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Jason Lilley
Operation Iraqi Freedom
| 1st Reconnaissance Battalion
In the Spring of 2003 Jason Lilley deployed to the Kuwait desert in preparation for Operation Iraqi Freedom. He had just joined the elite 1st Reconnaissance Battalion and he and his new buddies had trained hard for this moment. As he waited to cross the border, ordnance filled the sky, coursing into Iraq. (Caution: strong language) (4:50)
It was uneventful at first. Recon Marine Jason Lilley was driving a Humvee toward Nasiriyah through beautiful countryside and Bedouin camps. When he got there, he saw the burned out vehicle that Jessica Lynch had been in. Soon he saw his first dead Marines. (4:14)
In the first firefight in his first tour of Iraq, Jason Lilley faced a group of Syrians. They wore jeans and sneakers, definitely not Iraqis. He had not really heard the term Jihad before but that was why they were there. When he got back to the States, he figured the war was over. He figured wrong. (Caution: strong language) (5:02)
The two deployments to Iraq were two different wars. The second time, Jason Lilley found himself in Fallujah where the enemy had reorganized and started to use IED's. It was urban fighting and he had to dodge mortar fire nearly every day. (Caution: strong language) (6:16)
The routine convoy was stopped in its tracks by dozens of Jihadis. Jason Lilley was in the back and his group veered off to mount a counter-ambush. The first vehicle had been hit with an RPG and the enemy was firing from multiple locations. Captain Brent Morel led a charge straight at them while Lilley's group of Marines blasted them from the rear. For this action, he was awarded the Silver Star. (Caution: strong language) (10:55)
The training is the same. The caliber of individuals is the same. Reconnaissance Marines like Jason Lilley are, for all intents and purposes, special forces just like the SEAL's. He reveals what kind of music reminds of him of his days in combat and he has a lot of appreciation for being able to reunite with his team mates. (Caution: strong language) (6:13)
Blair Dell
Operation Iraqi Freedom
| Multiple Units
There was a long line of Dell men who served in military or law enforcement or public safety. Blair Dell did all three. Inspired by an uncle who was a Navy SEAL, he joined the Navy and became a Corpsman. After serving with the grunts for a few years, he almost got out but instead decided to try out for Recon. (4:24)
As Blair Dell began his training for the Recon Marines, he met instructors that he would later serve with in the field. The training was brutal and difficult but he was determined not to quit. As he moved through the pipeline, he had a demanding physical training test scheduled for Sept. 11, 2001. It was postponed. (5:36)
When his wife called and said turn on the TV during the Trade Towers attack, Blair Dell knew something was beginning. He was a Navy Corpsman who was becoming a member of the Marine 1st Reconnaissance Battalion. The first thing they did was give him an old paperback book to read. (5:20)
Nobody had heard of Fallujah when Blair Dell got there. Everyone in his Marine Recon unit was happy when Gen. Mattis gave them free reign in their mission. They began to run into Syrian fighters but had trouble getting the higher ups to believe it. They also encountered civilians who quietly thanked them for getting rid of the bad guys. (7:23)
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