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Did you guys hear
small arms fire?

Did anybody clear
those rooms yet?

-Negative.
-Okay.

Stop them!

Going out there to get them.

Sergeant Smith is down?

Smith is down.

Is there anybody behind me?

There they are!

Right there!

Corner of that building!

Ready?
Go forward!

There they are!
Light ’em up!

November 29th.

I want to kill.

Cease fire!
Cease fire!

Hold on!

I may have already killed one
or some of these bastards

with the Mk 19 grenades
or the SAW.

I have
a reoccurring epiphany:

this is happening and will
have a lasting impact on me

for the rest of my life.

Platoon!

-Attention!
-Hoo-ah!

My name is specialist
Michael Moriarty

of the Charlie Company,

3rd of the 172nd
Mountain Infantry.

This recording will be an
ongoing video documentation

of the day-to-day experiences
and accounts

from the eyes of the fine
soldiers in Charlie Company.

David, say hello to the camera.

And there’s (unintelligible).

Ooh.

-This is some--
-Oh, yeah! Yeah!

Go, National Guard.

Okay, have y’all seen this one?

Uh, good morning.

This is Sergeant Stephen Pink

from Kingston, Massachusetts.

Getting ready for deployment

to Iraq.

Ah, God.

There’s a camera in our door.

The idea of the cameras
came around, I said,

"Yeah, sure, I’ll take one."

Like anything else
in the Army,

when something new comes along,
everybody wants it.

I mean, it doesn’t matter
if it’s socks or ammunition.

You don’t like the camera?

I’m not supposed
to talk to the media.

I’m not the media.

I’m not the media, dammit!

I had some experience,
you know,

with journalism
in college,

and a little bit
after college.

I couldn’t really tell if there
was any way to, like,

truthfully tell a story
without putting a slant on it.

I’ve got a degree in English
and minored in Sociology.

My second year of college,
I saw this sign for, you know,

help out with tuition,
and I made a rash decision.

It also felt that
it was a time in my life

when I needed
to kinda test myself

and make sure that I could
accomplish something, right?

-Go!
-It’s the real world.

I don’t hear anything yet!

Go! Go! Go!

Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!

Yeah!

Low crawl, woo!

An active duty soldier
is a full-time soldier.

Hillman, just like
a crab does it!

A National Guard soldier
is a citizen soldier.

Oh, oh, look
at that silhouette.

Wow, just exposed himself
to enemy fire.

Doing a little plumbing here.

He’s a citizen 28 days
of the month.

Whoa!

It landed over there,
but it was supposed to go here!

This next shooter is
the videographer himself,

yours truly,
Specialist Michael Moriarty.

I joined
the National Guard

in 1988
as a combat engineer.

Look at the fat on that guy.

I am a substantially
patriotic person,

and on September 11th, uh,
it struck me hard.

It struck me real hard.

That was like somebody
hitting my house, to me,

and, uh, I had--so badly
had to do something about it

that I took time off of work
and I went to Ground Zero.

And I saw it still--
still burning.

And I wanted it to etch me
so bad that I never forgot it.

I called a recruiter,
and I said,

"You slot me into a unit
only if they go into Iraq."

This is the first time
I will see combat.

I came really close
during the first Gulf War,

and the war ended
about three days

before we were ready
to leave.

-Forward!
-Forward!

March!

You’re not getting anything.

This is our last pass overnight
with our families.

The last two days
before we leave for Iraq.

We look and smell nice!

Hello.

Hey, buddy!

How are you, pal?

Ooh, I love you so much!

How are you?

I miss you so much.

I’ve been criticized
by family.

I’ve been told,
more or less,

that I’m
an irresponsible father,

irresponsible husband,

for making this decision.

He’s so happy!

I had a heart-to-heart
with my wife

about what motivates
a soldier to want to go

into a situation
he might not come back from.

-See Daddy?
-Hi, baby!

-Hi!
-Say hi to Daddy!

It didn’t matter to her
if she understood it.

She will do whatever
it takes to support me.

A lot of soldiers dramatize,

and you’re this patriotic,
self-serving guy, selfless,

and you’re just doing it
to help save our way of life,

but, ultimately
the average soldier’s

just somebody like,
you know, my soldiers,

and, you know,
just a guy like,

"Damn, I got the call.

Yeah, it sucks.

Do I really wanna go?
Probably not."

But they’re doing it.

What else can you ask for
from a man?

But you still
will go to Iraq today.

It’s just another day
here in the barracks.

Even the chairs around
this place are patriotic.

Yep, no room for citizens
in here.

I was born in Lebanon,

(unintelligible)
Shiite Muslims, really.

I moved here
when I was 10 years old.

A few months after we got here,
they divorced,

so, I lived with my mother.

And after high school,

I went ahead and joined
the U.S. Army

where I spent four years
on active duty.

I really wanted to travel,
anyways.

It’s why--one of the reasons
I joined the Army.

Yeah, I remember, like,
a month after I got activated

to go to Iraq.

She calls me up, and, uh,
she’s like,

"I just saw the news,
and some mothers are sending

their kids ACs
because it’s so hot."

She’s like, "I was just thinking
you could take it with you."

I’m like--I could
see myself, you know,

with my rucksack on my back
and a AC above me.

I’m like, "Mommy,
what’s the matter with you?"

So how do you feel
about this deployment, sir?

Just a second, by the way,
he’s an officer,

so you’re gonna get
a political answer.

I feel very good.
I got great troops,

and, uh, great NCOs
to square me away,

so I have no doubts that
we will succeed in our mission.

Hoo-ah.
Good stuff, sir.

Thank you for the honest
and forthright answer.

Ahh, here’s some of my reading.

Good little magazine here,
The Nation.

Not a pro-Bush magazine.

Then again,
who is nowadays?

I love politics, you know,
I’m a political junkie.

You know, I mean,
we’re here now

because we have
a commander-in-chief

that decided we need to go
to Iraq, so, you know...

Right now, it’s like a train
that’s set in motion,

you just can’t
turn back around.

It was an historic moment
for Iraq,

that beleaguered country.

A temporary constitution
was signed,

a first step toward
elections and sovereignty,

and a major accomplishment
for the U.S.

in what is expected to be
a long and difficult path

for Iraq’s independence.

Daddy’s gotta go to work.

Why?

Just because.

Hoo-ah!

-Hold the ranks!
-Hold the ranks!

Ah, yeah, we’re ready
for the desert now!

(unintelligible)

(unintelligible) snow angel!

Snow angels!

The day is here.

Life will change.

-Good luck, Specialist.
-Thank you.

Every soldier eventually
wants to go in combat.

It’s a natural instinct,
like I said.

If--it’s like, uh, training
a football player all season

but never letting them
play in a game.

There’s times
when you’re kind of afraid.

But for the most part,

we’re prepared
and we’re trained

and we know
what we’re doing.

If you let fear get to you,
then, you, uh,

you’re really not
gonna be doing your job.

Sit down, everybody!

This is the real deal, man.

Every soldier in the past,
they’re my heroes.

Hopefully
I’ll be someone’s hero.

-You ready?
-Bring it on.

You ready?

Here we go.

Iraq, here we come.

Bye, Matthew and Kenley
and Randi.

You’re coming over here
to conduct a mission

under Operation Iraqi Freedom

that is absolutely vital
for our nation.

You are in a danger area
right now, today, here in Iraq.

Well, here we are.

