HBO's Generation Kill

[shooter32]

Seen it for the first time last night.
Is it close to being how it really is over there?
Any thoughts ??

[ratcatcher55]

I’m not terribly interested in anything HBO would produce.

The book was well written but the funny thing was the author pretty much stated he couldn’t understand the Recon Marines he was embedded with.  He was honest about it and was impressed by their courage, drive and abilities but just can’t understand why somebody would volunteer to risk their life that way. 

At one point before an assault a Marine tries to hand him a rifle so he’ll have something to protect himself with. The author acts like he was handed a snake and refuses the weapon.  The Marines look at him like he must be nuts, who would go on an assault with out as many weapons as possible.

Sheep and Sheepdogs! They can never really understand each other.

[joemerchant24]

Not to defend the media... but as a former journalist I know that most media types will not arm up in war zones.

A couple of reasons.

The belief is that enemy combatants will not cap the media providing they can tell who is media. A guy with a rifle is not media. As we all know, certain enemy combatants TARGET media types, but that's too logical for the NYT and others.

The second is that most media outlets (NYT, Wash Post, etc.) will fire thy arse on the spot and leave you to get home on your own if you are armed. There was a minor dustup about a NYT stringer who was packing in the sandbox a few years back.

As for me? Well, this is just one of many reasons I'm a FORMER journalist.