Iraq was a different beast every time...

Knee_Draggin'

Knee_Draggin'

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Iraq 2003, The Invasion... I legit fought a uniformed Army, what I trained for. It didn't last long but I killed a T55 with a Javelin and assaulted a Republican Guard held compound after getting shelled for 3 days in a foxhole. After the fall, it was legit gunfights, IED's weren't really a thing in '03 so it was gunfights.

Iraq 2006, Second battle of Ramadi... FUCK THAT PLACE. IED's everywhere, snipers at almost every IED waiting for the first fuck to get out of the truck. I was command for my BN's very first patrol after the RIP... didn't take but 5min and I hit an IED. We were good, but it fucked with my mind. After the 4th IED I hit,(about 3 months in) I lost my fucks. And this don't include the daily fighting...
Shitty pic but over half of the units' KIA that deployment was IED's
Screenshot_20210202-011841_Drive.jpg

Iraq 2008/2009, Change of Power. That was a complete shit show. Had a PLT SGT that was denied retirement until after the deployment so he was checked out. We got posted at a bombed out soccer stadium(was actually a blessing) and after the election, we couldn't do anything. We got fucking grounded and told to sit tight and take rockets till the rotation was over.
 
Knee_Draggin' said:
Iraq 2003, The Invasion... I legit fought a uniformed Army, what I trained for. It didn't last long but I killed a T55 with a Javelin and assaulted a Republican Guard held compound after getting shelled for 3 days in a foxhole. After the fall, it was legit gunfights, IED's weren't really a thing in '03 so it was gunfights.

Iraq 2006, Second battle of Ramadi... FUCK THAT PLACE. IED's everywhere, snipers at almost every IED waiting for the first fuck to get out of the truck. I was command for my BN's very first patrol after the RIP... didn't take but 5min and I hit an IED. We were good, but it fucked with my mind. After the 4th IED I hit,(about 3 months in) I lost my fucks. And this don't include the daily fighting...
Shitty pic but over half of the units' KIA that deployment was IED's
View attachment 5417

Iraq 2008/2009, Change of Power. That was a complete shit show. Had a PLT SGT that was denied retirement until after the deployment so he was checked out. We got posted at a bombed out soccer stadium(was actually a blessing) and after the election, we couldn't do anything. We got fucking grounded and told to sit tight and take rockets till the rotation was over.
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My son chewed some of the same dirt as you. About that time he went to Ramadi with an engineering company to provide convoy security amongst other things. He got there pre surge and it was still called rocket city, IIRC. He ended up working in the mayor's office after the surge began and I can find out the unit/time he was in. I can not fathom the hell y'all endured and quite frankly I could have never functioned there. My sincerest love and appreciation goes out to y'all for your sacrifice and endurance.

On a lighter note his first combat patch and CAB came when he was attached to a jarhead unit. It was a Marine unit combat patch. So my son completed his deployment and went from USAR to RA as airborne in the 82nd. One day the brigade Sergeant Major saw it during inspection and went apeshit crazy demanding he remove the patch. My son was prepared, really itching for a fight over it. He produced the regs stating he was qualified to wear the patch and informed the Sergeant Major that he would remove when and only when the Sergeant Major could produce a letter from the SecDef that granted him the authority to remove authorization for the patch. Until then it was just an illegal order and if unless that bullshit stopped, JAG would become involved. We can't have nice things ...
 
Thank you for sharing OP. I think about you and your brave group of Americans who have provided me the freedom to live in the best country in the world. You are all heroes.
 
batchaps4me said:
My son chewed some of the same dirt as you. About that time he went to Ramadi with an engineering company to provide convoy security amongst other things. He got there pre surge and it was still called rocket city, IIRC. He ended up working in the mayor's office after the surge began and I can find out the unit/time he was in. I can not fathom the hell y'all endured and quite frankly I could have never functioned there. My sincerest love and appreciation goes out to y'all for your sacrifice and endurance.