The scenic vista:
Camp Anaconda in Balad.

We’re gonna be staying
in these giant tents

until, uh, we’ll get some
improved living conditions.

Welcome to Iraq, gentlemen.

Only one year to go.

-That’s all.
-There we go.

What we’re talking about!

Live free or die!

This is home.

Home, sweet home.

Take a look
at these Humvees

and see
what kinda damage

has been done
the last couple of days.

As you can see, that window
is four inches thick.

It’s 75 pounds
just for the window itself.

Holy shit!

Jesus Christ.

Whoo!

Camp Anaconda is the most
attacked base in the country.

Gets mortar attacks
on a daily basis.

This still remains
a pretty damn dangerous place.

That’s the all-clear.

I have no place to go.

This is the,
and I’m serious...

If one hits here...

If we end up
in a survival situation,

I give you guys
permission to eat me.

Well, chances are we’d get
resupplied in a week,

so, we wouldn’t need
to eat you.

You don’t need a resupply
in a week if you’re eating me,

you’re good for a month.

There’s the mount
for the camera right there.

I’m gonna patent that shit.

Bank.

Come on, let’s roll!

Our primary mission
is convoy security.

We go out every day.

We go to the KBR/Halliburton
truck yard.

We escort their convoy
to wherever,

usually it’s Scania,
and we take one back.

The stuff that KBR’s driving
is logistical stuff.

We’re moving, uh, cheese.

Cheese, food, soda, paper
supply, and fuel, too.

Hey, it’s my guy that’s here,
I want you to get up there.

We’re gonna be
vehicle number 6.

I need you get up there
cautiously and safely.

Nassir will help you out.

Hey, numb-nuts!

Be careful around the bend.

You leave the wire,
your main concerns are IEDs,

which are improvised
explosive devices.

And the other one is RPGs,

which are
rocket-propelled grenades,

Bazookas, whatever
you wanna call ’em.

The most worrisome
for people is, uh, VBIED,

which is vehicle-borne IED,

which is army name
for a car bomb.

We’re here waiting to go over
this pontoon bridge.

I’m watching you.

I’m watching you watching me.

Y-M-C-A

It’s good to stay
at the Y-M-C-A

What’s up, man?

What are you selling?

Y’got any dope?

-Any dope?
-Yeah.

-No.
-Smoke? No?

-Smoke?
-Yeah.

-Cigarettes?
-No, man.

Holy shit, look at the size
of those cigarettes, huh?

-Hey, what’s up, bro?
-What’s up?

-What’re you selling, man?
-Knife.

A knife? How much?

Gimme five, man, gimme five.

-Huh?
-Gimme five, bro!

-Five?
-Gimme five!

-What’s five?
-Hit my hand, man.

Like this, I’ll show you.

Put your hand like that, ready?

-Like this.
-Okay.

Like that.

Yeah, now you’re talking.

Yeah! All right.

Ah, you see the size
of that knife?

Look at the size of the kid
selling it.

Go tell your uncle,
"Stop setting IEDs.

Sell fucking knives instead."

What is that?
Oh, all right.

You got anything
with farm animals?

Animals?

You know, if I was
in a religious cult,

I would probably buy that,
you know?

But, uh, I’m not,
so, no thanks.

Oh, okay.

The kids, sometimes
they’ll wave and smile,

and other times they’ll
flip you off, you know?

You see people out there
walking on the road,

and automatically
you assume that they may have

something to do with--
with an IED going off.

It’s unfortunate
for Iraqi civilians,

but any guy’ll tell ya
that it’s gonna be

our safety
before theirs.

Good evening. The war in Iraq
is back on, big time.

American forces
are fighting

Shiite militia
south of Baghdad.

In the past 48 hours,
coalition forces

have battled extremist
Shiite militants across Iraq

in some
of the fiercest fighting

since the U.S. invasion
a year ago.

U.S. forces have
announced a warrant

for the arrest of firebrand
sheikh Muqtada al-Sadr,

the ringleader
behind the violence.

It’s, uh, oh-dark-thirty
in the morning,

and we’re rolling out.

Things are hot and heavy
out there.

We got a cleric out there
that’s, uh, had a call to arms,

and he’s creating
quite a hassle for us.

-Uh...
-Whoo!

-IED!
-Are we on fire?!

IED! IED!

-IED!
-Fucking A.

IED!

Look for a target!

Where? Where?

Come on, bitch!

Fuckin’ son of a bitch.

Today was the first time
I shook a man’s hand

that wasn’t attached
to his arm.

So I was
the first one there

and immediately clamped
Reggie’s brachial artery.

I looked down
at his hand dangling

from the exposed bone
that used to be his elbow,

like a child’s
safety-clipped mittens

dangling from
their winter coat.

If I play the odds,

one of us will die
before the tour is over.

It’s something that I don’t
like to think about.

After being back here
for about an hour or two,

time to stop
and think about

what you had
just been through.

There were guys saying prayers
at the table, and, uh,

we all got choked up.

It comes down on ya
like a ton of bricks...

...how close you just came to
never seeing your family again,

never seeing
my kids again.

Brush your teeth, okay?

Matthew is so close
with his dad.

He says that, you know,
Daddy’s his best friend.

You’re practicing your play
today in school.

I’m gonna videotape it
for Daddy.

Careful, pal.

It’s really hard for him
to not have his dad

and to not understand...

There, lay down!

One. Two.

Kenley’s growing up.

She’s gonna be a different
person when he comes home,

and that’s
really difficult.

I’ve never
been alone,

so I’ve never
been independent.

For him to say that
he’s joining the military

to go to Iraq
was really hard for me,

and I--at first, I was not
willing to let Mike go.

But he felt that
something was missing.

He worked for
a forklift company,

and they kinda downsized,
and his job got eliminated,

so then he became
a stay-at-home dad for a year.

Mike needed to do this,
and if I held him back,

he would’ve been
bitter towards me.

That’s my new backpack.

Where’d you get it?

-From my daddy.
-Open up!

Open up! No.

Hey!

Up here on the roof
of the IHP building,

securing the perimeter
from this angle.

Here we are
in a fighting position

with machine guns
and--and Mk 19s.

But, uh, this is actually
someone’s backyard down here,

right below us,

and there’s this little boy
that plays there.

He just kinda wanders around
talking to himself

and torturing his little
chickens over there.

This little kid
is in a world of his own,

surrounded by all this stuff.

Funny little kids
in the middle of a war zone.

You just hope
that they don’t turn bad

as they get older
like many of ’em do.

It’s not even 6 o’clock.

It’s fucking hot already.

In order for them to continue
running missions in Iraq,

KBR insisted that the Army
provide shooters

for every other one
of their trucks.

Which means they take
rear echelon motherfuckers,

and they put ’em inside
the KBR truck with an M16,

so they...

This guy right here
thought it’d be

fucking changing pillow cases
the whole time in Iraq,

and now he’s sitting
in a truck

in the most vulnerable position.

More vulnerable
than the MPs

because the KBR trucks are
more of a target than we are.

Army truck drivers make
17 grand a year, you know, E5.

So they outsource it,
privatized,

save the Army money,

and now we pay KBR 120 grand
to do the same job.

KBR trucks,
our course is, uh,

Kellogg, Brown, and Root.

Owned by Halliburton,

run by the vice president,
Dick Cheney.

KBR annoys me.

I don’t wanna talk politics,
but, man...

