Constant Combat

The First Sergeant - Alphonso Mack

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A man who needs little introduction to the Marines of Weapons Company, Sergeant Major Alphonso Mack joins us to give some of his history as a mortarman and recruit depot First Sergeant... then becomes the First Sergeant who holds Weapons Company 2/4 together before, during and after Ramadi 2004. We talk about trust, standards, grief, and the moments leaders carry for decades after the shooting stops. 

• getting thrown into the first sergeant role at MCRD San Diego
• managing unique unit cultures outside of the infantry
• trading billets to leave MCRD and arriving at 2/4 
• his origins becoming an 81mm mortarman and early leader
• the 110% rule and why being “average” is a choice 
• treating Marines as people by learning their stories
• the family brief promise and how it changes his leadership on later deployments 
• adapting the Weapons Company Mission and fighting for fair promotions during wartime 
• carrying memories of loss, moments of second guessing, and the cost of decisions made under pressure 
• hooch life stories with some humor and hijinks in the COC
• grief after losing his wife and rebuilding through training and routines

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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 

Meet Sergeant Major Mack

SPEAKER_06

So first and foremost, if you don't mind, if you have your name, your rank in 2004, and uh and then just kick right off about where you came from in 2003.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, my name is uh Alfonso C Mac Jr. Uh everybody people always try to figure out what the C stands for, but uh uh to let the cat people always say, hey, well, what the C stands for? I tell everybody what it stands for. It's it's Cadets, C-A-D-E-S. So that's what the C stands for. Everywhere I go, everybody wants to know what the C I be like I have people try that a guess and they come up weird, and nobody never guessed that before. But uh I uh I was in weapons company in 2004. Of course, I of course you know I deployed with you guys to uh Iraq. And and and then subsequently I went back to Iraq two more times and Afghanistan, so that's why I don't like talking about you know too too much combat because it's just too many uh memories, uh uh things that you wanna wanna for forget and I just put put aside, you know. And some people are talking about their combat experience. I don't. But uh I came to uh like I said, it was by a uh flute that I came to two for because I was down in MCRD San Diego. I had got down there in uh I think January of 2000. Yeah, January 2000. I got to MCRD San Diego as a company gunning for uh headquarters company on the support side. And then the uh first sergeant, I think Karninsky left. And a new first sergeant came in, first sergeant Alan came in. He was there for about a month. His wife passed away. Uh proved the same way. My wife passed away uh two years ago. She had a heart a heart attack. And uh then he had a young daughter, and for some reason he requested to leave uh his daughter, and they said, Okay.

Thrown Into First Sergeant Duty

SPEAKER_02

So they were like, Well, Gunny, you will take take over until first sergeant company. I thought, okay. I was thrown in the role from company gunning to first sergeant. So and uh uh when you're going from gunning to first sergeant in the same company, it's not the same because because you know when you the gunny, company gunny, you you like running everything. I mean, then you gotta go to the first sergeant role, now you gotta be the guy to come and comfort everybody. So it was an adjustment of yellow night, you why your room's not clean, and says, hey, how can we make this this better? Well, they you know, they left me there, and I was a gunny for uh I was a first sergeant for uh what like a year and a half, then I got selected to first sergeant. So I said, Well, now I get to leave. So I contacted the monitor and I says, hey, uh you you left me here as the first sergeant and as a gunny, and now I am a first sergeant, so uh where am I going next? He says, Well, going next, you're already in place. I said, No, uh, I've been the first sergeant for almost two years now. He says, Well, you're already on place. I don't I don't need to move you. So instead of moving me, what he did was he moved me from the headquarters company to the support side. When I had headquarters company, I had that the band, band is different. They play instruments, but they uh very possessive. Uh that was the first time I ever had to deal with female Marines when I had the band, and I had uh admin, and I had uh the dispersing guys, and then I had the little bass news supporter guys, and uh uh I can go on and on about the newspaper guys. They can tell some stories and they can make some stories too. But the but the band, they don't like the females dating outside of the band. You ever see the band with a lot of females? They're uh they usually marry to one another. I kept seeing all these names, same names. I said, What if I got the same name? Because they all married to one another. Well, one female showed up and she didn't want to date anybody in the band. She wanted to date everybody else, and and they kept wanting to fight everybody else. And I was like, she can date whoever she wants to date. She doesn't have to date. Well, it's not a tradition. She's a date one of us and dating nobody at all. I said, You guys are crazy. Stupid thing I ever heard of. And then I went over to the they moved me from headquarters company to support company, and then the MPs, them guys are so bad I had to take them out of their cars and I put them on bike. I started, and they still got it going right now with MPs ride bikes down there in MCRD San Diego because they would get drunk, go on duty, slam me to the only been MCRD San Diego, but the airfield is Rat Rat Airport right now.

SPEAKER_04

Oh, yeah. Yeah, that's where we went. Actually, you were you were down there when we went through.

SPEAKER_02

They ran into the gate. I ended up on the on the on the flight line, falling asleep drunk. And then the cooks, for it took me a long time after leave NCRD. They asked to go back to the tower hall and eat because I find out to do. They talk about the grunts of all this. No, until you see what the baker, the MPs, the band, the mechanics and all that do. Hey, the grunt is the best place to be. It is the best place to be. Them cooking straight up freaks, I'm telling you. But but but back to my story, how I got to you, you guys. Well, I see I've been there almost four years, MCRD. I was getting tired, I was getting restless. I got tired of dealing with all that problem. So I called the monitor and I says, hey, I I need to uh move. He said, I don't place to move you. He says, uh, he said, if you won't try to find somebody to trade a spot with you. I said, that's your job. Why might I do your job for you? He's I don't place to move you. So what I did was I went on there and I looked for a whole lot of first sergeants, and I sent out a blanket email to say, hey, I'm at MCRD, I want to change, and I think it's either the same day or the next day. I got a response back.

SPEAKER_03

Huh.

SPEAKER_02

That he wanted to leave. And I said, okay. So I called a monitor and he said, Good job. I said, Yeah, I did your job for you. So I went to 2-4, I checked in with uh Sergeant Booker. I was supposed to go to golf company and be with uh Captain Bronze. When I got there, Booker was like, No, all your weapons company experience, because uh before I before I had um when I was a staff sergeant, I was a platoon sergeant for I started the first captoon in 107. I never had a cap platoon before. Really? Yeah, section chief for the 81s platoon, and it was like, hey, uh Captain Schultz, never forget it. He was a muskang. He says, Hey, I want to start a captoon, and I like the work you're doing over there, the section leader in uh uh 81s, and would you like to start a capitoon? I said, I don't know what a capitune is, it's good. Research it. I need you to debrief me back in a month on how you're gonna make this happen. I said, Well, should you have a lieutenant? He says, No, I want us for you to start it first, and then we'll bring the lieutenant in uh next. And so I started the first captoon.

