A First-Hand Account of the Battle of Ramadi, Iraq – Maj. Scott Huesing

“In war, destruction is everywhere. It eats everything around you. Sometimes it eats at you.” —Major Scott Huesing, Echo Company Commander

From the winter of 2006 through the spring of 2007, two-hundred-fifty Marines from Echo Company, Second Battalion, Fourth Marine Regiment fought daily in the dangerous, dense city streets of Ramadi, Iraq during the Multi-National Forces Surge ordered by President George W. Bush. The Marines’ mission: to kill or capture anti-Iraqi forces.

Today I’m talking with Maj. Scott Huesing,  the commander who led Echo Company through Ramadi. He discussing retaking the city street-by-street in the dead of night, what it was like to fight 4-5 skirmishes a day for months on end, and the challenges of assymetrical warfare where the frontline is everyone and no enemy wears a uniform.

We discuss how the military shifted tactics from Cold War-style combat to effective street fighting, why he thinks women belong in combat units, his relationship with Iraqi translators, and the battle to overcome post-traumatic stress in the years following service.

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Echo in Ramadi: The Firsthand Story of US Marines in Iraq’s Deadliest City

savethebrave.org