They got it good.

Take every store
in your town,

every gas station,
police department,

fire department, and let it
all be run by one company.

I mean, that’s basically
what they do.

They have their hands in
anything you can think of.

First Platoon, get some chow.

KBR runs all our chow halls.

Today we’re having

Middle Eastern
Swedish Meatballs,

and Iraqi freedom fries.

Look at all these plates, huh?

To charge the military food,

they’re gonna put out
4,000 plates,

times $28 a plate.

So when people take two,

’cause sometimes we take one
and then we’ll take one

and put it on top
to keep it warm,

it’s 56 bucks
KBR just charged the government

Everybody there
stands to make money

the longer we’re there.

So that’s why they refer to it
as the war for cheese.

You know,
there’s been some changes

on the Anaconda here.

We got a drive-thru window
at Burger King now,

which is great,
and they’re wide enough

so Humvees
can go through.

So on your way out to work,

you can grab, you know,
a burger,

maybe some french fries
or something.

It makes it feel--
feel like home.

I’m just kidding!
That’s not true.

There’s my new driver.

Specialist Steven Rizza,
fucking lunatic.

Hey, how many people have you
bumped with the Humvee so far?

Nobody! I don’t bump anybody.

I use my directional
all the time.

I’m a very courteous
and professional driver.

You’re a fucking bullshit
artist, too.

You almost have to have
a false sense of security

to do this business.

Move over! Move over!

Get out of the way!

You almost have to convince
yourself, in your head,

that it won’t happen to me.

Get the fuck
out of the way! Go!

We’re stopped up here.
We’re stopped.

There’s a woman in there!
There’s a woman in there.

Good job.

Fuckin’ outstanding.

Pay attention!

Move over!

From where?

Fucking three o’clock.

-Uh, taking fire.
-We’re taking fire.

I can’t see it.
I can’t see it.

If you didn’t
have any faith,

you’d probably have
a very hard time

leaving that wire
every day.

Basically, we’re like, uh...

the mother of all street cops,
if you will.

Stop!

Stop! Halt!

In America, you just
kinda put your hand up

and you say, "Stop."

Uh, in Iraq,
that means "Hello."

Uh, this is stop, so,
the guy sees a U.S. soldier

telling him "Hello"
over and over and over,

and next thing you know,
he sees a soldier

telling him hello
in a different way.

Come on!

Occupation doesn’t
really come naturally

for an infantry outfit.

It’s there to be an
efficient destroying machine.

I find it interesting,
all these dudes

that come sitting out here
like they didn’t do nothing.

Yeah, that’s where
they were the other day.

When we sat
on that jackknife,

they were so fucking
frustrated with us,

they started yelling.

You fucking shoulda shot ’em.

I’m not getting
that fucking truck.

Hostile intent.
You shoulda fucking shot ’em.

You take 150,000 U.S. soldiers
out of America,

and you transplant ’em
to Iraq for a year,

and with absolutely
zero training whatsoever

about the culture.

It doesn’t take a shrink
to tell you,

ignorance is one
of the first steps

towards prejudice.

That is one serious afro.

She must’ve spent hours

picking that thing out
in the morning.

I told ’em I’m 25 years old.

He’s 10 years old.

I was born and raised the
first 10 years of my life

in Lebanon, so, uh,

I guess naturally,
I’m, uh, fluent in Arabic.

Sometimes people
come up to me like,

"Man, that’s so cool,
you know Arabic."

He asked me if I had
a donkey, I said nah.

The ones that I do talk to,
for the most part,

are, you know,
they get a kick out of it.

Eventually they ask me,

"How the hell do you get
a visa to America?"

I’m like, "I was 10, man,
I don’t know.

My parents got it for me."

I guess that’s every
foreigner’s, uh, dream.

Asked him if he likes America,
he says yes.

And when the flower
blooming in spring, so...

He 25, 26 years old,
and I still believe, like,

he is a little baby
in my eyes.

And I fight a lot
with Zaher.

Because, probably,
we both look, um,

have same personality.

He’s very sociable
and love people and, uh,

a short fuse,
and I’m like that.

So we always, like,
hang up in each other.

I shouldn’t say it,
but I said it anyway.

He like to be big shot.

When he was in Lebanon,
he was president to his class,

and when we came here,

he also was president
to his class.

I think he felt he doesn’t
have enough support from me

for college.

Like when we first came,
I don’t know the language,

and you cannot bring
your house with you.

You leave everything behind.

You bring suitcase
full with, uh, clothes,

that’s all.

One time, militia shoot
from the street at my house,

and the army shoot back
from my bathroom window.

Zaher was
very, very little boy,

and we stuck in the bathroom,
four of us,

and my kids
just so scared.

I never thought
he’s gonna be army man.

He felt the army
give him discipline

and make him man
more than raised by women.

He didn’t even listen.

Life no sense
for me anymore.

Because I have my shop,

I have my car,
I have my house.

Here I am: I came, I won,
I saved these kids,

and then I bring my kid
to be in the worst place

in the whole world, I mean...

Well, he’s my life.

And here we have
Sergeant Bazzi

communicating
with the local people.

Think he might be a spy.

Don’t quite trust him.

What’s he doing?
He’s plotting against us.

I know he is.

Yep! Ya see?

The deal is sealed.

In order to keep your sanity
in the Army,

you have to have
a thick skin,

’cause everybody
rags on everybody.

You practicing
our handshakes?

What the hell is this?

A fraternity?

What a traitor.

All right.

Every war has got
its own little, uh,

term to dehumanize
the other side,

and we had "gooks"
in Vietnam,

and this war has hajis.

Fucking hajis
got a fucking plan

to take us all out.

But we don’t plan on letting
that fucking happen now, do we?

Hell. No.

Becomes almost like a filler,
you know.

Anybody that’s non-American
almost becomes a haji.

It originated because, uh,

a lot of the older men
in Arab cultures

have done their pilgrimage
to Mecca,

so when you come back,
you become a haji.

So it’s used by Arabs for Arabs
as a term of respect,

but somehow I don’t think
the U.S. soldier on a patrol

is using it
in that context.

The bad guys,
or the insurgents,

I’m sure they have their own
derogatory term towards us.

Maybe it’s just part
of human affairs and war.

This is what happens when
you fuck with the Americans.

We were just informed
by our squad leader

that we’ll get the night off,
which is good.

Sometimes you get fucked
and you work extra and, uh,

sometimes this happens.

What are ya doing, man?

Making a pistol.

Why are ya making a pistol?

’Cause they won’t give me one.

So what the hell are ya
gonna do with that thing?

I’m gonna scare people
with it.

Waving the M16 isn’t
gonna make an Iraqi civilian

move out of the way.

But if you point a pistol at
them, they’ll run like hell,

because that’s what Saddam
and his agents used

to murder Iraqis here.

They all used pistols.

You gonna make one
for everybody?

Do I look fucking stupid?

Today is, uh,
"Sporting Chance Tuesday."

Onward, Christian soldiers!

We like to give these
insurgents a fair chance.

So what we do,
we ride with the windows down,

because, you know,
we obviously have the advantage.

I’m just kidding,
we don’t fucking ride

with the goddamn windows down.

That’s not true.

Very unsafe.

Whoa.

Right there.

All right, let’s get over
to that site.

Be advised, we’re, uh,
leaving Taji right now.

We believe that, uh,

the blast was right
outside the gate of Taji.

