Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans

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Blair Dell

Operation Iraqi Freedom | 1st Reconnaissance Battalion

After a deadly ambush in Fallujah, the Marine Recondo team had to stand down and regroup. Team member and Corpsman Blair Dell describes how the team inadvertently stumbled onto a major enemy supply route. He felt bad about how that deployment in Fallujah ended until he heard an interview with Gen. Mattis years later. (6:52)
It was a joint operation with several other units. They were after a high level Mujahidin operative who had a reputation for always getting away. Blair Dell was on a Marine Recondo team that practiced the raid over and over. Then he saw a picture of the man and had to laugh. (Caution: strong language) (3:44)
That second Iraq deployment was probably the least favorite for Blair Dell. He was a Corpsman on a Marine Recondo team but he'd been kicked upstairs to work in HQ, not really what he wanted. When he got back to the states, he completed his advanced training, worked for a while as a dive instructor and then went to the Marine Special Operations Command. (6:05)
Blair Dell felt like he was really doing some good. He was a Navy Corpsman but he was attached to a Marine Special Operations Team in the Helmand Valley where he helped build a dozen medical clinics. The team was training and organizing the locals to resist the Taliban insurgents. He recalls a conversation with a village elder which opened his eyes and gave him some doubts about the war. (7:43)
Matt Lampert was the team leader. As the Marine special ops team closed in on a Taliban compound, an IED severely wounded him. Corpsman Blair Dell, who had to thread his way though a mine field to get to him, knew that he was going to lose his legs but they got him evacuated and hoped for the best. (4:38)
Navy Corpsman Blair Dell remembers the fallen from Afghanistan, several members of his team who fell victim to an insider attack. A lone Taliban, disguised as an Afghani policeman, managed to kill several Marines and then got away. (6:35)
Navy Corpsman Blair Dell had been a member of some elite special operations teams but he had to take himself off team status for health reasons. He continued for a while working for the Special Operations Command but finally left the service and started his own consulting business, finding a rewarding role training law enforcement personnel. (4:33)
Recon Marines somehow always wind up as villains in Hollywood movies. Former Recon team member Blair Dell says that dates back to when the teams were under the direct control of the Commander in Chief. He recalls how his team used to get pumped up with heavy metal music before an operation and how surprised he was when the younger Marines started playing a very different kind of music. (Caution: strong language) (7:48)
It takes a lot of heart to become a Marine but it takes even more to become a Reconnaissance Marine. To endure the rigorous physical and mental challenges means you are one of the elite. This group of Recon Marines shares their personal stories of joining the Corps and how they came to Recon during a pivotal time in history. Part 1 of 3. (Caution: strong language) (23:20)
As Operation Iraqi Freedom unfolded, the mission of the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion was to draw out Saddam's forces and engage them while larger bodies of troops moved on Baghdad. With one Recon platoon, a journalist was embedded who turned their story into a series of articles, a book and an award winning Hollywood production named Generation Kill. Part 2 of 3. (Caution: strong language) (25:06)