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Jason Wilebski

Operation Iraqi Freedom | 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment

They train you to get out of an ambush by assaulting through it, if you can. That's exactly what Jason Wilebski and his fellow Marines did in the Iraqi town of Al Kut. It helped once thay figured out you had to milk the grenade before you threw it. Part 2 of 2. (Caution: strong language) (5:30)
Shock and Awe was really working. By the time Jason Wilebski rolled into Baghdad, the Marines had broken and smashed a lot of stuff. Soon, the statue of Saddam was toppled and children were giving them flowers. By the time he left Iraq, children were giving him something else. (Caution: strong language) (7:38)
It was like being a rock star. When Jason Wilebski returned from Iraq, it was all fire trucks and bands and celebrations and pretty girls. Twentynine Palms was waiting, though. (3:50)
During his second tour of Iraq, Jason Wilebski was part of a raid platoon. Their mission was to hit locations of IED makers and high value targets. Then came the push into Fallujah, where he and his fellow Marines fought house to house and collected AK's. Part 1 of 2. (Caution: strong language) (5:23)
As Jason Wilebski's squad entered an Iraqi house, one of the Marines was shot. The Corpsman tended to him while the others fought on. The next day, a Marine was killed at the same house and that house was reduced to rubble. Then they were told to withdraw. Was it political? Part 2 of 2. (Caution: strong language) (5:43)
It was great to have a Spectre gunship overhead. Jason Wilebski really appreciated the cover from the air as he fought on the ground in the Iraqi town of Karmah. His unit was taking sniper fire from a mosque but there was a solution for that. (Caution: strong language) (6:08)
That second tour of Iraq taught Jason Wilebski that he might not be invincible. Before he even made it home to see his wife, he learned that he would be going right back to Fallujah for a third go round. (4:45)
For a third time, Jason Wilebski deployed to Iraq, this time as a squad leader. He and his Marines were angry that they had been pulled back the last time they were there because they felt they could have finished the job. One thing that was different this time, there were a lot more IED's. (Caution: strong language) (4:36)
Every day, Jason Wilebski's squad had to escort some women who were the personnel that searched females for the Marines at their base in Fallujah. He told them to vary their route to work every day. They didn't listen. Later, at that same gate, a car was approaching and the driver wouldn't stop. Unfortunately for him, Ski had his shotgun with him. (Caution: strong language) (7:07)
The flash-bangs they got from the Navy were lousy but the new ones that replaced them were pretty good. Jason Wilebski used one to stop an Iraqi on a tractor who just wouldn't stop coming. A big concern was vehicle borne IED's. Sometimes, the bomb maker was the victim due to the improvised explosives. (Caution: strong language) (5:54)