We’re heading
to that location now.

Over.

That’s a fucking car bomb!

Motherfuckers!

Get your vest on!

Hey! Get over the fucking
Sheriff One-Six out,

One-Four elements,
get to the gate.

Sheriff One-Six
or any One-Four elements,

we need you at the gate
of Taji right now.

Over.

Any move One-Four element.

This is One-Four Alpha.

Over.

Stay low, Rizzy.

Over to the right.

Get your bag, get your bag!

Yeah, yeah, I got it!

It was--
it was mass casualties.

Probably 20 dead,
20 or 30 wounded Iraqis.

It just looked like,
you know,

someone had--had thrown
a quarter through a guy

and it was just, like...

there was no blood coming
from the shrapnel wounds.

Everything was cauterized,
and it was just like

there was a void going--
going through their body.

This is the scene north.

They just, uh,
removed a burnt body,

or half a body from here.

I don’t think there
was anything left, uh,

from his abdominal down.

This is blood.

And, uh, you know,
you’re walking,

you hear the pieces of skin
and...

That’s all that’s left.

I remember
giving three IVs,

bandaging several wounded.

Soldiers sitting
in the corner

of a sandbag wall
shaking and screaming.

Medics who were terrified
and couldn’t perform.

I later heard
that Iraqi casualties

were not to be treated
in Taji.

They can work on the post
for pennies,

but can’t die there.

They’ve got to die outside.

If one of those
incompetent medical officers

told me
to stop treatment,

I would’ve slit his throat
right there.

Twenty-one-hundred hours,

and it’s just our squad

going through today’s events
in our heads.

Whether we want to or not.

More violence in Iraq.

Twin suicide car bombings

killed eight Iraqis
and wounded dozens more

-near a coalition base...
-We made the news.

I feel exploited and proud
at the same time.

I have lost all faith
in the media,

a hapless joke I would
much rather laugh at

than become a part of.

I should really thank God
for saving my lucky ass.

I’ll do that,
then I’m gonna jerk off,

because these pages
smell like Linds,

and there won’t be any time
for jerking off tomorrow,

another mission
at zero-six-hundred.

When I get a letter from him,
I run to the mailbox.

In the beginning, he’s like,
"Write something dirty!"

I couldn’t write
something dirty!

Me and my girlfriend
got, like,

a Hustler magazine
or something,

and I went through
the magazine

and put a picture of my face
over every girl’s body.

So I was like,
"You want dirty? You got it!"

Steve just
liked to laugh.

We like--like to
just have a good time.

He doesn’t really like
to let people in.

He thinks his feelings
are his problem,

and he doesn’t want
to burden anyone else.

Steve’s way of getting
emotions out is his writing.

I don’t think
he really told me

exactly how he felt about me
until he was over there.

Saying goodbye
to Steve was horrible.

It’s still a nightmare.

I still cringe
every time the news is on,

and think about where he is
and what he’s doing.

Every once in a while as
we’re driving down the road,

creeping along on patrol,

I have a reoccurring epiphany.

This is happening and will
have a lasting impact on me

for the rest
of my life.

The debate we had
earlier in the day

over the consistency
and texture of a severed limb

was not some far off,
grotesque assumption.

It was a genuine argument
between the guy who swears

it resembles hamburger,
ground up but uncooked,

and the guy
who believed it looks more

like a raw pot roast.

There is no argument,
however,

that human intestines
are pink pork sausage links.

If, of course,
you imagine a butcher’s block

as the background
instead of the screaming,

then soon quietly
moaning, casualty.

Why are the mortar attacks
at the same level now

that they were
four months ago?

I mean, there’s gotta be--

I mean, we’re supposed to be

the most technological army
in the world,

and we can’t figure out
where the hell

these guys
are shooting ’em from?

We got more aircraft.

We could probably line
the Persian Gulf

with the aircraft
and walk across!

That’s Rizza there,
my driver.

We should really
make this guy general,

I think, because then
maybe he can, you know,

put some of these theories
to use.

Now, why do you think
that we do so much bitching?

Why do you bitch?

-I don’t bitch.
-Why do you bitch?

-You lying sack of shit.
-I don’t bitch.

-You are so--
-You--oh my God!

Now you’re fucking ass-kissing.

You become an NCO.

It’s called regulating,
delegating authority,

and making things happen.

Doesn’t matter
what rank you are.

It’s plain-ass bitching.

Look it up
in a Webster’s dictionary.

Uh, my team’s been tasked out
to provide security for, uh,

septic waste trucks.

Basically the poop trucks.

Whoever said being a soldier’s
all blood and glory

obviously forgot
about the shit.

Forth!
Follow that shit truck!

Oh! Can you smell the poop?

All right, hold on,
I gotta put this on camera here.

This is one
of the premier locations

where we dump
our poop water.

Gonna be a lot of healthy grass
and trees in this area.

So every time some kid
sees a commercial saying,

"Join the army,
fight bad guys,"

they need to include this.

Streams of poop water.

We are bringing democracy
and good vegetation to Iraq.

Hey, you can even see
a little small rainbow!

I wonder if there’ll be a pot
of gold under that rainbow.

This is a day of great hope
for Iraqis.

In just 15 months,

the Iraqi people
have left behind

one of the worst regimes
in the Middle East,

and their country is becoming
the world’s newest democracy.

A brand new Iraqi flag now
flies over this green zone,

but this country
is also swept up

in the terror
of the insurgency,

and so the mood
can best be summed up

as hoping for the best
and preparing for the worst.

Iraq is a sovereign nation.

What is your, uh,
take on the whole thing,

-as far as new govern--
-Well, I think

it’s a fantastic opportunity
for the Iraqis

to, uh, establish, uh,
new history in the country

and be able to, uh,

to be a free
and democratic society,

which, in turn,

should stabilize
the whole Middle East

and create a freer, more stable
Earth as we know it.

Tell me how you really feel.

Then, after that happens...

It’s so hard
to look at things

in a positive light
as far as Iraq goes.

Whenever anything happens
that’s positive,

they all get excited,

and it doesn’t last
for any length of time.

Um...

Eventually they’ll be
shooting at us again.

When you’re working
night missions,

have to kind of lay low
and kinda let the dust settle

so the new interim government,

the new Iraqi National Guard,

and the Iraqi police
can get out there

and start to take control
of their own country.

Every single time
you go out there,

there’s--there’s, um, IEDs.

If they’re not hitting you,
they’re hitting nearby.

There’s attacks.

It’s unbelievable.

Rumor has it there is a, uh,
bounty out.

The insurgents
will give anyone $15,000

if they get
one of our gunner shields

with the skull and ice axes.

When you’re out there, uh,

you start to think about
reality, and the reality is:

Why the fuck
am I sitting here

guarding this truck
full of cheesecake?

Are these people crazy?

I feel like the priority
of KBR making money

outweighs the priority
of safety.

Whoa, did you see that
off to the right, Mike?

What?

-That.
-That was an IED.

All right,
we’re coming up on--

Well, it went off
just to our right there.

How the fuck
does he set off an IED

when there’s Bradleys here?

Ah, there is shit pouring out
of that truck right there.

Seems to have shrapnel in
his left bicep and arm area.

We are trying to get him out
of the turret as we speak.

Over.

Come on, motherfuckers,

I dare you
to shoot just once.

They’re coming
from the left side.

