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Part 2 with Ranie Ruthig, one of the original Lioness soldiers who was often attached to Weapons Company, to illustrate how early missions in Ramadi evolve from outreach to intel work and high-risk convoy life. We also get her blunt take on standards, unit culture, and why her view on women in combat is more complicated than people expect. 

• early “hearts and minds” runs to schools and neighborhoods 
• cache searches and a lizard scare 
• mission debriefs and why some unit partnerships stop 
• planning the glass factory visit to receive intel 
• CNN attention and the reality of women already in combat zones 
• barrier missions, wrecker work, and engineer solutions under fire 
• leaving active duty for family care plans and rebuilding life 
• training Marines later on and the long tail of wartime experience 
• her perspective on women in combat 

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If you are a member of Weapons Company or someone with a story about Weapons Company 2/4 in 2004, please come tell some stories with us - 20 mins or 20 hours! Help paint the canvas of an archival story for others to know what it was like. Contact us @ [email protected], or via the podcast website above. 

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