I'm with Eisenhower. I've known two vets, up close. One, years ago, was a WWII vet. He had been a prisoner of war on a German ship. The ship was bombed by Allies and he was rescued. He was found under a pile of bodies. He lived the rest of his life a virtual shell. From time to time he would rest in the VA hospital and than at other times would live quietly under the watchful eye of brothers and sisters. Another vet, from Vietnam, seemed to make a successful transition, but years later, when describing his experience, didn't talk so much about fear but about numbness, about being brutalized by the indifference of his leaders to his well-being. I think it's the numbness more than anything that stayed with him and changed his life. This is a great film. It doesn't excoriate the military, but it does ask us to question the structure, the concept of organized conflict. Young people are recruited before they're formed. They really aren't independent thinkers yet. Their minds are molded so they will be "good soldiers". I think the heart of the film for me, was in the commentary by Holgren (did I get that name right?). Soldiers go to war and America goes shopping. But it's not America. It's the history of warfare--until it comes to your house.
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