Come on, motherfucker,
keep going, brother.

You wanna play?

They’re shooting at me.

I don’t give a fuck
if they’re the pope.

You knew you liked the army.

We’re tired, we’re so cynical
right now, man.

I, you know,
I support the mission.

And I support
a lot of things.

But I’m starting
to say to myself,

"What the fuck?

Shit or get off the pot."

If the problem
is not going away,

then kick it up a notch.

And I don’t give a fuck

if that means nuking
this fucking country.

Yep.

Meanwhile,
there are fucking innocent

fucking U.S. soldiers
getting killed.

It’s only a matter of time
before our number’s up.

People say they’re evil
and they hate our way of life

and that they don’t see that
we’re trying to liberate ’em.

Well, if Canada
invaded tomorrow

and they said,
you know,

"We’re here to liberate
you guys from Bush,

’cause we think
Bush is bad for you,"

there’s gonna be
definitely some people

that take
to those mountains

and do some serious
guerrilla fighting.

The insurgents
got their principles

and we got ours.

You gotta respect it.

At a practical level,
when I’m on the road,

it’s my guys versus them.

The hell with our morality,
but I want one thing,

and one thing only: combat.

Where was that?

Where was it?

-Where?
-Like 200 yards--

All right,
you gotta fucking tell me.

Go back in my convoy ’cause
these idiots are starting

and we’re gonna
push on through.

Hey, come here, you!

My main fear is
not being a good leader.

I got guys,
and the army has entrusted me

with their lives.

And if I make a bad call,
their lives are on the line.

Fucking Christ.

Bravo. One.

Any signs of fucking body parts
or anything?

I don’t smell burning dead guy.

No.

Usually--usually get
a leg bone or something.

Yeah.

Usually the femur’s left,
you know?

We’re at Taji here.

Our convoy got pulled in.

Uh, we got hit with an IED, uh,

we have an injured TCN driver.

Waiting on medics to come now.

The TCNs are
Third Country Nationals.

They can be anything
from Pakistanis to Filipinos

to Turks to Egyptians.

Let’s go look at the guy
that’s injured.

How are you feeling? You okay?

Let’s look at your leg here.

Let’s look at your leg here.

Right there is probably
some shrap metal in his leg.

The medics are coming in now.
There they are.

Most of them
don’t speak English,

so if they’re ever hurt,

we’ve really got no way
of communicating with them.

There’s such
a language barrier.

This is un-fucking-believable.

This is the kind of shit
we deal with.

This truck left the yard
like this.

And this driver’s expected
to drive a vehicle

with no windows
and no windshield.

You know why?

’Cause he’s not KBR.

’Cause he’s not worth enough
to this operation

for him to have
any kind of safety whatsoever.

He’s a Third Country National
trying to make a living.

We’re at the Iraqi
Highway Patrol Headquarters

in downtown Baghdad.

There’s a lot of progress
being made here

as far as training and--
and recruiting and...

uh, you know,
arming them with--

with weapons and...

Needless to say,

the insurgency
doesn’t like that.

Working with
the Iraqi police guys.

Part of the strategic approach

that’s set by President Bush is

kinda shift the burden,
of running the country,

protecting it, to the Iraqis.

Faster we train, the better
for the overall mission,

and the sooner
we can all go home.

He said, "Let me take off
this vest because--"

-No!
-Can’t do it.

Hey, Smiley.

Tell him we can’t!

He’s not gonna say,
"Hey, so Zakawi,

you wait, I take my vest off,
then I shoot you!"

Are you--

Come on, come on, come on.

Serious!

Elbows in, cheek to--

Hey, ADD, look at me,
motherfucker.

Yes, yes.

Breathe.
Squeeze.

He’s not having a baby.

What the fuck
are you shooting at, man?

What the fuck, huh?

Lookit, I guarantee it--
take the fucking thing off,

I bet you still can’t hit--

Take it off!

Don’t tell me!

Now let me see what the fuck.

You better hit it!

-Fuck.
-Uh, no.

Cameraman, huh?

Okay.

-Okay? Thank you.
-Thank you.

Thank you
for the shout-out to my mom.

Bazzi, Bazzi, look.

Are you scared?

They’re not gonna
cut your head off, Ahmed.

It was the deadliest
insurgent attack

in a wave of violence
that swept across Iraq today.

A suicide bomber killed
at least 16 Iraqi policemen

at a station
near a U.S. Marine base

in Baghdad in Western Iraq.

Many dead in Baghdad.

Forty-two dead and 140 injured.

-No fucking way.
-Including 10 U.S. soldiers.

-Is that 10 dead or 10 injured?
-Don’t know.

But we hit the milestone
of 1,000 dead!

Why the fuck they call that
a milestone, I have no idea.

You think they said milestone?

One thousand,
that’s a fucking milestone?

Everybody’s expendable.

Do I think
we’re making progress?

No. I don’t know.

I think any country
should be allowed

to have its own civil war

without people
getting in the way.

But I also believe
that there are

some pretty dangerous people
in Iraq.

I wanna see this fight.

Let’s get a look
at the contenders

before we go in there.

In this corner.

Look at him there.

Oh, yeah.

He’s ready.

And who’s this guy?

That’s Fred.

-Fred?
-Yeah, keep the lights on.

Bang! Oh, boy.

Who’s your money on, Warren?

Well, last time, the spider
was pretty fucking quick.

This is gonna be a battle.

Oh, shit!

I don’t know,
the last scorpion died

when the spider bit it
in the face.

What are they waiting on, then?

Attack!

Yeah! Oh, shit!

Oh!

Oh, he drew blood.

-Where? Where’s he bleeding?
-On the spider.

Oh, oh, oh, oh!

Geez!

This is great.

There we go.

So now he gets the tank,
right, Warren?

Yup!

He’s like, "Yeah,
this is my bitch now."

Just goes to show you
there’s always a bigger badass.

Ah, whatever. I quit.

Like in my company,
it’s a bunch of white guys

from New Hampshire,

and literally,
besides one or two guys,

everybody else
thinks the same way.

That’s not an accident
or a coincidence.

That’s just groupthink
taking effect, you know?

I think five guys
outta the whole company

did not vote for Bush.

And they probably kept it low.

If you’re a guy, you know,
the whole Bush, macho,

"let’s kick ass" thing
sounds pretty good.

All right, we’re back here
at the cache

for the second time tonight!

Hileman got hit with the IED.

We got facial injuries here.

Let’s go.

The blast knocked me
into the truck.

When I did become alert,
the first thought in my head,

I could feel the blood
running down my face.

I only need one person in here,
and I need a stretcher.

"How fucked up am I?"
You know what I mean?

How bad are these wounds?

You know, really couldn’t tell.

The thoughts started becoming
just more anger and pissed off

that I got hit, and, you know,
9 out of 10 times,

most ambush-type incidents
are IEDs,

and you can’t do shit about it.

There’s no way to defend it.

Lucky to be alive,
all these guys.

All right, this is, uh...

This is
a depressing place to be.

This is the equipment graveyard
here at Anaconda.

Every one of these pieces
of equipment that’s damaged

has a story behind it,
and you can imagine the story.

There’s someone’s father.

Or someone’s mother.

That was somebody’s--
somebody’s son.

Or daughter.

Whew.

It goes on and on and on.

Um, you know, I support
George Bush and everything,

but for him to say that
major combat operations are over

kinda conflicts
with what we’re seeing

and dealing with every day.

