The Battle For Marjah

Released last month, The Battle for Marjah (available here) makes a strong case, at least for me, that Marine Corps officers are superior to Army officers. Delta Force member and retired CSGM Eric Haney once told me Marine generals were vastly superior to Army generals. Well, they gotta come from somewhere.

In the excellent documentary, Restrepo, Afghan villagers visit an Army outpost in the Kandahar Valley where they seek reimbursement for a cow that was accidentally killed, although not accidentally eaten, by paratroopers of the 173rd Airborne. The company commander, a young captain, argues with the villagers over the price of the cow. Dejected, the villagers leave mumbling and tugging their beards. Later, the same captain angrily accuses Afghan villagers of supporting the Taliban in a profanity laden tirade whose tone is that of a parent scolding a child.

I don't know what what the army thinks "Hearts & Minds" is about, but getting into a pissing contest over a $200 difference for a cow ain't it. Not surprisingly, the army abandoned their outpost, the captain was promoted, and he went home. The Taliban? They're still there. In Battle for Marjah, a young Marine lieutenant sees the problem for what it is when an Afghan tells him, "I don't mind Marines. I don't mind Taliban. I just wanna be left alone."

'Hearts and Minds' not only speaks to the simple strategy of winning them over. I always believed it had everything to do with securing personal freedom as well. In Vietnam, my father's SF team taught local villagers to grow strawberries. Those strawberries were then sold to the Army in a country where strawberries were non-existent. The Vietnamese refused to eat Bulgar wheat provided by US AID. So, the team created a fish farm and fed the wheat to the Carp. Even roof tiles made of clay by local villagers were sold to the Army for officer clubs. The upshot was the villagers wanted the V.C. and N.V.A. out, and why not? Not gonna get anything from them except conscripted.

The Marine Corp captain in Marjah seizes an opportunity and works to get shops open and trade resumed at a local market. He's also the first customer, his men after him, paying outta their own pockets. I'm not sure The Battle for Majar is a politically left or right film. It really doesn't matter. Truths come out that rise above political spin, but with an eerie deja vu. We've been here before...and it didn't turn out well.

Trad TV HBO's Generation Kill

I am amazed they got away with this. Bless HBO. I have not seen anything about the military that hits it like Generation Kill...and from many different angles. With so much crap about the military on television today it really amazes me to see something done right for a change. This is the most authentic military film I've ever seen. And I don't think any one's gonna be able to touch it for a very long time.

Enlisted men have always been treated like mushrooms - - kept in the dark and fed lots of shit - - Generation Kill captures the life of the enlisted man with accuracy and humor. The first episode had a Sergeant Major chewing out a noncom over the length of his moustache while in the background a fellow Marine does the John Cleese - Faulty Tower goosestep. The beauty of that moment is so real and authentic...it made me proud I was enlisted.


We also see the incompetence of officers with a very different game plan from the troops. As Trad Dad told me, "You always know the mission comes first but that doesn't mean you waste men like they were office supplies." Not to mention the waste of civilian lives. A constant theme through each episode.


I was lucky enough to see all seven episodes. Yes, it's confusing. But I can't help but think the producers want you to see it from the embedded reporter's point of view. Chaos. If you really fall for this series the way I did rush out and buy the book, Generation Kill. It'll help you understand the strategy as well as why they bought all those Depends.


What can you say about HBO. While the networks force feed us pablum like The Unit and Army Wives - -it took some real balls for HBO to put this out there. I have no doubt they will loose a lot of money because this country is not ready for Generation Kill. As one Grunt in a voice over put it, "Back home all they care about is who's in People Magazine or can they get a triple latte at Starbucks. Nobody gives a shit about us. Nobody cares." Amen to that. Although, the price of gas seems to be waking up some of us.

For more on the series check out Wally's blog at http://wallacestrobycom.blogspot.com/2008/07/generation-kill.html