On a lighter note his first combat patch and CAB came when he was attached to a jarhead unit. It was a Marine unit combat patch. So my son completed his deployment and went from USAR to RA as airborne in the 82nd. One day the brigade Sergeant Major saw it during inspection and went apeshit crazy demanding he remove the patch. My son was prepared, really itching for a fight over it. He produced the regs stating he was qualified to wear the patch and informed the Sergeant Major that he would remove when and only when the Sergeant Major could produce a letter from the SecDef that granted him the authority to remove authorization for the patch. Until then it was just an illegal order and if unless that bullshit stopped, JAG would become involved. We can't have nice things ...
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I know you're a proud pops, as well you should be. Thank him from me as I represent the American people.
 
@Knee_Draggin'

I just got off of the phone with my son and he was with the 321 Engineers from SEP06 to SEP07 in Ramadi. He asked if the 1st Marines(something ... sorry I have hearing loss) had been replaced by the 2nd during you time in country. One of the convoys he was working security with had a viral video of where a propane truck was used as an IED but I cannot find the video. His CAB was due directly to snipers.
 
batchaps4me said:
My son chewed some of the same dirt as you. About that time he went to Ramadi with an engineering company to provide convoy security amongst other things. He got there pre surge and it was still called rocket city, IIRC. He ended up working in the mayor's office after the surge began and I can find out the unit/time he was in. I can not fathom the hell y'all endured and quite frankly I could have never functioned there. My sincerest love and appreciation goes out to y'all for your sacrifice and endurance.

On a lighter note his first combat patch and CAB came when he was attached to a jarhead unit. It was a Marine unit combat patch. So my son completed his deployment and went from USAR to RA as airborne in the 82nd. One day the brigade Sergeant Major saw it during inspection and went apeshit crazy demanding he remove the patch. My son was prepared, really itching for a fight over it. He produced the regs stating he was qualified to wear the patch and informed the Sergeant Major that he would remove when and only when the Sergeant Major could produce a letter from the SecDef that granted him the authority to remove authorization for the patch. Until then it was just an illegal order and if unless that bullshit stopped, JAG would become involved. We can't have nice things ...
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I got a Marine combat patch for that deployment too. A guy I served with a few years later was in that Marine unit, IN Ramadi for that deployment before he switched branches. He's not authorized to wear it so I used to wear it just to fuck with him.
 
Thanks for your service. I have a friend Marine SSgt Liam Dwyer. Liam served in Iran and Afghanistan where while on patrol he stepped in an IED.

I have told this story before so if you don't want to read it again you can....

Liam lost one leg below the knee and lots of other injuries. He received over 50 operations at Walter Reed and is still receiving operations. Liam was a car guy but the Docs at Walter Reed told him he would never drive a manual transmission again. Liam does not listen well as he became a professional race driver for Mazda.

He was one of the Wounded Warriors at the WH press conference where Sarah Sanders told the CNN azzhole who complained that the WWs could ask questions but he could not that they are heroes you are not a hero. I met him at the 2013 One Lap. For the car guys he was driving a GT500

See the source image
 
batchaps4me said:
@Knee_Draggin'

I just got off of the phone with my son and he was with the 321 Engineers from SEP06 to SEP07 in Ramadi. He asked if the 1st Marines(something ... sorry I have hearing loss) had been replaced by the 2nd during you time in country. One of the convoys he was working security with had a viral video of where a propane truck was used as an IED but I cannot find the video. His CAB was due directly to snipers.
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My best research shows that 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment (3/1) was in Ramadi in 2007. 3/7 was also there. During my research, I noticed that one of my old unit's, 3rd BN 8th Marines was there in 2006.
 
tinp said:
I know you're a proud pops, as well you should be. Thank him from me as I represent the American people.
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I am more proud that he overcame shitty parents and parenting than anything he has achieved. Without a drop of sarcasm, his parents were FUBAR and just the fact that he hasn't written a manifesto nor needed Romain flavor packs sent to Terre Haute is quite amazing.
 