SPEAKER_06

That's amazing.

SPEAKER_02

My first platoon commander, uh lieutenant, who's now a

Band Drama And MP Problems

SPEAKER_02

uh I think he's uh Major General or maybe uh Lieutenant General now Morris. Oh Redcast. Yeah, and so uh uh yes, him and him and I, we were the first one, the cat captoon. And so uh and Booker looked at all that he said, yeah, I'm gonna put you down in 81s. I mean, I put you in weapons company. I said, Well, I I traded for uh God comes out. I'm I'm gonna send somebody else there. So that's how I ended up being weapons company.

SPEAKER_03

No kidding.

SPEAKER_02

And and ironically. What was your original primary MOS? My primary name was an 8081 Mortimer. Yep. You were an 80. Okay. He's one of you.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Yes. I was an 81, Mortimer. I started at Camp Legend, North Carolina. I went to uh uh Camp Geiger, I was a Geiger Tiger. Uh yes. Israel uh before they had the uh uh what were they called on the SOR and uh we had it's called uh what MCT. Uh I was a guy Geiger Tiger there, and then from uh once I graduated in uh 81, I mean graduated uh school, I went from Jacksonville, North Carolina to Jacksonville, Florida. I was a uh Marine Barracks security, I was on a nuclear base. Oh I did that until I was because I came in a three-year enlistment. I first enlisted with three-year enlistment. I didn't even want to join the Marine Corps at all. I had never had any desire to join the Marine Corps. Matter of fact, I didn't know anything about the Marine Corps. My cousin wanted to go down and join the army. I had a car. He needed someone to drive him to take the test. So I took him down to the army, and and the army uh guy recruited, he kept bugging me and like, hey, you down here, you might as well take the test. So I said, I'd grow my cousin here. I'm not interested in joining the military at all. I have a job. He's like, nah. So I said, if I take the test, will you leave me alone? He said, yes. So I took the test. I passed the test. My cousin failed the test. So now this armed recruiter starts calling me, and I said, I'm not interested. I'm not interested, I'm not interested. And one day I came home from work, my mom was like, Marines call you. Marines? Yeah. They calling me and said, Yeah. He wants to come see you. I said, No. I said, next time they call, get his address and I'll go see him. So I uh he called, I called him back, and then I went down to see him. I was talking to him. I said, No, I ain't interested. He said, we got a four and I think a five-year. I said, nope, I'm not interested. I'm not interested. And he was like, Well, let me talk to my uh uh NCRC, and they come back, which I didn't know then what I know now. He said, We got a three-year plan just for you. Oh, three? He said, You don't have to do four, you can do three. I said, three? I said, three sound interesting. He said, Well, we didn't know if you can pass the test and all that. He said, short tomorrow with some running shoes on and shorts. He never had no running shoes. So I showed up with some basketball um uh sneakers, some Chuck Taylors, right? And he said, You gonna run your nose? And I said, Well, these are the only running shoes I have. He says, Okay, uh, we're gonna run down here, we're gonna run back. You know where I said, Yeah, I was born and raised here, I know what you're talking about. He says, So I'll meet you back here. Okay, I'm gonna see how you do. So I started running. Next thing I know, I kept getting closer to him, right? And I was like, okay. So I run up next to him. I said, sorry, so you don't mean to meet you back there?

SPEAKER_03

He was like, Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

I thought you couldn't run. I was like, Well, I can't. So I ran all the way down there and all the way, and I'm waiting waiting on him. And he was like, Oh, you need to be a Marine. You need to be a Marine. I was like, No, I don't want you. No, you you're gonna be a Marine. You need to be a Marine. You got that fighting spirit right now. I was like, hmm, you know what? If it's three years, I I'll I'll do it. So that's how I got in. I came in thinking I had a plan, and so when I got boot camp, I found out there was like four or five other people that had the three-year plan, too.

SPEAKER_06

I was gonna say, I love that you started with a recruiter tricking you, and then now you're 20 uh what years after.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah. And yeah, well what happened was that uh I came open. I said, so uh well,

Trading Orders To Join 2/4

SPEAKER_02

you you'll get a job once you get in. And didn't know that I could have got a guaranteed job, so I came open. It was like Mac infantry. I said, infantry, yeah, you know you infantry, you infantry. Uh you're gonna be uh 81 Mormon. You big enough to carry them big old twos around, and that's when the base plate was in two, you had two parts of the base plate. Yeah, and then the uh it wasn't the uh the 81 at the time, it was it was the what you call it, the 120. The 81 thing came later. The 120 was bigger, the base plate was two pieces. It took two people to carry the base plate, so we was logging that thing, and we had vehicles. We had the uh old M1 um 5-1 Jeeps that we never rode. They followed us. Oh wow carrying carrying the uh the MRE that just came out. C rats were just phasing the MREs just came in, so they carried all the MRE slash C rats in the water while we carried all that heavy equipment. I never understood why we had eight Jeeps and we never rode in them until I got my Jeep license. And then uh and what's the good thing about the Jeeps is you could wreck them, you take a hammer and you and you go out there and knock the dent out, and you go everywhere you want. And then they came out with the Humvees, and everybody started getting in trouble because people thought they could wreck those and hammering them out and finally made out of fiberglass. So it's so a lot of people started getting uh NJP at the time. And uh that's yeah, that's when uh Captain Kelly, who ended up being, you know, General Kelly, who was uh Trump uh chief of staff, he was my uh um company commander. He was the one that promoted me to uh he he promoted me to uh corporal. Wow. Yes, yes. Matter of fact, uh actually he started out as the uh platoon commander, then he came to come to commander, and then I was his FO. So he promoted me into corporal and all his four reserve officers, but I can tell you all that, getting all that. But yes.

SPEAKER_06

That's a crazy small Marine Corps, man.

SPEAKER_02

That's it, it's it's it's amazing. And also with uh Captain Kelly was uh when his son, his two boys would come up to the company office, since I was the F4, I was always in there, you know, taking out missions and stuff. Uh his kids would come and then he would have me watch his kids while he was having a meeting. And then when I went back and took over to the regiment, his son walks in, uh, who, of course, you know later was killing uh in his kids. Yes. I saw he was like, hey, you remember me? I was like, no, you used to babysit me when you were uh young Marine. So my my dad, younger Keller, better than he was Captain Kelly. I was like, what? It's a small world, yeah. It's a small world.

SPEAKER_04

Very small.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. But I got like I said, but um that's a part of my story.

SPEAKER_04

That's uh well, and I find it very inter We've we've talked a couple times about the very unique makeup of uh what in particular weapons company 2-4 of just the sort of crazy perfect uh grouping of of Marines that had these very unique uh backgrounds and skills that allowed us to do what we did in in Ramadi in that we it was so new. And so I find it I find it very interesting. Your background in this larger story, like talk about a perfect uh person to come in to help out with some of that baseline stuff.

