that we were I was with him. And he was saying that there was just a lot of highly highly educated people in town in Ramadi. It was a weird town to be in. I I it uh if you start looking at it from a like a like a 30,000 foot level, uh that was a weird town to have just one battalion in.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh yeah, I mean sheer size alone, that was a terrible idea. But yeah, uh absolutely.

SPEAKER_02:

What if they like what was it halfway or two months into three or two fives deployment? They uh split it in threes. Yes. They put three three units in there.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, they decided that one unit couldn't possibly cover all that ground. That's weird. It seemed to work for eight months.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

You know what? I would say this um about the deployment. And uh one of the things being from San Diego and um coming back and how we were they uh talked to us on the news about everything, like I the stuff we didn't know. My cousin. And had me go on a ride along with him. He was in the Border Patrol in an undercover unit. And meeting with uh meeting with him up like with all his buddies, like my cousin's like, hey, my this is my little cousin, he just got back from Iraq. And he's like, Oh yeah. And like it was one of those things, like, kind of like it was a stain. No matter what we did out there, it was gonna be a stain on us for losing all the dudes that we did.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

And um, like one of the dudes is like, he's just like, what union? I was like, two, four. He's like, was that the unit on the news? Like being in San Diego, they talked about the unit all the time because we had lost, you know, the 34, 36 dudes that we were out there. And that that kind of stained everything for us.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, the official number ended up being 34 plus one sailor. Um, I but yeah, it I mean, probably it was closer to 37 if you count a couple other things.

SPEAKER_04:

Uh, but some people like to count Corporal uh Ryan because he cross-tecked and then he died later. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

So yeah, there's a whole bunch of uh variable counting, but either way, it doesn't matter. It's a lot of people. It was the most number of people uh it modernly in a single Marine Corps unit in a single deployment. So I encountered a little of that from civilians, and then on the opposite side uh from other military folk, uh, the you get sort of the raised eyebrow. Like, oh, I was in 2-4 in 2004, and they're like, oh, like they kind of know how intense it was, how much combat there was. And so you kind of get a, I don't know, uh, a a courtesy nod that, like, yeah, it's okay for you not to want to talk about it. That's weird. I didn't know that uh I I you had never told me this, and that you talked to somebody from the Border Patrol, and it felt like a like a bad thing, like a shadow.

SPEAKER_02:

It it did for a minute because like the being from San Diego, like don't get me wrong, a lot of people uh support the military out there, even though it's a fucked up state and whatever, like it's they San Diego's different from a lot of places, like there's nothing but military bases there, Camp Pendleton, North Island, and 32nd Street and all that. And we actually had a tank run through our neighborhoods before, but right, right. But uh, like so they you know, the news, you know, something like that. Like they they announced it, but um, because I I think it was when we had got back, we were on leave, and uh um I went on that ride along with my cousin. But like at the time I was just like, dude, like thinking that's not how we should be like recognized. That's like um to all like the credit that goes like all the dudes that were out there, like in 2-4, like um going to Ramadi and being in the the position that we were put in, like, like we did a lot better than any unit that would have deployed after us.

SPEAKER_01:

Yep.

SPEAKER_02:

Like there's no doubt in my mind, like you know, what we did out there, it was clean, like most part, but we did we did a good job. And uh I I just but like you said, like you know, that courtesy nod or like, oh yeah, you were with that unit. And I think Kennedy mentioned it, like they don't write enough about it, they don't talk about it. It's like like kind of like that if we we keep quiet, it'll go away.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, it it's unusual because there's been a handful of books, mostly written by people who were somehow involved with the unit. That includes Greg Zaroya's book. Um, he was attached to golf company and and echo company out at Combat Outpost, which is why he's interested in the story. And then obviously there's the Joker 1 book, uh, there's Oliver North's book that includes 2-4. There's uh thing called First Fights in Ramadi, which was a guy who actually came to Ramadi and did some interviews and then didn't write anything until later. And then Bing West also came to Ramadi and wrote a book later. But none of those really were official accounts. And when you start looking through the military, uh Marine Corps, especially, but Marine Corps and Army flag officer publications, flag officer level publications, they all mentioned Ramadi. And in every case, it's almost like we were really focused on Fallujah, we were focused on uh heat, and and we knew Ramadi was fine. And that and that's like, okay, that's a weird footnote. What do you mean Ramadi was fine? Like you don't they don't elaborate on the tactics at all, which is very I don't know, it's odd, it's really odd. And uh at least hopefully with this podcast a little bit, we'll get we'll get the weapons company story out there. And if you get a chance, you should finish unremitting. I do think it is uh does a very good job illustrating what golf and echo went through. And I don't think I knew the majority of those details, despite being literally right next to those dudes and being in a lot of those same situations that are on the pages of that book. I didn't know what they're I didn't know what they were going through because we just had a different, we had such a different experience.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, and it's one of those things. I I think uh there's one night in the beginning in April where Echo Company was still fighting during the night, and we went out there that night. They're like, hey foo, there's some uh some of the line guys down the way, about 20 yards. And I was like, okay, just take your truck, park it next to them, and you know, take that flank. And I was like, okay, cool. And so we start walking. There's me and my truck, like Jack's Chico and Cack. Like we start walking down, and you hit 20 yards, and you're just like, echo, echo. And I was just like, oh shit, dude, like, echo, echo, like, and we didn't, I didn't stop, like, like, hey, dude, there's this ladder strip right here. Like, everybody knows we're here. Like, and I'm like, echo, echo, where you guys at? And like, dude, we made it about, I would say, like 50 yards down the road or more. And then they're like, hey, we're here. And I was just like, dude, you guys are fucking punched out far. And they're like, where were you been at? And I was just like, they said you guys were like 20 yards down that way. And it was just they're like, oh, dude, we're glad to see you guys. And it was just like, nah, bro, we're glad to see you guys. Like, it's everybody had been through the shit already. Yeah. But yeah, it's insane.

SPEAKER_01:

Go ahead.

SPEAKER_04:

I was just gonna say that one of the things that Nylon and I have talked about several times since we started this is this has definitely evolved very differently than we thought it was going to when we first started kind of you know pulling this together just because each one of these interviews has been so uniquely different, wonderfully different. This uh, you know, like it's because we're letting it, you know, be driven by the individual. Um and uh and so we're we're letting it evolve as as as it needs to. And need, you know, we're not doing this for any kind of you know, profit or you know, like we're not monetizing this in any any kind of way. That way we can keep it pure for just capture as much as we can, you know, capture the memories, capture the stories. I enjoy just just just exactly what you did, man. I there's you know, some of those, yeah, you know, you gave gave a couple great, great stories, ones that I had completely some some I was a part of and I completely forgot about, and other ones that are just hilarious.

SPEAKER_01:

So again, you're only the fifth person we've talked to, but even in all the previous four, uh three of the four expressed very deeply that they they hadn't been able to talk about this for 20 years. And the fourth one didn't necessarily want to talk about it. He said he had moved past it, but his his speech sort of said otherwise. He was reluctant to talk about it even when he did. And uh and so I think I think you're right, man. It's one of those things where I I I even myself, I the only person I have talked to that about this deployment for 20 years is Blake. And he's probably tired of hearing uh the same thing over and over again uh every year when I make him meet me and I we get drunk and talk about it.

SPEAKER_02:

So one of the things that I've learned um this past year, late um uh from you know going to the reunion and kind of struggling with it and everything. And I went and saw a therapist and uh one of the things he mentioned was um not to focus on the dates anymore. Yeah. The days that they, you know, we lost people, just remembering how they lived. Yep. And then the good times. And that has helped me so much. And recently, like um a roller coaster of a year so far, like my cousin passed away from cancer uh like a week before Coleman passed away.

SPEAKER_04:

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_02:

So I I went to San Diego for a funeral, and then one weekend, the next weekend I was in Houston for another funeral. That's rough. Yeah, but um definitely, and um even like I have you guys seen the TED Talk Captain Smith did?

SPEAKER_01:

No. Yes, actually, he posted it, I did see it.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. Um you know, even with uh Lieutenant Miller offering himself because he can't get back with 2-4 when we were getting deployed. Yep. From TBI and PTSD and everything, but um yeah, it's um I could definitely, you know, we can all work together. Like I think one of the greatest things you said was um you know, having contact with like with being 81s. Like one of the only people I talked to in from 81s is Hodges. And uh then uh you know, you chose from Matt 3 and Fernie, and um together I think we have a lot of good connections, and um unfortunately there are some people that have fallen off and don't know where to find them, don't even know where to start. Yep.

SPEAKER_04:

No, yeah, I think Sheldon's the big one for me. He was a a close, a close friend and then just disappeared.

SPEAKER_02:

So yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Um I hope people listen. And if they do, then at least it's a a thread of connection so that way we can pass along information like this and get everybody together.

SPEAKER_02:

That'd be awesome. And you're putting it out the day that uh Netflix Marine comes out.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, I mean it's the Marine Corps birthday, so whatever.

