(MOGS) Welcome to the Suck

Jarhead. 

It is probably the least violent war movie ever made. 

The Big Pigeon, myself and a smattering of others went to see this film about two weeks ago now, and I've had it on my mind a little bit.  Today, I noticed it finally made the realm of Air Force Times (and presumably Army and Navy/Marine Corps Times as well).  I have not seen any film in recent memory, except maybe Fahrenheit 9/11 and Team America (DURKA DURKA DURKA!!), stir the ire or admiration of my fellow servicemen and women.  The letters both condemning and applauding the adaptation of Anthony Swofford's work were numerous - one angry USMC NCO called for an outright boycott of the movie

Swofford himself shared a few words on the editorial page, which struck me as surprisingly apologetic.  I mean there's no way in hell this guy wrote that book and was too short-sighted to predict some sore heads over what he put out there.

I've seen the movie twice now (have not read the book yet).  I've seen it with my fellow support officers and enlisted men and one or two ground pounders (who've told me the actual traditional greeting is "Embrace the Suck"....I can't seem to get a confirm or deny on that one, oh well).  Just to let you know, few of the people I've seen the movie with had anything to say other than positive remarks about it.  Granted, the older veterans sitting in the back of the theater did not seem all that thrilled with it, but I think that was a function of having very different expectations of the film than what it turned out to be.  This is not your average war movie.  With all due respect to those honored veterans, Desert Storm was NOT Vietnam, or Korea, or the Second World War, and this sure as hell ain't "Saving Private Ryan" or "We Were Soldiers."

The reviews of the book on Amazon.com are all over the place.  Praise, bile, the works -  they attack or laud all aspects of the work from its truth, historical accuracy, the writing style, to the character of service actually conducted by former Corporal Anthony Swofford by reviewers claiming to be veterans who served with the man.  Usually there's some general trends in criticism with a work which has tapped a vein like this one, but let's face it, it's tough to separate emotion from objectivity with a subject this near and dear to the present day.

I held off on passing judgment until I conferred with our own local Subject Matter Expert (the man we call Denver, that's actually his BTW, it's not a Buckaroo Banzai-inspired nickname like Reno or New Jersey and...holy PIGEONED...I just made a Buckaroo Banzai reference, is this the Internet or what?), but I think I'll pass on a few comments.  Just dos pesos from yours truly.

Overall, it's a well-executed, entertaining film.  I mean that's the most important criteria, right?  This is cinema after all.  The acting was solid for a war film - by that I mean there's this tendency amongst actors in many war films to "overdo" it.  Exaggerations and stereotypes are more common in military films than actual characters.  Honestly, it's tough for "us" to watch war movies, period.  We nitpick, we gripe, we laugh, we know better, we get annoyed at things like:

a) how often "they get it wrong" (here's a hint - A LOT)

b) how pathetic the pansy little actor looks/sounds trying to be all hardcore and stuff (reference the stereotype comments above)

c) when it appears that the Hollywood types didn't do their homework.  When they screw up ranks, historical accuracy, etc, it just seems like they don't care or can't be bothered to expend the effort - and it's quite insulting honestly...

d) Hollywood's understanding of the American military seems to consist of the character biographies on the back of G.I. Joe action figures.  Kung fu grip my PIGEONED!   Don't get me started on crap like "Stealth" or better yet, IRON EAGLE or Rambo.   

But overall, Jarhead was pretty good.  It's interesting to note that while Operation DESERT STORM has been called "the most documented conflict in history" due to the media access allowed, the nightly news coverage, the press footage showing air to ground weapons employment, the works, there have been no "definitive" pop culture statements made about the conflict.  "Three Kings" and that dreadful Meg Ryan movie aside, the entertainment industry has largely left Gulf War I alone.  In terms of books, I've read more than one after action account of the air campaign, from those who planned and executed it (including a signed copy of "Every Man a Tiger" by Gen (retired) Chuck Horner and Tom Clancy)...plus one of the Lts in our shop is reading the Army's official take on the war for a master's class, but little from the grunt side of things.  This is why I think, love it or hate it, Swofford's story is important to consider.  (From the excepts I've read, the guy can write his tail feathers off, and the movie does a solid job of translating the words into film).

