New War Movies

Lately, I have seen 2 movies which are about both the current war with Iraq and Desert Storm. Both are mostly just about the soldiers and marines who faught there. I saw Jar head last night. It was a decent movie, I would say. I can't really say how accurate the movie is. I think some of it was Hollywood, like the Squad of Marines walking in the desert totally alone. It just doesn't seem right to me. Also, they're just walking in the desert. That is ALOT of ground to cover just on foot. I however, agree with the whole goofing off image of the unit of Marines. I can totally relate to that. I think most Infantry units are comprised of some people who goof around like they did. Though, that was mostly just in the Rear. In theater, we were busy training. However, We did get time to have a Company football competition. Where It would be Platoon vs. Platoon. Our Platoon when I first got there were always the team to beat. But since then, we had degraded to a not so good team in football. However, the Company Commander recognized us as his best most dependable platoon in the Company. Some critics say this war movie doesn't have enough action and no politics involved. I think most people know that unless you were a Tanker in the 1st Gulf War, you probably did not see any action. It was mostly Army & Marine Mechanized units and Air Force and Navy fighters and bombers that saw any fighting. It is a true story, what do you expect? It wouldn't be a true story if it was like a D-Day invasion with Marines in the movie getting shot up and blown up everywhere. I also liked the fact they didn't talk to much about politics because it was about the MARINES. I always thought how amazing it was that politics were so important back in the United States. After all, my family ALWAYS talk about politics, but once you were over there. Politics went out the window. No one really talked about politics, we were too busy staying focused on more important things, like drilling on how to clear a jammed machine gun or drilling on urban combat. We never bothered to worry too much about politics. Though, once in a great while we would maybe talk about it for a minute.

The other movie I saw was "Occupation: Dreamland" which is actually a documentary like Gunner Palace. Except, it is about a REAL Infantry unit, not a bunch of pogues who were cannibalized into a fighting unit because of the small numbers of actual combat forces in the Armed Forces. BTW, for all the uninitiated a Pogue is a derogatory military slang used by front line troops to describe staff and other rear echelon or support units/troops. It was about a Unit in the 82nd Airborne serving in Al-Fallujah, Iraq. If you want to see NO-SPIN movie about what is happening in Iraq. Then, this movie is for you. Unfortunately, it only appeared in a few movies theaters in the nation, but I am sure it will be on DVD like Gunner Palace. I thought it was pretty good, and it reflects well on the 82nd Airborne.

That's all I have for now. This is a non-political web site, so I am not going to write about politics on here, and I am not in Iraq anymore to write about what is going on over there. Soon, I may post pictures on my blog of when I was in Iraq on the second tour.