SPEAKER_02

Yes, like I got like I said, I had plenty of experience with a mortal. I would I I did everything in a mortal platoon that you you could do. I started out as an FO. I ran the FTC when I was uh in uh LAVs, it was LAVs then, and then we became L A R. I had a gunny uh uh uh Sterling. He said, you know what, I I like you. So he taught me stuff that only when I was a corporal on the staff and COs new. So when I left Camp Lejeune to go to uh I was tired of being on the East Coast and I requested orders, and it's the only thing we got open is there's a new platoon that's just starting at 29 Province, California, the LAVs, they're gonna be shooting mortars off of uh uh off of a vehicle. And I was like, I don't know where it is, but I want to go. That's how much I hated Camp LeJune. I can I can go probably years fucking how much I hated Camp LeJune. Is there anybody on here from Camp LeJune that don't like me because of this? Too bad. I hated Camp Lejeune. I never I never went back when I when I saw Camp Legune in the back of my head, but it's at the back of my foot head, the last thing they saw of me, I'd never been back to Camp LeJune. I left there in 1988 and never set foot there again. Never went for school. I had a chance to go there for school. I said, Nope, send me any place else. Uh-uh.

SPEAKER_04

Underlying period.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. Never been back. Don't even care to see Camp Legune ever again. Well anyway, I I came to uh 29 Palms, didn't know where I was going. I bought me, I bought a brand new car, brand new Honda. I didn't want to break down. I ended up back at Camp Legunes, a true story. I bought a brand new Honda Honda Court. I drove all the way from Camp Legunes to 29 Palms. And uh I got the 29 Palms in the dark. So I didn't know what I was seeing. Next morning I got up and I was like, where am I and what is this place? There was nothing there. Nothing there. Then I figured out why they called it 29 Palm. It's a 29 Palm tree that are downtown with a little downtown. Well, it's kind of big now, the downtown. But that was it, because there was nothing else there. Yep. I got to uh LAV, there was a brand new unit. They only had uh two officers there who was the uh the CEO and the uh um uh what the the three officers, they had no exiles, none of the toon commanders uh were officers because it was a brand new unit. No officer wanted to go there because they thought it was a career ending. So we all were enlisted. And um the gunny uh who was the tomb commander, and he also ran the FTC and all that. And I got there and I was like, well, you know, I can do that and never black, and all the sergeants, because I was a corporal. Well, I was actually a sergeant, but I didn't even know it because back then you uh when you got promoted, it took a few months to catch up with you. And so when I left Captain June and went to uh 29 Pump, that took actually took seven months to catch up with me before I sick, before they knew I was a sergeant. Oh yeah, that's the truth. So, but uh the uh the all the sergeants you don't you don't know that now I I that's not even a real corporal zone. I said I can run that flight boy, you know, I can set up the the

Recruiter Hustle And Mortarman Life

SPEAKER_02

fire zone and all that, and and Gunny Dell was like what show me. I started doing this, how you know all that? I said, because I had a gunny that taught me how to do all this. So I took over as a corporal, I took over running the FDC, which is the senior position in the company, uh in 81, and all the sergeants was on the line, and they hated it. And then when they figured out, when they found out I was a sergeant, and that I was actually senior to all of them but but one of them, they they hated that. My rank, it took seven months to catch up with me with all the back pay and all that. But yeah, I uh and so I've always thought that if you're gonna do something, I and and and I tell my kids that if you're gonna do something, you do it 110%. Because everybody next to you is gonna do it 100%. For you to be seen, you gotta be 10% better. Or if not, then you do you the average. No matter how big you are, like my son plays football, that's just hey, remember, you the star here. When you get to college, all the other kids there are stars too. So remember, you just an average joke. If you don't put 110% in what you do, then you're just gonna be that average guy. And if you want to sell for average, then go ahead. But my whole life, I never wanted to sell it for for average. That's why I try to know as much as about. Marines as I could no. That's why I ran around. I talked to every everybody, I asked a little bit about myself, and I try to remember something something uh about that. I know you guys are it's funny.

SPEAKER_06

No, it's funny you say that because that's exactly what me and Blake talked about this before we ever talked to you, and we've talked to other Marines who've come on this podcast. It seemed like you were you magically always knew things about everybody and you knew when to show up. It's it's an impressive talent. And I'm I'm actually very curious to hear kind of how you did that because it's I mean, you're talking about keeping 150 people's stories straight or so. It's uh you're really good at it though.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, it it it was just it was a trait that uh that I just learned, I picked up on, and I never looked at people, and I spent my my whole life and I grew up in the in the in the south, and my cousins, you know, they couldn't uh understand. But I never looked at people at the color of their skin. I looked at people in the uh the way that they look back at at you or the way they talk back to you, and then there's something about that person that I I could feel that you know that hey, you know, this person is not bad. And if the person was bad, I said, Well, I'm gonna find out what's good about this person. What's making everybody not not want to deal with it this person? Because everybody know how know how bad they are, they all got a good side to them. They they do. And my my thing is that if you talk to people, they talk back. But if you talk at people, this ear and not the other. It's like drill instructors. They talk at you in the ear and out there, you know, and you're gonna be done in a couple of minutes if I'm done with you. But if you talk to people, they'll talk back back to you. And sometimes people take or tell tell you something that you like, whoa. Because I remember uh uh I don't know if he on here or he's gonna remember uh the redhead kid, I think his name was Sergeant Kelly. The redhead kid he he worked in the uh up at up in uh in the office with us. And I was talking to him one day and we were in uh in uh in Iraq, and they're probably the only uh Iraq story, but I was like, hey, uh, because I remember when I had pulled him back, uh, that's the day that I almost got shot, because I was telling him he's in the wrong position, and I went to pull him back, and I went to pull him back three rounds landing right where I was, and basically he pretty saved my life him being in the wrong position, because if I had moved, somebody had sighted in on me three rounds landing right where I was standing and scared the heck out of me. But after that, you know, I started talking to Sutton Kelly, and I said, Hey, you know, how's your family done? How's your mom done? Have they heard from you? And he was like, Well, if I ever see my mom, get my pull bullet in the head. Whoa, devil dog, where did that come from? And he started going through this whole story, and I said, No matter how bad you feel about your parents, but one thing you gotta uh understand is that they gave you life. They could have chose, they could have chose not to. So I don't know what your mom did to you, but she still gave you life. And and and you got kissed, and you need to let let you kiss, get to know her, and make their own decisions too. So I don't know if you ever took my advice, but that always stuck with me. And I always think about that all the time. What would make a kid really want to say they like put a bullet in their parents' head? Oh, anyway. That's my honor.

SPEAKER_06

That was uh Kellogg, not Kelly, but Kellogg. Yeah, when you said redheaded, I was like, Oh, that was Kellogg, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

I know, I I know his name started with a with a with a cat.