Now, for that discussion of "accuracy."  Were things "really like that, etc."  Speaking only for myself and a little for those I've seen the film with, it was easy to identify people who seemed familiar and situations we all at least had heard of, whether through the rumor mill, grapevine or "knew a guy who knew another guy" and in a few rare examples, saw some things that we could no kidding directly relate to.  We could all pretty much agree that many of the "incidents" or set pieces in the movie probably actually happened, but I highly doubt (and Denver agreed) they all happened to Swofford's particular unit, and in such a short period of time to boot. 

Perfect example - the "bugle practice" routine - folks, entertainment at the cost of a newbie or FNG as we sometimes call them has been a part of the military life since Og first organized his buddies to pick up some rocks and beat the hell out of the Neanderthals.  Personally, I wish I had thought of this one when I was at the Zoo :)  (No, don't even bother to ask me questions about "hazing" or any of that garbage).

Another - the infamous "videotape" - this urban legend has been around forever too.  It probably HAS happened to one or more poor guys out there on more than one occasion.  Again, one of those "hey I know a guy who knew this one guy who swears up and down..."  The truth may never be known.

Friendly Fire/Fratricide - I think there was one actual incident in Desert Storm - it's been a while since I've actually read up on it, so don't quote me.  I don't if anything we do, whether it's technology or training or procedural will ever fully eliminate the risk.  We're much better at preventing this now than anyone else has ever been at any point in modern warfare, but the specter still looms...

My personal favorite, I can tell you, is based on some reality - the part where Swofford's unit was watching the air assault scene from Apocalypse Now - well that brought back some memories of unit Friday night traditions in Korea - that particular scene from that particular movie gets a lot of mileage...could definitely relate to that one.

In conclusion -from this Goodfeather's point of view, a lot of the bile and hate swimming Swofford's way seems off base.  There were moments of OBVIOUS Hollywood political dogma poking through, but they barely registered a blip on my scope  (the same, tired, "blood for oil" crap that ran out of steam years ago), but overall there were many points in the film where we could all nod our heads north-south and go "yup that looks familiar" or "hey, I KNOW THAT GUY."  Was Swofford himself a dirtbag Marine?  I don't know.  Does the movie disgrace or dishonor Gulf War veterans, I actually don't think so at all.  I think a lot of the critics are reading too much into the movie or have mis-ID'd the intent - this is not meant to be the "definitive work on the Gulf War" - it's an adaptation of the memoir, which may or may not be embellished or a kludge of many separate individuals incidents during Gulf War I.

I do know that gas masks suck (both figuratively and literally).

MOGSY

Comments

[canuckistani]

"Friendly Fire/Fratricide - ...it's been a while since I've actually read up on it, so don't quote me. I don't (know) if anything we do, whether it's technology or training or procedural will ever fully eliminate the risk. We're much better at preventing this now than anyone else has ever been at any point in modern warfare..."

How 'bout reading up on U.S. Air Force bomber Major Harry Schmidt and four dead Canadian Army soldiers, Afghanistan 2003? Major Schmidt's cowboy attitude and overriding of procedure was a risk that wasn't checked or eliminated when it could've been. I went to the memorial service for the 4 dead Canadian soldiers and saw the widows cry. If you ask me, the guy got off lightly. He should've been stripped of his rank and court martialed.

[MOGS]

Canuckistani - I can tell you're pissed, and I don't know if this answer will assuage you much - I'm not out to belittle, hide, gloss over or neglect anything.

Actually, it's funny you should mention memorial services, just this afternoon I was the OIC of a funeral detail for an Air Force retiree down town. Let me tell you something, it's not easy trying to maintain bearing and professionalism while presenting a folded flag to a person's loved one, but that's what the solemnness of the event demands. It's one thing to be in the audience, observing what's going on, it's quite another to have to stand face to face with someone, looking them in the eye, and say some words of respect and comfort and NOT allow your voice to break or tears to roll. I do it out of respect for the families.

