Exploration 7

The thing that struck me the most was how dangerous the valley is. When President Bush said "This is the worst place on Earth." For the President of the United States to publicly call out an area of the world that was currently occupied by troops, shows how bad it really is. The one thing that did surprise me was how the men still found ways to use humor and still show plenty of courage. "Restrepo was a giant middle finger to them." This showed that no matter what the Taliban put up against us, we would always overcome it, while still having some fun with it.

The scene that was most memorable was Rock Avalanche. Just the fact of knowing what had happened in the past, made this such a crazy mission. Seeing the reactions of the men after a few of them had been wounded was just unimaginable. On top of that, having so much fire directed toward them, without being in a good position is insane.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who thinks war is all fun and games. Their are so many people like this that play war video games all day long, claiming all they want is to fight. These kind of people really need to see what war is really like.

Exploration 7

One of the things that really struck me as I watched Restrepo was how much ambiguity and chaos there was in the whole situation. Nowadays people seem to expect order and control even in war. The phrase “War has become routine” could only occur in a world where people expect things to follow very orderly patterns. Restrepo seems to challenge this concept and implies that war is still mostly chaotic and uncontrollable. Even if war is routine in concept its execution is still a difficult road to walk. Even just negotiations appear very nerve wracking and uncertain as the movie shows the captain trying to bridge cultural differences and years of mistrust in his talks with village elders. I think the uncertainty is best seen whenever the men talk about accidents. The accidents seem so frequent and vary greatly in their effects on the men. In particular when the captain describes how his orders “killed five men who didn’t pull the trigger [attack them] but were in some way connected to [the Taliban]” (Restrepo) you truly see how ambiguous the missions, enemies, and consequences really are.

For me the most memorable scene is when one of the soldiers begins crying upon seeing his friend killed during the fire fight. It seems easy to think that soldiers are desensitized to death but this seems to be only partially true in my opinion. It is more soldiers are desensitized to murder, not death. Everyone is still affected when they lose someone they care about, the only reason soldiers appear desensitized is because they can’t stop fighting every time they lose someone. If they did then they would lose everything that person had died for. Seeing one of the soldiers break down and begin crying helped me remember that every single death still mattered to these people, regardless of if they saw death a lot or not.

Restrepo is an exceptionally good movie for explaining what it felt like to be the soldiers stationed in one of the most unpleasant war zones in the world. I would easily recommend seeing the movie to learn more about the war and the people in it, especially since it tastefully avoids large amounts of blood. It isn’t the most refined movie, if refinement is all you’re looking for you’d probably want to go with Hotel Rwanda over Restrepo in terms of war movies and Kandahar probably shows the lives of the Middle Eastern people more accurately. Looking solely from the perspective of soldiers, Restrepo is one of the best choices and I would recommend it to people so long as they are interested in the war already. If one isn’t interested in the war to begin with then Restrepo won’t change his or her mind anytime soon.

Exploration Seven

What struck me the most about the film Restrepo was the constant state of fear the soldiers were in. The troop was stationed in one of the most dangerous places in war and in turn feared for their safety. Upon arriving, one of the soldiers expressed this fear when he said, “The monkeys were howling and I thought they were Taliban.” The soldiers paid attention to every sound and movement around them in case it was made by the enemy. Later in the film a soldier further expressed this feeling when he said, “The fear is always there, especially at night.” Despite their constant state of fear, the soldiers fought for the safety of Americans with great sacrifice.

The scene that was most memorable to me was the scene when the troop got together to remember Restrepo. They told stories and in a way brought life back to their lost friend. This short scene stood out to me because it shows the unity of the group. Each soldier has a different past and personality yet they had formed a family that supported and respected each other. Perhaps this unity is what gave the soldiers hope through the testing times of war.

I would definitely recommend this film to my friends and family. It gives great insight to the experiences of soldiers at war. The film did not seem to be partial to one perspective but instead was authentic to all sides of war. It shows both the good and the bad of the experiences at war. My friends and family could learn a lot from watching Restrepo.