SPEAKER_06

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Man, I haven't thought about him in a lot of years either. I haven't talked to him in a lot of years.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah. I that's that has always struck me that that he said that. Uh that that just blew me me away. I mean, yeah. That's crazy. But anyway.

SPEAKER_06

Just more general. Oh, go ahead, but you're gonna go.

SPEAKER_04

Well, I was just I was just gonna say that just just to kind of press on what Nylan was saying there too, is that if you I I I forget exactly when you landed with us um prior to coming in, but us jumping over to Iraq. But it was it was incorrect because then Nylan and I left in December. So we were only with you for, you know, not maybe a little bit over a year. But the uh your ability to make sure everybody felt seen was uh out of this out of this world. And it's very interesting to hear your why you how you went about that process. Did you feel like did you feel like that was an easy process when you first got to us to to get info into all of us?

SPEAKER_02

I I got to you got three months before we deployed. Oh wow. I got yeah, I got that three months before you guys were, but I knew that I had to work because it was uh to get to know everybody and to make it everybody feel because I know what where we were going and what we was going into. Um, but I had to make sure that everybody was comfortable, you know, that everybody felt safe. But the one thing that I did uh that that has haunted me to this day, and uh is when we had the family uh meeting, you know, and all the the family day before we left, I stood there and I told everybody, all the family, the mom, the dad, uh, you know, the wives, the kids, uh that we're gonna bring everybody back, I promise. And that was a lie. And so I said I would never do that again. And it and it was a lie. So but you know, it it it was you make you make mistakes, and I think that was the accident was the biggest mistake I ever made in the Marine Corps. That was my biggest mistake. That's what I think was my biggest mistake, because I made a promise that we bring everybody back. I mean, you can't make a promise like that.

SPEAKER_06

Just in my current position, uh, I hear those stories a lot. You know, a doctor will go in and tell tell somebody the same thing. Oh, we're we'll take care of your mom, she's gonna be okay, and then things happen, right? You there's no way you could have known, right? That's even knowing what we were doing, there's no way you could have known it was gonna be the way it was. So I I'm it's unfortunate, but it's uh I don't know that that's necessarily your mistake.

SPEAKER_02

But I learned from that, because I told you I I went back two more times at Iraq and then I went to Afghanistan. So but I always made sure that I never stood there and and said that.

SPEAKER_06

That's good.

SPEAKER_02

I always said that that I will support your Marine and your sailor the best of my my ability. But I never stood there and said I was gonna bring in, I'm gonna bring everybody back because I learned you're not gonna do it.

SPEAKER_04

What do you remember of some of that? You know, those you were getting to know everybody, but uh some of the stuff that we've talked about in the past is there was a decision when we were going over that we were going to perform very differently as a weapons company than historically as we had before, because you know, we're gonna be a quick reaction force, etc.

SPEAKER_02

Um because we couldn't get Farcat.

SPEAKER_04

And so it like can you what what do you remember of some of those early conversations and and whatnot of like how we were preparing ourselves and what we what you were hearing, even of what we were gonna have to do?

SPEAKER_02

Well, uh at first they thought uh when he first went in, they thought that we actually could be able to shoot the 81 um mortars and and all that, and then they figured out well, there's no way that we were gonna be able to do through that. The mission for for for you guys, you know, and like the 51s and all that, you guys were the 31s are gonna be fine. It's the 80s the 81s

Building New Units And 110%

SPEAKER_02

were gonna sit and have anything to do. So they came up, well, why don't we just change the whole concept? And with you know that uh 2-4 was the first one to start start started that.

SPEAKER_04

Yes, oh yeah. No, we're yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. And you know, so well, like I said, I've been uh privilege to be a part of uh a lot of first, you know. Uh first, you know, I started first Captoon in one one seven, and that with the first mobile assault company with with two two fours, so you know, so I'm arm and privilege, you know, have had a chance to actually uh work with some some some strong uh war fighters. And like I was the first one to actually, and everybody fought me on this to promote all our guys are overweight. I'm like, uh, you got guys over here that get shot at every every day, uh putting their life on the on the line. So you want me to walk in there and say, hey, you can't get promoted because you are overweight. I'm not going gonna do it. If you're gonna take the rank back, once we get back to Camp Johnson, you you can do it. But I'm promoting every last one of those Marines. If they're over here fighting, they're getting promoted. And that's why all those guys that were over there are overweight, they all got promoted. Because there's no way I was gonna tell you, you know what, we want you to go out there and get a chance to use down there, but but uh but I don't want you to wear another another another rank. Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope. I promoted every last one of them. I certainly did.

SPEAKER_06

That's that's crazy. I I had I didn't even think about it. I wouldn't even think, well, number one, I was skinny as hell, but uh I uh I never would have thought about having to enforce the standards so strictly that if you can do the job that you wouldn't be able to be promoted. That's uh that's interesting that you even had to deal with that. Was there any was there any other restrictions that were that things you had to push back on like that?

SPEAKER_02

Uh uh, you remember the crazy Marine that we had that didn't want to leave the um gate, the sergeant? Yes. Yeah, yeah. They were trying to um I was mad, and I don't know if Sergeant Millie Booker was gonna be on here, but I was mad that they kept him in the year the cinema, the echo company. I thought he should have left country. I thought he should have left country. And let me tell you why he should have left country, because the day that uh uh Savage was was was killed. And uh uh once we got Savage over to Snick Pit and all that, we we went went back out. And that idiot whose name I should never call again was trying to shoot me. That's how much he hated me. Which I didn't never thought. Wow. Yeah, I wanted him to be out of the out of the country. And for some reason, they thought better sending him over to the Echo Company and they were putting him in there was uh was the best thing to do. I'm walking along, we trying to uh get everybody all set up, and then you get that aha feeling, and I look, and he was aiming right at me, and I was like, Are you trying to shoot me? No, no, yes, you were. If you're gonna do it, do it. I'll give you one chance for one shot, and that's all you're gonna get. One chance. So if you're gonna do it, do it. And I just started losing my mind. I said, I can't believe that you're still here. I I can't I can't believe you you you you still here. Yes. Yeah, but that the other that was one of the moments that I that I thought I really wanted him gone. I really wanted him out, all out of car. I thought he was bad. He was bad. And he went over to the echo company, he was worse than when he was with us. Yep. And and and the food actually was sweating in on me, and I told him to go ahead and do it. If you're gonna do it, do it. You get one shot, and that that that's it. And then when he freaking floored, I went on and snatched the weapon out of his hand, I was gonna hit him with it, but somebody grabbed me. But um, yeah.

SPEAKER_04

That's yeah, he was uh he was actually in my platoon. Yeah, he was in splide hammer, he was in splice hammer.

SPEAKER_02

I refuse to ever use his name again. I refuse.

SPEAKER_04

No, I know who I we we yeah, I know who you're talking about. Yeah. I'll say it for you. No, he was he was something else. He refused to well he malingered the entire time, too. I mean, he just refused to bad news.

