MovieChat Forums > Soldiers Pay (2004) Discussion > i am a reporter for the military (afn)

i am a reporter for the military (afn)


i've done extensive research on the subject of internal support for the war on terror, i.e, oef or operation enduring freedom. when polled, servicemembers support the president and his policies by an average two-thirds majority. this is based on polling conducted by the pentagon as well as zogby, cbs/nyt and abc/washpost. while this does leave room for a sizeable number of troops who do not support oef, russell's doc gives us the impression that the overwhelming opinion of american troops is that they in fact ARE against oef. it is misleading. as a soldier myself i am very much in support of the war and, moreover, in support of winning. some days are better than others....that's just life in the military. most troops are mature enough to understand and deal with it - most train for a good year or two before deploying so that they'll know what to expect. yes, equipment is scarce at times - especially for us reporters. there are soldiers who are the first to go to 'hot' areas of the country, infantry (11B) and fister's (13F), and they get the good stuff. so not everyone in the middle east has a flak vest or steel paneled hummers. take an interview out of context and it might just sound like we're in a war zone without all the protection you could possibly have. which is true....but only half the story. i think it is clear that russell has an agenda (which he's free to have - it's his movie). but he's obviously done some clever editing and thrown out what were likely the majority of the opinions gathered. btw, it's no secret that soldiers don't get paid enough - certainly not junior enlisted whom make up the vast majority of the military. the lower down the chain the less money you make....however; after overseas pay, yearly bonuses, hazardous pay, b.a.h. - not to mention the gi bill which pays upwards of 50K for college, etc etc etc, junior enlisted soldiers actually make anywhere from 35-50K per year. not bad for a first year/two years on the job - especially when you consider that food and housing is already paid for. but technically, base pay is low so i guess that's another half truth russell was comfortable with. btw, i don't recommend the movie. thanks.

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Thanks for posting this. As someone with a combat-wounded Marine brother-in-law, what you've said here is dead on from what he tells us. These guys aren't thrilled about missing birthday parties (and births!) or wedding anniversaries back home by any means, but they're dedicated to doing the job and doing it right. They do overwhelmingly support the commander in chief and the mission. (A huge sigh of relieve over there apparently when Bush won his second term.) Thanks again for revealing this film -- like "Gunner's Palace" and every other recent so-called "pro-troop" documentary -- exactly what it is: propaganda.

See the hard-to-find "365 Boots on the Ground" or PBS/Frontline's excellent "A Company of Soldiers" for the real story.

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I'm a military journalist as well. However, I see my responsibility to the soldiers and not to the adminstration. I don't know about OEF, but in OIF, there are a lot of disgruntled soldiers who feel abused by their government. They keep doing their jobs with honor, but it doesn't help to pretend that mistakes weren't make. In this documentary, Russell interviews soldiers. If you want to blame their opinions on clever editing, that's fine for you. However, you might want to consider that your small view of the military might not be accurate.

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I am one of the directors of the film, and I can assure you, there was no "clever editing" of material to support an anti-war agenda. The truth is, all of the soldiers we interviewed appear in the movie - whether they are for the war or against it. In fact, I sought out an interview with the general who appears in the film, specifically for a pro-war point of view. I was more than surprised by his responses. I also tried like crazy to get an interview with a representative of the armed forces for their point of view, and I was declined. And, they wouldn't allow anyone in active service to talk to us. Luckily, we did get a few guys in active duty to talk to us before we appeared on the radar of the armed services, and two of them, appearing in uniform and stationed here in the States, were both very much for the war.

This was never meant to be a pro-war or anti-war movie. The war was already going on, there seemed to be no point to arguing that point any longer. What we were concerned with primarily was the soldiers. What effect was the war having on them -- psychologically and emotionally and morally. And how were they being treated over there, and when they returned. How were the ways in which the war was being conducted affecting our troops in terms of long term emotional stablilty and their physical safety. We opened a far greater can of worms than we expected.

I am in awe of our troops and the sacrifices they make for our country. I believe we owe them more than our thanks. Soldiers Pay is called Soldiers Pay because we came to see that soldiers pay the biggest price when we go to war, and they deserve our full support. That support includes medical care, psychiatric care, the best protection and weaponry available, and careful consideration of the facts by the best minds available when entering and engaging in war. If we commit our soldiers to war, we must commit our resources to our soldiers.

I appreciate that you took the time to watch our film, and I would welcome you to watch it again with all of this in mind. We strived to present a balanced film, and I believe we were successful. Unfortunately, the facts are not always what we want to hear.

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[deleted]

Hey reporter, how much does a junior enlisted make? 35-40k that is pure *beep* lets look at the paygrades (http://www.army.com/money/payrates_enlisted_a06.html). How much does a contractor make 4-5 times that. Well, you are the one fighting... since you think it is fair keep on doing what you do dumbass.

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I'm a prior service CPT. All of this bickering about the war by Soldiers does not matter. It does not matter what the PV2 or SFC or even Lt. Gen. thinks. When you sign on that dotted line, you pledge an oath to your country. I'm sorry if you had no job prospects and felt joining the Army was your only option. I'm sorry if you feel you were lied to. I'm sorry if you have an opinion that differs from the Army and I'm sorry if you feel that you are not getting paid enough, but you signed that document. You made that decision. We have an all volunteer Army and if you don't want to serve then don't sign that document. It's your choice to do so. And if you do, then it doesn't matter if you're junior enlisted or a flag officer your opinion on the mission is not warranted. You are a tool for the state and you have no opinion. Your opinion is that you support your chain of command. BTW the overwhelming majority of the Soldiers I have served with support the mission in Iraq and Afghanistan. There were often opinions on the way we were fighting the fight, but the majority were still in favor of the war. But, it wouldn't matter if they did or didn’t because opinions on a mission are things Solders should only discuss in the back of the OC or NCOC with other Soldiers.

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[deleted]

While your whole post was very level headed and reasonable I find it hard to give credit to you when i read

"as a soldier myself i am very much in support of the war and, moreover, in support of winning"

"winning" lol my god.

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