I HAVE read up on the Canadian friendly fire incident, seen some of the after action findings, digested what happened, and have taken out of it what I can already so I can do my part to keep it from ever happening again - the whole thing sucks, no lie. It sucks. It sucks for the families involved and it sucks for the good men and women of that unit who have that stain on their legacy. Do you think any of them enjoy being associated with that incident?

I didn't make it clear in my post, - I only meant to refer to fratricide in Desert Storm - Swofford wrote about that war, so I restricted my comments to that war. I think there were actually 3 documented cases of air-to-ground friendly fire - Maj Schmidt's case happened in Afghanistan not all that long ago, but we could just as easily sit and talk about the shootdown of 2 US Army Blackhawk helicopters by USAF jets, and several others throughout the period from Gulf War I to now. I wasn't attempting to give a comprehensive review of every incident, and if that gives the impression that I was ignoring or trying to downplay the deaths that occured since Desert Storm, in OEF, OIF, and in the in-between years, for that I apologize. Still, this is to say nothing of the friendly fire incidents that have happened in ground-on-ground fighting.

Friendly fire ain't. Personal actions/failings aside, war is full of uncertainty and unknowns on the battlefield and split second decisions are required, sometimes with really lousy situational awaressness, bad intel, whatever you want to call it sometimes the guy making the call isn't somebody who _should_ be making that call - that's a fact of life.

With the sheer numbers of people and weapons involved in any fight, I don't think it's possible to completely eliminate the risk - in the Afghanistan incident you mention, the guy with his finger on the pickle button could have just as easily been another dude, the best friggin' fighter pilot with the greatest Situational Awareness and adherence to the rules of engagement the world has ever seen, and he still could have made the same bad decision. - I'd like to think he probably wouldn't have, but there's no way to know for sure. The bottomline is this - when you look at the whole wide world of human conflict, compared to where we, or ANY military for that matter, were 20, 30, 40 and 50 years ago, - there are probably fewer funerals happening for this reason, and hopefully those numbers keep shrinking - I just don't think there's any way on God's green earth that I can say to anyone out there that we've reduced the risk to less than zero. Maybe, hopefully, we'll crack the code that allows us to do so - I hope so. Believe it or not, in the big scheme of things, the modern West is one of the few cultures in human history that even CARE about this enough to TRY to do something about it...

I'd still rather perform a funeral for a retiree, who's had a full chance at life, than someone who was cut short by his own bros any day of the week. I hope I never have to do one, but I accept the fact that the possibility exists. I hope it doesn't happen.

[canuckistani]

I am grateful for your thoughtful response, it is a topic still very raw here in Canada.

What Major Schmidt never understood throughout the entire miltary hearing was the families of the dead soldiers just wanted him to show some genuine remorse for his actions. His simple regrets about the families' woes rung hollow and his refusal to bend in the face of overwhelming evidence of abuse of procedure exacerbated the pain of the families. At least Major William Umbach had the decency to plead guilty and retire. Not Major Schmidt, he arrogantly fought it all the way and simply made an ass out of himself and the USAF in the process. Had he given just a bit to the families, he would've been forgiven. Also, had he allowed himself to exhibit his own pain in front of the families and sought forgiveness, his feelings of guilt would be less haunting. In a Dateline profile on Major Schmidt this past year, his wife said that even though the conflict in Afghanistan is over, her husband has yet to come home. Obviously he is still tormented by the tragedy. Perhaps its a fitting restitution for his pride whilst the men he killed lie peacefully with their deserved laurels.

[canuckistani]

oops, I got so worked up in my responses I made a typo in both my replies regarding friendly fire:

1) Afghanistan 2002
2)...the tour in Afghanistan is over, ...

[MOGS]

Point taken. The whole situation is NOT one of our prouder moments. If anything, it illustrates just how deadly serious this business of war is, and no one, regardless of rank, specialty, level of experience should take that power lightly.