SPEAKER_06

On the flip side of that, do you remember anybody who uh who kind of impressed you while we were around? I mean, you know, you don't even have to get into specific stories, but anybody that kind of stood out to you, even on the officer side or uh your fellow staff NCOs?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I thought uh I I thought the two fellow staff ECOs that really did uh a good job was uh Cook, you know, and then he you know he did Sormit and uh and Gunny from uh uh uh Machine Gunner.

SPEAKER_06

From map three?

SPEAKER_02

Uh Gunny Crutcher? Crutcher, yeah, crutcher. Both of them end up being um so sergeant, too. Uh Coleman, Coleman was wild. Uh you know, bless his soul. Now he's I had many conversations with uh with with Coleman. I mean, you know, Coleman, you can't do that. He had his well, well, that's why I get my okay. You can't do that. You can't do that, Marine. You know, he he was wild. He will he was a warfighter, but uh uh Coleman's style would have probably been good in Vietnam, you know. He was uh his his his wild his his warfighting style was uh he could have got a bit all that in Vietnam, but you know, when it coming up to more with our right, he was a little bit, I'd be like, nah, you can't do that.

SPEAKER_01

I'd say so.

SPEAKER_06

Yeah, he he was my platoon sergeant. He was fantastic and absolutely led from the front as far as that goes. But even junior to him, because I was his sergeant, there's plenty of times I had to be like staff sergeant. I don't think we could do that.

SPEAKER_02

And and uh I have plenty, yeah, plenty of conversations that you you guys didn't know about, plenty of conversations.

SPEAKER_01

No, no, no, no.

SPEAKER_02

Let me let me tell you why you can't do that. But uh uh one of the uh officers uh actually got us into a fire fight we shouldn't have got gotten into. That's the day we lost Savage. Uh we went to drop off the generators, right? And uh so we had dropped the generator all we were going back and not gonna call also the name. And he was like, Well, why don't we go through the Sophia area? And I remember I told the CEO, I was like, uh I don't think we should do that. He's like, Oh, that'd be okay. I said, No, we don't have enough enough vehicles here. He said, We'll just roll through this. And I'm like, no, I don't think we should go. He's come on first sergeant, we l let's go. And I already know the decision had already been been made up. So we started riding through the sub Sophia area, and uh I could feel my butt cheek is clenching because I just knew it and I told Trio, I said, hey, keep an eye out, all right? And uh all of a sudden we heard boom, it got black, and then I remember I was uh checking myself, and then I jumped out of the vehicle and they were yelling, Press Aren't get back here, it's not all clear, and I was like, the heck was that? And I'm I'm running, I ran up there, and uh it was Regispers, Sergeant Garcia, Dark, Savage, and they were all, and I looked over, and there was there were three uh like 155 rounds that were they changed, two of them blew, and the one next to our vehicle didn't blow.

SPEAKER_03

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_02

It didn't blow at all, it didn't go off. And I know we grabbed uh so I started grabbing everybody

Knowing Every Marine By Name

SPEAKER_02

up that was injured, including the vehicle. We laid savage in the back of the vehicle, and there was so much blood, and I looked and noticed that uh his uh his back connected to his uh lower extremity was just blown in half. On the part was connected with the front part. And I remember I kept uh calling by his first name, uh Jeremiah, you're gonna make this Jeremiah, you're gonna make this hang in. But I could see he was turning white as pale. And uh and the air was just leaving his body, and I kept trying to talk to him. I'm yelling that Trihill to drive me in the back of the vehicle. We had that Kevlar. Remember that Kevlar populated that? I was sliding on that from all the blood that was uh trying to hold. I don't know how my toes gripped that vehicle from the inside, trying to fall in. Uh Regasbury got blood coming to the face, Soring Garcia. Uh Doc was hurting. It was um was it Fernandez, I think was her. He couldn't hear. He was Fernandez, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, he could he couldn't hear. And then we got over to uh Snake Pit and it took Savage in, and I was talking to her, or talking to him, and then next thing I know, uh uh they pulled out the life support, but I know he was gone. I knew he was he was gone. But uh I uh I thought maybe I should have fought harder. They said, no, we are not going. It is not safe, it is not safe, it is not safe. And you know, as you get older, you start look looking back at things that you should have done, things that you should. I thought maybe I should have stood up more and it demanded more with not going through there. Um, but yeah, because I did I myself didn't think that we had enough firepower to to go in there. I really didn't. I really didn't. I thought we were just supposed to go and drop off them generators and go back, and everything went smooth with the gym generators, and next thing I know, that uh there we were. There we were.

SPEAKER_06

I mean that's that old saying, right? The enemy gets a vote, and uh uh unfortunately, and that I think we all have at least one or two of those moments where you're like, I wish I would have said something. And uh we've recounted uh one from almost everybody, I think.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. God knows I have mine. I saw I uh Worth's when Worth got hit with uh vehicle the bicycle, man. I I I our second time around when I saw it, I didn't say something the first time, didn't say it the second time like I wanted to, and pop.

SPEAKER_02

It's a hard uh I remember when I came up and we took Wart to the hospital, and I remember uh I forgot which doctor wanted to pull it out of his eye, and I was like, No, you can't pull that out. He was just talking. I said, it's gotta stay in. And when we we got him over to medical, it was a good thing you didn't pull pull that out, you would have done all kind of damage. I said, Well, I knew that, but the corner wanted to pull pull out. Out. You know, but he he you know he he didn't know he was doing his metaphor, which I thought he knew. But I knew that he shouldn't have pulled. There was no no way.

SPEAKER_04

No. Although Wharf lost his eye, I mean that was I also a lucky hit too because that could have killed that really should have killed him. But absolutely somehow it didn't.

SPEAKER_02

Whoever thought you put an ID in a in a bicycle frame.

SPEAKER_04

Right. Yeah. No, those are those are heavy loads. It's always easy to quarterback at afterwards and you know. But do appreciate all of your uh you being out there. You uh definitely helped create a lot of calm. And there's there's been a couple stories about it wasn't it it didn't problems didn't exist for very long once once you uh once you knew that there was uh some uh friction, uh especially when there was friction when it had to deal with uh people having unreasonable expectations of combat Marines and in uh in non-combat areas, i.e. going to chow halls while dirty after a firefight. Oh yeah. I know you want to bat for us over time.

SPEAKER_02

Oh yes. I always did. I was like, if you're gonna mess with a Marine, you mess with me first. Leave my Marines alone. I've all I've always believed in that. If you're gonna mess with anybody, come to me. Leave my Marines alone. If not, you're gonna have a problem. Those are my Marines. I'm the one that swagged to protect them. And I went to bat quite a few times, and I had no problem going toe-to-toe with any anybody.