Downtown, Die Hard City.

Thousands of U.S.
and Iraqi troops

are steeling themselves
for a possible all-out assault

in the stronghold of Fallujah.

As heavily outnumbered
resistance gunmen

vow to fight to the death,

analysts fear
this could be Iraq’s Alamo.

All right, today is Thursday,
November 18th,

10 in the morning.

First Platoon has been assigned
MSR patrol in Fallujah.

Hold at the base,
hold at the base...

Hey, dude, look at this.

Look at this terrain
all around us.

Just look at this madness.

What’s that Forbidden Zone

from the original
Planet of the Apes?

Oh. We’re in the wrong area,

all the action’s
taking place somewhere else.

Every time you hear a boom,
somebody’s going to heaven.

Or hell.

-Hey, Astor.
-What?

Kinda face due west
a little more.

Your ass crack is
right in my face, and...

I think that’s more
of a threat to my health

and mental well-being than...

Exactly.

Point your weapon at Fallujah.

Can we build a wall
around the country and leave?

Wall? Just leave it alone
and leave.

Fuck the oil, man. Fuck that.

Not worth it.

I’ll walk everywhere in the U.S.

I’ll recycle everything, dammit!

I’ll even drive
a Honda Insight.

Little hybrid thingies.

See, lookit, you’re the reason
why we always go to war, Bauer.

You and your little
Ford F1000s.

Redneck fuck.

I can’t haul anything
with a Honda Insight.

How often you gotta throw
all 16 bags

of fucking Budweiser cans out?

Everybody wants safety, right?

"Ooh, my kids, I want ’em safe."

So they buy more SUVs.

Well then, the people
without SUVs say,

"Holy shit,
if I get hit by an SUV,

my kids are gonna be crushed.

So, I want safety,
so I’m gonna buy an SUV."

Buy a Volvo
if you’re worried, Bazzi.

Oh, everybody’s worried
about safety, man.

I’m not.

As long as I have
a full-sized truck with a frame,

I’m not scared.

In fact, we’re so worried
about safety,

that’s why we’re here.

Make sure we have safety
in the U.S.

Okay, so we’re here
in the city of Fallujah.

There’s not much left
of this place.

And stuff’s going boom.

Marines are probably
shooting at something.

You know, I’m sure a lot of guys
lost their lives here.

So I kinda feel
a little guilty coming in here

and--and, uh,
taking pictures and...

You guys hear small arms fire?

Did anybody
clear those rooms yet?

-Negative.
-Okay.

We’re not gonna get them.

Sergeant Smith is down?!

Smith is down.

Is there anything behind me?

All right, I’m movin’!

Where’s the fire coming from?

-Where’s the fire coming from?
-I don’t know!

If I back up, can you get...

What the--

Guys, what can I do?

Where can I get
(unintelligible)?

Jesus!

Is there anybody behind me?

There they are!

Right there!

Corner of that building!

Ready? Go forward!

There they are! Light ’em up!

That’s it! Cease fire!

Cease fire!

He’s down!

Get Smith, where’s Smith?

Get Smith!

Get him!

Gah, shit.

November 29th.

Sergeant Smith from First Squad
got shot in the leg.

The round entered his calf

and blew out
the front of his shin,

shattering the bone,
exposing flesh

and fat and muscle,

like hot pizza cheese
sliding from the slice.

All the blood over there.

Oh, yeah, yeah, that’s where
he was shot right there.

Our patrol shift came on,

and we were immediately
sent out to the area

where the firefight occurred.

Our job was to keep an eye
on the bodies

until the toe-taggers
showed up.

Yeah, this is where the guy
got cut in half with a .50 cal.

Well, it was quick.

Not really.

Got shot in the legs.

For nine months, I had never
seen these guys face to face.

I mean, I heard the bullets
crack over my head,

I’d seen the IEDs
and the mortars

and the VBIEDs
and all that go off.

Hey, look,
he dropped his AK rounds.

I felt, you know, proud
for the job that they--

the guys in 1st Squad did.

I felt jealous
that it wasn’t us.

We weren’t able to--
to get those guys

and kill ’em.

I, uh, decided that I needed
to film these guys.

I’d scan the bodies
with the camera,

and I had a few
choice words for ’em.

I basically said,
you know, it was--

"I’m glad they’re dead."

That’s one less guy
that we’ve got

that’s gonna fire an RPG
at a--at a Humvee, you know?

So I hand in the tapes.

Someone said the, uh,
the first sergeant was--

was, "visually upset"
or "physically upset"

or something--I don’t know,
maybe that means he was--

his stomach got sick
or something, I’m not sure.

Um.

But it was deemed
unappropriate footage.

You know, maybe, probably
because of my commentary

while filming, you know?

But, I mean,
if we’re trained to--

to shoot our weapons
and kill these guys,

how do you expect us to talk?

What do you want me to say?

You know, "Oh, geez, I’m sorry,
you--" I don’t know.

At one point a dog came along,

and there was like human flesh
kinda around the body,

and the dog, you know,
picked up some flesh

and started eating.

And I didn’t see
a problem with it.

And neither did
any of the guys we were with.

You know?

I didn’t care about that.

And I guess,
after the fact, you know,

the command wanted me
to shoot the dog or--

or do something like that,
but I’m sorry,

we never got briefed
on shooting a dog

or what to do about that.

And at the same rate,

I don’t care what
the dog’s eating, you know?

Good for him.

I hope he fills his belly.

We need to get everything ready,
’cause we need to go.

You looking
at your cool doll, Matthew?

Oh, sorry, it’s a G.I. Joe

-or Special Ops or whatever?
-It’s a G.I. Joe!

Daddy said that’s got
all the stuff that he’s got.

Pretty cool, huh?

Whoa, slippery!

Sing, "Jingle bells,
jingle bells,

jingle all the way!"

When Mike first
went over there,

we just told Matthew
he was gonna go

and beat up the bad guys.

There’s my school!

And then, at daycare one day,

a little girl there said,

"You know, people get killed
over there."

-Bye!
-Bye!

It just completely
freaked him out.

Like, "Is Daddy gonna die?"

And, you know, it was really,
really hard for him.

But I’m afraid,
I’m afraid for Mike.

Hey, it’s Randi.

Just wanted to let you know
about J. Jill.

Three-month buyer’s
a size 2X or 22 and above.

You hear the horror stories

of people from Vietnam
that come back.

He likes
to play macho sometimes,

like it hasn’t
really affected him,

but I know that it has.

He has seen so much.

We were headed north

doing a convoy escort
out of Anaconda.

Normally we’re lead vehicle,

but in this convoy
we were the 10th truck back.

This is--this is crazy
going this fast through here.

Yeah.

Yeah, you see? Fucking moron.

These people will run out
in front of anything.

It was pitch black out.

This vehicle come out
aggressively,

and I started
to think to myself,

"This guy’s not gonna pull out
in front of us."

Sure enough, he did.

You fucking asshole!

He pulled out close enough
where I stood up

and got my weapon ready,

and, uh, he went right across
the front of our Humvee

and pulled into the shoulder.

Just as that happened,

I heard Specialist Baril
scream, "Oh my God!"

I snapped forward.

I saw a young woman
stepping out

from the same direction
the truck came from.

We heard the--the crash,

of her body
hitting the Humvee.