Exploration 7

The thing that struck me the most about the movie would have to be just how rough an environment Afghanistan is. Not only is it a rocky desert, but the soldiers were fighting right in the middle of a mountain belt. The Lieutenant summarizes it best when he says they "felt like fish in a barrel." The fact that they could have ambushed from all sides is a scary thought to think about.Another thing that struck me was the story of how the Restrepo base came into being. The fact that the base was built on top of a mountain during a fire fight is incredible. What also is amazing is how building that single base was a turning point in the war in the valley. I loved the soldiers quote of how "building the Restrepo base was like giving the enemy the middle finger".

The most memorable scene of the movie Restrepo would have to be when the men lose one of their own. I do not remember the name of the soldier who died, but the scene when his fellow men see his body is hard to forget. This is probably the strongest scene in the entire documentary.

I will totally recommend this movie mostly because I do not feel that people really know much about the war in Iraq. I know that before this movie I really did not think that there was much going on in the middle east now. Mostly because I never watch the news or read articles, but I think everyone should at least know one story about the men and woman who are fighting for our country.

Expolration 6

http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/01/world/asia/afghanistan-troops-death/index.html?iref=allsearch

This article tells of 2 Coalition troops that died in Afghanistan Tues November 1. This article proves to show that even if we do pull out the war is still pretty much alive.

Exploration Seven

What stuck out the most to me was how dangerous a place like Korengal Valley in Afghanistan was. It was shocking to hear that about 70% of U.S. bombs we dropped on Korengal Valley. That Valley was one of the deadliest places. The soldiers would have to take fire and defend everyday. In the video there were multiple occasions where the viewers were able to witness the fighting and action. I thought it was interesting how the one soldier was talking about getting an adrenaline high from shooting a gun, and how there was nothing that could compare to it. When shooting a gun he states, "You can't get a better high, it is like crack . . . you can't come down." The interviewer then asked him, "What are you going to do when you gets home?" He replied, " I have no idea." That is one of the common troubles with returning veterans, they are always wanting the rush that they feel when they're in war. When they return home though there is nothing that compares to it, and they almost get addicted to the feeling they get with fighting.

There were many scenes in the documentary that were very impacting. Two of them really stood out to me while I was watching the video. The first was after the soldiers bombed parts of the Korengal Valley, and then it showed that the bombs had hit an innocent family's home. 5 of the local people died. The images of the wounded people, and especially the crying hurt children were heart breaking. It was interesting seeing Captain Kearney's response to what happened, and how upset he seemed to be that he let something like that happen. Another meaningful scene was that during one of the ending ambushes, Rock Avalanche. Most of the soldiers said that time was one of the most scariest times during their deployment. It was very eye opening to see what the soldiers went through, and how much emotional trauma was caused from the war. Especially when one of the best soldiers died, and watching how the soldiers reacted, like how Aron Hijar was so effected by the death of his friend that he was crying uncontrollably. He says that war and that specific time in the war, "was one of those moments that made me appreciate everything I have."

I would extremely urge my friends and family to watch this video. It made me respect and appreciate all the soldiers and what they are doing in Afghanistan. It is amazing of how blessed the U.S.A is to have such brave and honorable soldiers to defend the country. I believe by watching the movie that it can really shed light on what the war is really like, and for most people I am sure that they had no idea that war is truly like this. Especially after reading The Things They Carried, I was able to understand and appreciate everything in the video.

Exploration 7:RESTREPO

This is the second time I have watched the film Restrepo. I think I got a lot more out of it the second time I watched it. I think what struck me the most about this film is how real it felt. I felt like part of Battle Company during their stay in the Kornegal Valley. Also, how intense the fighting is there. Even one of the members of the platoon said after an ambush by the Taliban “I was shocked.” It really shows how truly nothing can prepare you for fighting for you life.

The scene that got to me the most was easily the ambush that Battle Company took during Rock Avalanche. Seeing the adrenaline run through the soldiers veins and at the same time see them scared for their life. When shrapnel from an RPG hit Sargent Rice, the whole Companies moral hit rock bottom. You saw grown men cry for their buddies. Movies usually depict soldiers as heroes with ice water in their veins, but the truth is they are only human.

I would absolutely recommend this to anybody. This film is very informational and you really get the whole war experience. Even though this is about war, this film does a great job of getting the loss of war, but not showing it. What I mean is, there is a minimal amount of gore shown throughout the movie, if any. This makes the film watchable, even for the queasy.