SPEAKER_06

I'm actually very curious. So you had at least a handful of very big personalities you were sleeping right next to in that company office. I mean, between Gunny Mararaki and Captain Wyler and the XO and Staff Sergeant Rapazzo, I I'd be I'm interested. Did you have like a did you feel like you had a good relationship in that hooch?

SPEAKER_02

That that had to been that had to be in tight quarters. Uh Rapazzo had a problem with his boots. You know, I you know I you know I served with Rapazzo twice.

SPEAKER_06

I wasn't looking for you to shit talk anybody. I was just interested.

SPEAKER_02

You know, Rapazo wants my Lance Cope for Rapazzo.

SPEAKER_06

I had no idea. And this entertains me very deeply because he got it. He was a sergeant my material. No, no, I had no idea.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I had Rapazzo back when uh first captain. Uh huh. One seven. He was Lance Copa Rapazo. And he was a problem, he was a problem child. And uh so when I left um 17, and he he's one of those rings, and yeah, I was like, there ain't no way this ring he's gonna be in. And he he just didn't meet the standards, and so he always knew. So I he was always non-reck for for NCO. So I don't know what happened. I go and I come back and I show up in uh uh 2-4 and there's stats on Rapaldo. I was like, you still in? I was shocked, but um yeah, Rapaldo would not take his boots off at all. And to the point that um we, I don't know if you guys knew, we ordered him a set of boots because I was afraid that his feet were gonna be jungle rot. It's that they that his his feet smelled through his his boots, so we got him another set of boots.

SPEAKER_06

That's a very verpazo story, actually. Yeah, that's later.

SPEAKER_02

They used to call him uh when he was in one sub, they called him Joey Butafouco. Uh so you could you can look up Joey Butafouco. Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_06

I I I remember Joey Butafouco.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, that's what that's what the Marines called him mean uh in one sub Joey Butterfluco. Yes, but um yeah, Rapaldo, yeah, went I I have more history with Rapaldo than anybody else in that company because like I said, he was once

Ramadi Shift And Fighting For Promotions

SPEAKER_02

my Lance Corporal.

SPEAKER_06

Well, so now to be honest, you're putting some pieces together because he was a really good machine gunner and he understood the cat concept really well, and now I know why, because you guys invented it. He was there when you invented it. So that's that's that's actually really interesting to me.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, we used to have when I was in one seven, we would have I used to have them um because we're gonna do this, you're gonna know that weapon system in inside out. So I used to make them uh blindfold, and we would do drills every day, uh breaking the guns off, and then not only did they I did it too, and I could beat most of them, and I was uh uh a morteman, yeah. But it didn't know I was secretly practicing on the on the side.

SPEAKER_06

Well yeah, that's how it works.

SPEAKER_02

But they can never understand what a step so I was always beating them, but yeah, and the and the toe, and I used to make the uh you know the the toe system wasn't supposed to be manpacked, but uh we're gonna run this capital. I used to make them haul that that whole toes and so we nobody hunts the toe. Well, you are now, and so all the toes and all that, they all carry uh the mortars carry the twos and all that, the machine guns carry the 50 cal and all that, and the toad, and guys, they had to figure out how to manpack that uh that toast system. So I made them very proficient in everything they that that they did. I was gonna put dual cap and we were gonna do it, do it right.

SPEAKER_04

So that was sight weighs like a what 70 pounds or whatever.

SPEAKER_06

Yeah, and and then you got the whole uh missile the missile guidance set is 65 pounds, yeah. And uh Jesus.

SPEAKER_02

I had to comman pack that. So we we were go on on hikes carrying that. Yeah, they did.

SPEAKER_06

Yeah, you and uh Gunny Muraki are of the same mind because when he came and took when he was staff sergeant maraki and he took over Cat Platoon, that was his feeling as well. And we hiked that thing everywhere. Oh, I hated it.

SPEAKER_02

I hiked it everywhere.

SPEAKER_06

That's great. Well, kind of fast forwarding a little bit, uh not too much, but how did you pass your time? I mean, I know you were busy literally all the time, but did you did you read books while we were over there? Did you watch TV? Did you play cards with anybody? What what did you do when you had a few minutes to yourself?

SPEAKER_02

I've never been a much of a card player. I uh I I actually uh would would keep notes. I started um writing like a a journal, but uh I I think I stopped writing in it when uh Conley passed away. Sorry, Conley passed away. But I was keeping a daily journal. Really? Uh yeah, some of the stuff that I would do. So I was sitting writing some of the uh some of the stuff was quite funny. Like uh I'll tell you the the reposo story because this just this is funny. Uh but that I didn't write about because that happened afterwards. But uh when we were doing the turnover, I think was it one one five came through the turnover?

SPEAKER_06

What two five was our replacement?

SPEAKER_02

Two five came through the turnover with us, and uh we were doing the left seat, right C, and we were sitting at a table with myself, Gunny Cook, Rapazo, and Rapazo's uh uh right seat drive. Got it right. I forgot his name because he ended up uh we after we left, he ended up getting blown. He lost his leg. Anyway, well, they were talking about uh the story of uh this bar called Big Helen. Yeah, yeah, yes, never been there, but I heard so much about Big Helen, and uh probably said, Yeah, I've seen you for seen you before too. Yeah, or you go out, well I'll go hang out at Big Helen. He's I hang out at Big Helen too. And then the guy was like, uh Stephanie was like, Yeah, my girlfriend works at Big Helen, and Refrau says, So does my my girlfriend, she works there too. So at that time, Gunny Cook and I, we looked at one another because we figured out what was going on, and they started talking and started describing, but neither one of them put two and two together, right? It was the same woman, right? And so they was like, Wait a minute, I got a picture. So they both get up from the table, go get a picture, right? Gunny Cook was like, first sorry, how long are you gonna let this happen? I said, I'm gonna see how long this is gonna play out. And Cook was like, you know, that's the same woman. I said, I kind of figure it is, but I just want to make sure he was like, I can't stay here any longer. So Cook gets up and walk, walk away, right? So they come back with this picture. It was the exact same pose. The same woman, both of them on on a Harley. I think Rapaldo had on a black flannel shirt, right? And then he had on a red flannel shirt. She on the back of the motor side, the same pose with both of them. She picked the same guy, right?

SPEAKER_01

And then look, he's like, We doing my girlfriend, we doing my girlfriend, and he and Frother said, wait, where you live? So he gives her father, and he's like, That's my place. She moves him in after Father leaves.

SPEAKER_06

I I almost feel bad for laughing because that's that's terrible, that's hilarious.

SPEAKER_02

And I was like, Can we call it? Yeah, you know I'm crazy, but go ahead. So I authorized the the the the call. And it's well, you need to pick who you're gonna pick. And she picked the other guy. Oh, that's rough. Oh, he's all man. I was like, hey, it's best you know now, then you you you get get get home. Then I asked him, I said, What's that your shirt he

Loss Regret And Hard Lessons

SPEAKER_02

was wearing? He said, No, it's not my it looked like the same shirt, right? So long story sh long story short is when after he left a few months later. I can't remember the stats on that. Well, he got they got hit with an IED and he lost his leg.