As I opened up my door
to get out quickly

to open up the back door
to get my CLS bag,

the worst thing of my life...
I saw.

I’m like, "Oh, my God."

The convoy trucks were
barreling at 50 miles an hour.

They didn’t even see us
pull over--

coming up the line.

And this woman was laying
directly in their path.

And she was unconscious.

It’s a fucking girl,
and she’s, uh...

She’s in pieces right now,

and they just dragged her
out of the road.

She ran out in front of us.

Ugh.

There’s pieces of her head
over there,

for Christ’s sake.

Un-fucking-believable.

Baril, don’t look at it, bud.

You’re good.

Stay cool, all right?

I remember looking down,
and I see crumbled cookies.

Like, ugh, God.

She was carrying cookies,

and it was spread
all over the MSR.

Hey, you got gloves
in the CLS bag?

I thought of my mother.

It was next door to a mosque.

Then they started the prayer
over the speaker.

I don’t know if it was
her dignity or what--I...

We had to get her
out of the road--

get what was left
out of the road.

I will remember that
for the rest of my life.

That guy rolling the body
onto the body bag

and zipping her up.

The Iraqi people are
who we’re there to help,

and we just killed one of them.

It will be a better country
in 20 years

because we were there.

I hope.

-Do we know who she is?
-Negative.

-We don’t know who she is?
-No ID?

The Combat Infantryman’s Badge

provides special recognition

of the unique role
of the Army infantryman,

the only soldier
whose daily mission

is to close with
and destroy the enemy

and to seize and hold terrain.

A Combat Infantryman’s Badge

is something many of us
have dreamt about

since we were kids.

You see a soldier with a CIB,

you look at him, you think,

"Geez, what he must’ve seen,"

or "What he must’ve done
to earn that CIB."

When I get home,
the war stories start,

do I have something to defend?

Did I not experience war

because I did not console
my buddy as he died in my arms?

Did I not experience
enough combat,

because I still want
nothing more

than to kill insurgents
at a range close enough

that I can see them
fall to the ground and die?

Woo!

All right,
we’re getting on the C-130.

This is the last time
we’ll be in Iraq.

When we get off,
we’ll be out of the country.

The captain just came on,

said we’re about 20 minutes
from Fort Dix.

We’re all
pretty tired right now.

On behalf of
this entire flight crew,

it’s been a pleasure
serving you today.

Please remain seated
with your seatbelt fastened.

Welcome home!

Welcome back.

-Sir. How are ya?
-Thank you.

I--I swore to God that
I was gonna get down and kiss--

kiss the ground
like a lot of people do,

but I had my two weapons
with me in my assault pack

and I was so exhausted.

Everybody was so, so exhausted.

Hey!

I guess you could say
this is the culmination

of our deployment.

It’s time to get back
into the civilian world.

Hey, man, is there any way
I could get you

to turn this radio up,
just a little bit?

Make my dream come alive

Oh, yeah

I’m caught up in a dream

I’m gonna wish for it all

No one’s gonna tell me how

No way, this is my dream now

I’m caught up in what seems

simply impossible

I ain’t gonna change a thing

No way...

Welcome home, ass-weasels!

-Welcome home!
-Welcome back.

Great to see you, welcome home!

Where’s my wife?

It’s a long way to Tipperary

It’s a long, long way
to Tipperary

But my heart’s right there

Are you kidding?

Daddy, let’s have some candy!

I’m ready to start
flicking the channels.

And not watch a damn thing,
just flick.

Ah.

I’m tired.

-It’s been a long day.
-Yeah.

What are we gonna do tonight?

-This.
-We’re gonna snuggle?

Watch a movie?

Maybe we should buy
50 pounds of chocolate bars.

Yes!

Ooh, we’re all gonna get bloated
and unattractive tonight!

Ow.

They could offer me $500,000,

and I would not go back there.

It’s like saying,
"If I gave you $500,000

for your son
to never see you again,

would you take it?"

I’m so glad I went.

I hated it
with a God-awful passion,

and I will not go back.

I have done my part,

and I feel like
it’s someone else’s turn.

My views of the war
haven’t changed.

You’ve heard people say,
you know,

"We’re over there
for the oil," you know?

"That’s the only reason
we’re in Iraq,

it’s oil, it’s oil, it’s oil!"

Well, listen, no.

We’re not there for the oil.

If it were for oil,

would that not be
enough reason to go to Iraq?

You bet your ass it would be.

If you took oil away
from this country tomorrow,

what do you think would happen
to this country?

It would be--
it would be devastating.

So let’s all stop crying
about whether we had reason

to go in there or not,

because we could fight
about that forever.

It’s a done deal,
we’re in Iraq.

Support what it takes
to make this thing work

or shut up.

We hired Mike
probably three or four months

before he was called away
to duty.

We had explained to him:
when you come back,

it’s gonna be like
you never left

when you walk back
through the door again.

Me and you, we’ll go in there

and we’ll finish
the paint work on that.

By the time
we’re done with that,

it’ll be time to go home and--

Yeah.

-Time to drink beer?
-Time to have a couple beers.

Whiskey.

I was at the V.A. yesterday.

One of the biggest things

that’s driving me crazy
is my hands.

I used to sit in the turret

and hold onto my SAW,
my weapon.

Over time, my hands
would go numb.

It didn’t hurt,
it’d just get really numb.

They told me it’s carpal tunnel.

And the vibrating tools’ll
make it worse.

I have some appointments
set up--

uh, physical therapy
and occupational therapy

for my neck and back,

and my whole back was in knots

because of the body armor.

All I know is...it hurts,

and I take about
3200 mg of ibuprofen a day,

and, uh, you know,

that usually doesn’t work
at this point.

I, like, think I got used to it.

How are you, gentlemen?

Thank you for coming out.

Mike rejoined us
after more than a year of Iraq,

and being shot at and...

Today is the anniversary
of the worst day of my life.

Is that the day
you got hung up on an ambush?

I just realized that.

There’s gotta be 50
or 60 guys shooting at you,

and--and there’s mortars:

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

My frustration, coming back,
is I go to work,

and I talk to guys,
and they don’t care.

I think it’s
they don’t understand.

I earned my CIB
in my first day.

Somebody will even
ask me a question:

"Geez, do you have
any pictures?"

And--and I will say, "Sure."

I’ll take out some pictures,
and I’ll start to show them.

They’ll, "Yeah, yeah, yeah,"
and I’m like--

I wanna grab them by the throat

and say, "You will look
at my effing pictures.

You asked me to look at them,

okay, I’m not going around
showing ’em off to everybody,

you asked me to look at them.

Give me the goddamn respect
of looking at my pictures.

Do you have any idea
what I’ve done?"

If I gave them 10 minutes
to feel that fear...

that loneliness,
and that sacrifice,

they might pay
a little bit more attention.

-See you later.
-All right.

He’s not the same person
anymore, he’s not.

He had really worked
on his temper.

Before he went to Iraq,
he was great!

He was so much calmer than me,

and just being in Iraq,

his temper’s just--it’s back.

We have actually
had flashbacks.

We were driving,

and I saw a spider
on the window,

and went...

...and he just
completely freaked out.

He had a flashback,

he thought he was
gonna hit somebody,

and then he just had
a flashback of them

hitting the woman,
and just got very upset,

and he’s like,
"Don’t ever do that again,"

and we would up getting
into an argument about it.

What him and I
struggle with is

he so badly wants me
to understand

what he went through.