OldDevilDawg said:
My best research shows that 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment (3/1) was in Ramadi in 2007. 3/7 was also there. During my research, I noticed that one of my old unit's, 3rd BN 8th Marines was there in 2006.
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Thanks! I hate using the phone because my hearing is just too bad for it and quite honestly I cannot get and retain the command structure of ground pounders. I have to constantly look up brigade or battalion just to talk about them. Regiment level never crossed my mind. His Marine combat patch hangs in a shadowbox on his "I love me wall" at the recruiting station. I am going to get him to send me a picture so I can post it ... it would be wild to me if he had one of the ones that @Knee_Draggin' has.
 
Bullitt08 said:
Thanks for your service. I have a friend Marine SSgt Liam Dwyer. Liam served in Iran and Afghanistan where while on patrol he stepped in an IED.

I have told this story before so if you don't want to read it again you can....

Liam lost one leg below the knee and lots of other injuries. He received over 50 operations at Walter Reed and is still receiving operations. Liam was a car guy but the Docs at Walter Reed told him he would never drive a manual transmission again. Liam does not listen well as he became a professional race driver for Mazda.

He was one of the Wounded Warriors at the WH press conference where Sarah Sanders told the CNN azzhole who complained that the WWs could ask questions but he could not that they are heroes you are not a hero. I met him at the 2013 One Lap. For the car guys he was driving a GT500

See the source image
Click to expand...

That's the thing about Marines. I have always heard that Marine boot camp brainwashed it's recruits. To a certain extent that's true. I can say, without a doubt, that my mind was permanently altered by my time in the USMC. I'll be 55 in a few weeks and I still believe that I am capable of anything, even when my body is telling me to slow down or stop, my mind says, "keep going". I'm sure that one day, my mind will push my body beyond it's limit.

There's a fine line between bravery and stupidity. I believe that Marines regularly find the stupid side of that line.

Being an infantry warrior is one of the most unheralded occupations that history has ever known. It takes a special person to face what they face in combat and continue to "pick up their gun and go to work". I forget who said it, but it's true....."That which doesn't kill me, simply serves to make me stronger".

Translating the battlefield back here to the real world has always been, and will always be, the most difficult thing a combat infantry warrior can do. I have an Uncle that did 3 tours in Vietnam. It took him 40 years to get back to being a civilian, yet he still has nightmares.

Every member of our military that made it home deserves the full respect of our nation. The ones that didn't make it home deserve more than we can ever give them.
 
@Knee_Draggin' My son has both the 1MEF and 2MEF combat patches from Ramadi. He wanted me to ask if you met Chuck Norris or the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders? His picture shaking hands with Chuck Norris is in his shadowbox.
 
batchaps4me said:
@Knee_Draggin' My son has both the 1MEF and 2MEF combat patches from Ramadi. He wanted me to ask if you met Chuck Norris or the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders? His picture shaking hands with Chuck Norris is in his shadowbox.
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😂😂😂 Fuck no, I was Infantry in a company attached to another Battalion, attached to another Brigade, ultimately in a Marine area that still took orders from an Army General.

We we're the redheaded step-child from hell. That's also why we got the most fuck up piece of real estate. Ain't a one of them had the balls to hold that shit, and we owned it.
 
Knee_Draggin' said:
😂😂😂 Fuck no, I was Infantry in a company attached to another Battalion, attached to another Brigade, ultimately in a Marine area that still took orders from an Army General.

We we're the redheaded step-child from hell. That's also why we got the most fuck up piece of real estate. Ain't a one of them had the balls to hold that shit, and we owned it.
Click to expand...
I can't say enough about the bravery and grit y'all have. I spent almost two years in the USAR and knew that when shit hit the fan I was not the man for the job so I jumped to Navy and boomer subs ... our motto was "We hide with pride". Skimmers changed it to "Chicken of the Sea". Tomato, mater ... all the same.
 
Much respect to those here who served. I legitimately considered it both before and after college and not doing so is probably my biggest regret. I thank you for the sacrifices you’ve made then and now. You guys understand things that I can’t even pretend to know.
 
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