SPEAKER_06

I do remember the story of him losing his leg.

SPEAKER_02

I did not remember it was the same guy for she went back to Rapazo. Oh, oh jeez. And I I I I'm not mistaken, I think they're still married to today. Because last time I talked to Rapazo, he was out at Trina and Pond, he was working at the he got working on a civilian out there, and they were together. Because I asked us what happened to the girl on the motorcycle. Oh, we got married.

SPEAKER_01

I don't know if she went at the pause because he lost his leg and he because he had two legs now.

SPEAKER_02

I don't know, but yes, that's that is that is that's a true story.

SPEAKER_01

Yes.

SPEAKER_06

I don't know if you could top that story. Sorry, Major. That's uh that that was pretty good.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, well, who is that the guy you doing the left sea right seat with? Is actually the guy doing a lefty right week seat with your girlfriend. Oh that's pretty good. They were wearing the same shirt but different color. That's pretty good.

SPEAKER_06

Do you still uh you said you talked to Raponzo not too long ago, and he was at the reunion. Um, so you probably saw him at that point. Uh, do you keep up with anybody else from 2004?

SPEAKER_02

Uh no. McCloud used to call me and then I stopped hearing from him, and then I found out that he had uh uh committed suicide. That shocked me.

SPEAKER_04

No, he did not commit suicide.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, somebody told me he did.

SPEAKER_04

No, uh I was I was I was friends with him at the time. Uh we actually lived really close to one another. We'd hang out. Uh he was taking um he was having trouble with the VA. Uh he had back problems. And uh he was ending, he was using um he was getting drugs from the street to help out with his back problems. And he went home for a stretch and ran out of his supply from back from living in like the DC area, and he got something back home that was that had it was too it was too much. And so it was a drug overdose. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

But it but it but it was because he got basically hot shot and because he didn't know because it was a different supplier, and so it that was not that was not that was not suicide, that was medical that was more of a medical issue than yeah, he would always call me, he would call me in the middle of the night, and we would just talk and talk and talk, and then I could stop hearing from him and I said went to McCloud. And I the number and then his number was changed to disconnect itself, and then I couldn't find out, and then I finally was able to contact somebody, I forgot who it was. Was it Trujillo? It might it was Trujillo who might told me what what what happened to him.

SPEAKER_06

They were close, yeah. That makes sense.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I used to I used to keep in contact with Trujillo all the time, too. Yeah, because he he was my my driver. He was a I called Trujillo my my protector.

SPEAKER_06

That's good. Far as I know, he's doing well. I think he was he was talking about getting into politics, and then he said no.

SPEAKER_02

He was running for for office at one time.

SPEAKER_06

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's good. Keep in touch with anybody else, like uh any uh like Captain Wyler or or well now General Wyler or uh Yeah, I do.

SPEAKER_02

He's over in uh Europe right now. He told me that he's he's hoping coming back to Camp Region. I told him that'd be the only reason I go back to Camp Regime to come visit visiting them.

SPEAKER_06

That's nice.

SPEAKER_02

The only reason why I go back to Camp Regime. Yeah, but yeah, I stay, yeah, him and I we we we stay in contact.

SPEAKER_06

That's good. That's good to hear.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, he he was the uh the assistant uh uh CG for the for the division before he left.

SPEAKER_06

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I don't know what role he'll be taking uh in Camp Lejeune, but it sounded like he was he was very involved in the European command and and uh that's good. It's good they're keeping him busy, and it sounds like he's gonna be in for another few years.

SPEAKER_00

So yeah. But what about you? Do you you marry, you got kids or what?

SPEAKER_06

Me?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06

I uh we taught we uh we did talk about this on the phone. I try not to make these too much about myself, but uh yeah, I am married, have been married to the same woman that I was married to back then. Uh we've been married 27 years this year, and I've got two boys. Uh one teenager, one almost teenager.

SPEAKER_02

Okay.

SPEAKER_06

Yep. Doing pretty good. Okay, no complaints.

SPEAKER_02

Well, both of you guys look look look good. It's good, good seeing your uh your your faces and all it it it's always good to see um people know I've been in so many different different units, and and it's all always good to to talk to Marines and find out what's going on with with them and and all that. And I'm glad you guys wanted to talk to me because you know, like I said, I'm I'm an old guy, I'm just trucking along, you know.

SPEAKER_06

So well, actually, that's uh I'm actually really curious. How how old are you, Sergeant Major? I'm 65 now. Okay. Well, so yeah, so you were you were very senior.

SPEAKER_02

You were probably you might have been part of this, yeah.

SPEAKER_06

As I say, you might have been the oldest person in the company at uh in 2004, then you were in your 40s, huh?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yes, I was. Remember, I had already been in Rink almost uh 20 years before I came to you guys. So yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_06

Man. Well that that's also extreme. You did not look in your 40s, and because I'm in my forties now, I don't think I looked as good as you did in your 40s. So that's good. You aged well.

SPEAKER_00

Nah.

SPEAKER_02

I still work out uh five days a week.

SPEAKER_06

So yeah, so we all had rumors about uh we were curious about we thought we had rumors that you were on the Marine Corps weightlifting team. We had uh all kinds of stuff, how you got so big, because you're the biggest human being I think any of us had ever seen.

SPEAKER_02

No, I'll tell you the story how I started listening. I used to be uh a runner of the Marines. I used to be like real fast. Remember, I told you I thought a uh recruiter like me because I could run in them Chuck Taylor. So I used to like run, run, run, and run. And then when I went on recruiting duty in Hollywood, I was up at Santa Monica College doing a career day, and this young girl walked up to me and she was like, you know what, you got a big head and a small body. Because I was real, you know, because I was a runner. I was sure. I'm like, what? Yeah, you got a big head. Your head don't fit your body. And everything I know, everybody was laughing. I was like, you know what? This is the last time somebody's gonna embarrass me. So I went, this is a true story. I went and uh got me a muscle fitness magazine, right? And I started reading up on it. They had Lee Haney and Doran Yates and all them old body goals in there. So I said, you know, I'm gonna do let them go, I'm gonna follow them. So I started following Doran Yates' diet. I started eating all those eggs and apples and all that, and the sweet potatoes and the uh and the broccoli and the steak and the chicken breasts. And I think

Hooch Life And The Big Helen Twist

SPEAKER_02

I ate like 24 bald eggs within uh like a two, four-hour period and all that until I almost had food poison. I was laying on the floor in my apartment. I remember because I was a recruiter. My buddy came over. He was like, Matt, what's wrong with you? I think I ate too much.

SPEAKER_01

He says, What? I said, I've been following that. He was like, You still fool them guys on steroids, they don't eat that, that's just for the magazine.