I will never understand,

just as he will never understand
what I went through.

Sometimes I feel like
he doesn’t live in reality.

He so badly wants to be okay

that he’s just gonna
believe that,

and everything will be fine.

I took a vow with him--
for better, for worse,

sickness and in health,
till death do us part.

I don’t wanna get out of that!

There are days that
I don’t like him, absolutely,

there are days I don’t like him.

But I still love him.

Give me the hugs.

I just can’t imagine my life
without him,

I just can’t.

You love Dada?

Thank you, appreciate it, guys.

Glad to see you.

Compared to
what they were or--

-No.
-No?

I don’t wanna tell people
what it was like over there.

It’s a fucking mess, you know?

I went over there and did
the job I was supposed to do.

People tend to ask
some ignorant questions.

You know,
"Did you kill anybody?"

Um, "What’s it like over there?"

Or, "When do you have
to go back?"

That woman?

She was like, "Hey,
it’s good to have you home."

-You like that?
-That was, like, just right.

-I know--
-That’s all you need to say,

-you know?
-Yeah, that’s it.

Well, people don’t know
what to say, I think.

That, that’s exactly
what you say.

Sometimes I don’t know
what to say.

Yeah, but, you know,

we’ve got plenty of other things
to talk about.

Yeah, we do.

We have decisions to make.

What do you mean?

Oh, nothing serious.

Look at--look at the look!

-Like what, like jobs?
-Calm down.

-Yeah.
-Yeah, we’ll get jobs.

I like the engagement ring.

I mean, the promise ring.

Whoa, it’s not
either one of those.

I like that ring that’s on her--

-her ring finger.
-Yeah.

-She likes the ring.
-It’s pretty.

-Yeah.
-It’s a vacation ring.

Wait, what’s a vacation ring?

I don’t know, like you could--

So does that mean
you’re gonna get me one

for Portland, too?

You coulda just, like,
gone to Italy on a whim

-with, like, any random guy.
-Yeah.

And you woulda gotten that.

-That’s like...
-What?

-You make no sense.
-No, I guess not.

Stephen has changed a lot
since he’s come back from Iraq.

I don’t know why he says
everything’s fine,

because it’s not.

Why the fuck are we there?

We better get that oil, right?

The U.S. Army
is not the fucking Peace Corps.

The Marines are not
the Peace Corps,

that’s not why we’re in Iraq.

We’re in Iraq for money and oil.

Look at any other war
in the history of the world,

and tell me
it’s not about money.

This better be about money,

and if we don’t get that oil
and that money,

then all the lives
that are gone right now--

what’s it, 1,800 it’s at?

Something around there?

They’re all in vain.

But you don’t put
150,000 troops

from all over the country
in there

and say we’re there
to create democracy.

We’re there to create money,
you know?

We’re there to make money,
for us, you know?

Somebody other than Dick Cheney

better be getting
their hands on it pretty soon.

He can’t sleep nights.

He won’t say it’s nightmares,
but I know they are.

I’m locked into the V.A.

I went there,

and, I don’t know,
they say I got asthma

and hearing loss

and post-traumatic stress
disorder.

Which is all right,
I mean, I don’t know.

I...

Yeah, reel it in.

Oh, hey, hey, hey, hey! Stop.

He doesn’t like
to talk about it.

-This reel’s broken.
-It’s not broken.

I feel like he thinks
if he doesn’t talk about it

then he’ll forget about it.

It’s still there
and it still hurts,

and I still feel it.

And I wanna cry a lot.

-Dog tags?
-Wear ’em.

Yeah, I don’t know why.

-Can I see?
-Yeah, they’re still on.

-Do you know why?
-I don’t know.

I just haven’t taken ’em off,
that’s all.

Do I hope and wish that
we’re together in 20 years?

Yeah.

I have no clue if we’re gonna
be together in two weeks.

Good evening, Mom.

Don’t leave.

I wanna hug him
for one year and half.

Okay, Mom.

All right, Mom.
It’s not a big deal.

Oh, not big--oh, my God.

-Sixteen months not big?
-Mom.

-So...
-Oh.

The Patriots won.

Probably gonna go see Jim
after this.

Now?

Well, I just got to stop by,
say hello.

No, call him, he’ll come over.

-He’ll come here.
-I’ll give him a call.

Yeah, please.

Don’t tell me
you’re gonna go any place now.

I never thought in my life,

for 16 months I have in my mind
Iraq day and night.

Sixteen months, day and night,

Iraq in my head.

Ah!

Wake up, Iraq.

Close my eyes, Iraq.

Okay.

He always smart.

And handsome.

Ah, he doesn’t like that,
I know.

I like to say
he’s smart and handsome,

he like it or not,
what’s he gonna do?

Shoot me?

He’s not emotional like me,
especially lately.

He doesn’t like me
to be emotional, too.

I think the army has to do
something with it.

He was soldier for too long,
and he saw a lot.

Do you think
he’ll go back to Iraq?

I hope not.

Just young people
get killed for nothing.

Nothing gonna change.

God willing...

Good afternoon.

I’d like to welcome you all.

What’s gonna take place today

is you’re gonna become
a citizen of the United States.

I’ve always wanted
to be a soldier.

It’s not because--to make me
more of an America

or to legitimize me more
in somebody else’s eyes.

-Please stand.
-I personally don’t feel

the need to legitimize myself

to a civilian
who’s never served.

Please raise your right hand.

In fact, I would laugh
if somebody said that to me.

I think a good American
will always love their country

and be suspicious
of their government.

-"I..."
-I, Zaher Muhammed Bazzi...

...that each of the individuals

who just took
the oath of allegiance

is now a citizen of
the United States of America.

Most soldiers,
they wanna think

that they’re there
for a good cause.

Something noble.

You’re fighting for freedom
and everything that’s right.

It was tough,
because you have to do

some not-so-nice things
sometimes.

I remember, one time
my platoon became attached

to a different
military police battalion,

and the orders was that nobody
is allowed on this road.

There’s, like,
a hospital on one side,

and a lot of people live
on the other.

Obviously,
it became very apparent

that I was the one
that spoke their language.

This guy comes up and is...

he’s like, "I got a sick baby.

Can I just cross the road
to go to the hospital?"

And we’re a disciplined army,
so we had to say no, but...

that didn’t make
any tactical sense.

It got to the point
where I stopped translating,

because the squad leader’d
come up to me:

"Hey, well,
tell this guy he, uh...

he can’t take his sick baby
to the hospital."

I’m like, "You know what?
I’m not gonna do that.

Just--you tell him."

And, "Well, we’re
just following orders."

"I know,
but I don’t wanna translate."

If the colonel wanna do it,

he can come down himself
and do it.

It goes against why we’re there.

It goes against
a lot of our beliefs

and the value system
we operate under

as American soldiers.

There’s a big demand now
for patriotism and flags

and yellow ribbons and...

I got my living off the war

by going there
and getting a paycheck,

and the guy that makes
the yellow ribbons,

which is the biggest
fashion fad nowadays,

makes his living off of it,

and Caterpillar
makes living off of it,

and the companies that make
the smart bombs

that we drop on those guys
make a living off of it.

And the Humvee company
makes a living out of it,

and you guys are making
a living off it.

It’s just, I don’t really
look at it as something...

more than that, I suppose.

I love being a soldier.

The only bad thing
about the army is

you can’t pick your war.