This is Jocko Podcast Number 452 with Carrie Helton and me Jocko Willink. Good evening.

As a rule of thumb, when the battalion commander is firing his personal weapon things are going badly.

Things were generally bad all across Iraq especially in Iraq's

on bar province particularly in the city of Ramadi and specifically at entry control point three where at this

moment all hell had broken broken loose intense if inaccurate machine gun and AK-47 fire spattered the ground around us

from open turrets atop each vehicle our gunners search for the enemy across the canal

Looking out my passenger side window I saw half a dozen

small fires burning in the field outside the Iraqi position with smoke billowing

above the concrete walls. The blast burned a 10-foot scorch mark into the concrete near the entrance marking the sight of the explosion.

The only evidence of the suicide bomber's truck was the rear axle and a couple of smoking pieces of blackened twisted steel now resting 10 yards out in the desert.

The gunner on my truck yelled down,

there are guys with guns across the canal shooting at us. What should I do? I grimaced trying to remind

myself that this after all was our first firefight. It seemed that all the training in Germany

and in Kuwait on the rules of engagement just confused the soldiers

Shoot back I told him.

Okay, he replied he was a good kid, but I decided right then and there that I was getting a new gunner as soon as we got back to camp.

I turned to Sergeant First Class Roberts wedged helplessly in the backseat unable to influence the battle.

For a moment, I was afraid he was going to have an

aneurysm. I got it, Roberts assured me without me saying a word. I got it.

Moments later the M 240 machine gun atop the Humvee erupted in a soothing hum.

In the next moment, the gunners on all three vehicles blazed away, laying a furious barrage

of suppressive fire on the terrorists across the canal.

...