SPEAKER_02

But that would determined me is that to start working on my body. So I started reading up on uh fitness stuff and and figuring out how to uh train your body. And and it's so that uh that's what's what I did. So that's why, and then also to train your body, you still gotta also be able to keep up, you know, the running and and all that. And so, yeah, so that's what I did. Uh well I I trained my body. But now that I'm older, I realize now I don't have to carry all that weight and stuff. So now I just I ride and I uh do the uh the bike uh three times a week. But when my wife passed away uh two years ago, two years ago, um Tuesday, Tuesday was a two year mark. I I fell off the wagon. I had gained so much weight because I just I lost all my energy because I lost my you know, like my wife, she was my my best friend. And I realized, you know what, I need to pick myself up, clean myself, because she'd have been on me like, what are you doing? You know, so I got back into the uh uh training again and within uh what's been about eight months now I think I've lost over sixty pounds in the last eight eight months.

SPEAKER_06

Holy cow wow good for you how long were you married?

SPEAKER_02

We've been married for almost 32 years. Jeez that's almost unheard of yeah and when we met we didn't like one another at all well I didn't think she liked like me but come to find out she liked me but I I didn't even know it. But uh yeah we we got argument she signed me up for the gym and I was rushing her she threw the pen to me and I signed the contract and I threw the pen back back at her and walked into a glass door on the way out and that's that's a that's a great origin story right there. Yeah but yeah but but but yeah so but well I'm very sorry for your loss that's uh 32 years that's the other half of you damn near that's uh that's a lot to lose yeah well sergeant major let's put a we'll put a little cap on this since we're getting there and you've got places to be and and uh oh I'm retired I got no place to be when I say I'm I'm retired retired I just got a uh two o'clock I'm going to a uh a track meet good all right but other than that you know when you retire you try to find things to do so that's good well looking back on all this stuff 20 I mean now 22 years later uh what does it mean to you uh to haven't been part of weapons company in 2004 and that unique deployment and what do you tell people if anything I wouldn't you know I wouldn't change a thing uh I wouldn't change a thing at all I thought that we had some real good war fighters I mean I I hated uh uh I didn't understand what the lieutenant was doing when he but then I realized that he was he was trying to keep them safe you know because they wasn't in as many skirmishes as uh as the 81s and and the board but I realized what he was doing but I knew the Marines were upset uh 'cause they figured he was trying to uh avoid the s situation but I knew he was trying to keep keep them the Marines safe. But I wouldn't change the thing. But it we have we had we had some I mean and I've been back in I went back and commented three times I after that. But no other uh company that I that I've been in and I've been in a lot a lot of that had that warrior mentality and who truly truly cared about one another and that's what I uh I like I really did like and you guys for me just get getting there you guys you know I I showing up you know Johnny come late because because most of most of your workup had already been done but you guys welcomed me in the in there and I was like hey I like this because usually when when usually when you johnny come later oh you kind of after we done did everything now you're gonna show up but you know it was good.

SPEAKER_06

I'll tell you I I didn't have any problems with our previous first sordan at all um I know other people did but your styles could not be more opposite I I don't think I had six word six personal words in any way with our previous first sordon it was the opposite with you. Anytime we had a conversation again I think Blake used the perfect term you felt seen you felt like you you were talking to somebody who actually gave a shit and it was it was appreciated. It's appreciated now even 22 years later it's still appreciated.

SPEAKER_02

You guys always get up early every morning and make sure I came by and each one you guys hooch and said hello to everybody. Uh-huh yeah every morning I always wanted to make sure my face was the first face you you guys saw so I'd get up early and then made my rounds every morning well and it mattered it it one of one of the reasons why I believe we were able to be as efficient and professional over there was we had an amazing support from higher and knowing there was someone like you specifically you we knew that you were going to help us and you know move heaven and earth to make sure that we we were able to do what we needed to do.

SPEAKER_04

And it allowed us to not have our heads not in the game so to speak when we when we got outside the wire so and I I I think I did uh 81s a a great justice when I uh got rid of

Grief Fitness And Looking Back

SPEAKER_04

the gunny that was in charge of uh 81s before we left I'm I didn't touch on that but I'll say it I I will yes I uh he and I did not he did not appreciate me and I did not appreciate him and so when when uh when that transition happened I was exceptionally happy and so if I was like no way it was because of my my experience me being a mortem I I had every job in in the mortar platoon I had every job in mortar platoon you I was even platoon commander at one one time in a mortar I had every I had every job in the 81st platoon I can honestly say that yep and I knew her there is no way that he was gonna lead that platoon into combat so that's when I said hey he's gotta go he's gotta go and so that's when he was taken over to uh to the I thought he was gonna lead the battalion altogether but it made him the camera guy but it was good with me no longer in in my company so but I'll just put that out there.

SPEAKER_06

I appreciate you that's all me yeah well I'll uh I'll I'll close it out with my favorite at the time first arm but now Sergeant Major Mack's story is when everybody was having uh everybody from each platoon brought their biggest guy and they were everybody was measuring their biceps right out in front of the COC. Oh uh yeah and uh I I think it was that I can't remember who had the biggest if it was Williams or Miranda but one of the two were pretty good sized biceps on a and then all of a sudden out of the hooch comes the the shadow of first arm Mac comes up flexes the guns and you were three or four inches bigger in diameter than anybody else and and the crowd went wild everybody was dying just laughing and cheering that was that was easily one of my favorite memories you heard us being stupid and instead of telling us to shut up you came out and joined us it was great I remember that yeah that was a good time well sergeant major thank you so much for uh joining us for this and allowing us to record your story I I again I think this is pivotal I I don't think I don't think anybody knows any of this stuff for sure I know I didn't until now and uh the Marines are gonna love it they're gonna they're gonna appreciate hearing from you.

SPEAKER_04

All right old guy that old crazy guy again but anyway it was it it was fun um uh catching up with you with with you guys very much and then and and the beard looks looks good on you um monster I have i i tried it it it's too bad it works for me yeah i really appreciate your time sergeant major all right well well you guys uh take care i want you guys no i i haven't looked at none of your podcasts okay because i wanted to come into it blind nice but i didn't want to have a cheat sheet or in or anything my daughter was like maybe you should see what it's all about no I like to go into it to it blind I don't want to uh I I don't even know what's coming around around their corner this little curve all at me then I have to be ready to catch it but so I love it well on on that note if you're if after you start if you do end up listening to some and start uh and have something that you want to say please let us know I mean this is this does not have to be a one time one time thing so if there's stories and notes I know ripardo is gonna get mad at me but tell them that that that story.

SPEAKER_05

Sorry Ripardo but it had

Final Thoughts And Subscribe

SPEAKER_05

to be told awesome uh all right Star Major have a good day uh I'll talk to you soon if you like what you heard make sure you subscribe for future episodes on your favorite podcast service