SPEAKER_02:

Uh that net the net Netflix one, uh probably something you guys should watch. It's on I think it's on the 31st mute.

SPEAKER_01:

It is. Yeah, I saw that too. I saw that too. I wondered if the Essex was gonna break down this time.

SPEAKER_04:

No, I went from I went from not consuming anything military to actually starting to consume here in the last only 18 months. Really, it was since the reunion that up until then I couldn't handle reading anything. I could do like Vietnam time frame and before, but it man, you get too close to our time. Like I would have I I would get I couldn't sleep. I would be I'd be all wound up. I've come a I've actually come a really long, long way.

SPEAKER_02:

Um I uh I got lucky um when I was going to school at the community college and uh when I was uh I did folk rehab like in the beginning, and uh one of the things was was like, hey, you gotta see a uh psychologist at the school. And uh he's a VA employee psychologist and everything, and he works for Vital, which is the veterans integration to academic leadership.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

He, you know, I I told him I was just like the first time I met him, I was just like, but if you're gonna tell me, like, you know, oh you drank a lot and that's why you have PTSD, it was just like, I'm just gonna walk away. I don't care. I was like, okay, we won't talk about how much you drank. And uh I was just like, okay, cool. And uh uh did help where he he helped me and uh then he was just like, look, dude, there's we have a grant part-time. Um, you know, you work in the veteran center already, like a sports study. And he's just like, you know, you talk to people, they you know, they open up to you, like you could, you know, get things out of people because you've been in it. And like, I want you to be like a peer mentor for for me. And um, I did that for a while before uh going and working at the BA. But um like there's I my sister who's in mental health, she's just like, when I got back, she's like, You have some sort of form of PTSD, like you know, we all from all the explosions and everything, and you know, loud bangs, you're startled, and little things like that, and the way you set yourself up and sitting in a room or whatever. We all had that, and she noticed it like two weeks when I was home, and I'm just like, uh, shut up, you're not smart. But um, it's just it's being able to talk to each other and yeah, um listen to, you know, hey, I got help. I don't want you know, hey, I I did struggle, and if I would have probably like left it where it was, it would have it would have sucked because like it'll eat you up and spit you out, and then you do something that everybody's gonna like, why didn't like why didn't you reach out and not to like brawl, you know, hey, I'm a badass. I I don't need help. And um, there's a lot of guys probably on the coming that could, you know, hear us talk and be like, hey, yeah, no shit. I could get help and nothing's wrong with it.

SPEAKER_04:

I've had uh I've had more than one of my Marines reach out to me saying that he knows that I do talk about mental health, and so they felt comfortable reaching out. You know, you gotta break that, you gotta break the seal to let people know that it's okay, you know.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04:

No one wants to definitely a lot of a lot of people don't want to be first.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, I don't think I was first, somebody else went before me. I wasn't weak. No.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, now that you mentioned that, are you okay if I include that part about Volk rehab and and therapy in the podcast? Okay.

SPEAKER_02:

If anybody wants, if I know a lot of people and you know, hey, I'm I'm anir. Reach out to me. I don't care if you don't want to reach out to somebody, reach out, you know, I'll listen. I've been through we all bid through it. There's not I'm not, you know, hey, whatever. Cool, 100%. 100%. Follow up like in the quite little questions you sent. Do a follow-up later.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I'm not going anywhere. We can definitely do a fooie part two.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, love it. Talk about Okinawa next time. More of it.

SPEAKER_01:

So that's what's funny is we kicked that around. We uh we talked about talking about the stuff that shaped a lot of the guys in weapons company, and and I think Okinawa is a big part of the story, and and Blake is chomping at the bit to interview everybody about Okinawa.

SPEAKER_02:

So oh yeah, Okinawa definitely shaped like yeah, that was the first. Uh that one time I I think it was like Kalero and all everybody was like, hey, let's just go out and get uh food, like taco rice one time. And the first time I had uh what is that uh mojo.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh yeah, oh yeah, and uh it was funny.

SPEAKER_02:

And mojo and rainbow shots, and uh it was funny because when we were out there drinking the mojo, uh all the officers showed up and we we drank a couple balls with them, and then like it was like, hey, we should go back in. And uh dude, I stood up, I could barely walk. And I I remember like like deeper going, like, dude, you gotta walk through the gate yourself. I'm like, okay, I made it through the gate and I just fell into the gutter right after.

SPEAKER_01:

Hell yeah. All right, buddy. This has been good. I'll be in touch.

SPEAKER_04:

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