with some trepidation i will tread upon Slowguy's purview
So, "The Outpost." Available on Amazon Prime. At face value it's about the Battle of Kamdesh. Directed by Rod Lurie (who was my brother's company mate in B-3 at West Point). It's got Orlando Bloom (who forgoes any shield surfing antics); Milo Gibson; Scott Eastwood and some other new generation talent. Also within the movie are several Soldiers who play themselves---to much better effect than the SEALs in "Act of Valor" IMO. No nudity, some cursing, lots of very realistic depiction of violence.
The first part of the movie is some slow going. As one critic I read put it---tedium and monotony. Wellllllll. If you want to know what it's like to be in combat in Afghan (or Iraq). There you go. Shit tons of tedium and monotony and 'bro talk.' And a few moments of terror.
This story is not about steely eyed elite killers like the guys i currently work with. This is a story about a bunch of regular Soldiers (Cavalry scouts by training) who were put in a impossible situation and--when push came to shove--responded heroically. The movie is based off a CNN reporter's story but really the better book to read on this if you're so inclined is Clinton Romesha's "RED PLATOON" Romesha was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during this engagement--one of two MOHs to living recipients from one action. Pretty unheard of. So I'll give you just a few of his own words....
"If we qualified as heroes, then the heroism we displayed that day in the autumn of 2009 was cut from a more ragged grade of cloth--a fabric whose fold concealed the shortcomings and failings of exceptionally ordinary men who were put to an extraordinary test."
It does a good enough job of portraying actual combat that it made me cringe and I don't like going to sleep these past few days for the dreams i've had---again. Drinking helps.
Why was FOB Keating placed in such a shitty position in such a shitty place? Well Nuristan is a pustule on the eastern ass end of Afghanistan. But it is a known resupply route for the Talib's. If you want to interact with the people, search vehicles, donkey trains, etc then you've got to be down there in that valley where the road runs thru. You can build your FOB way way up there on the mountain top but you're not going to do much from up there. In fact, there was a auxiliary base up on the mountain top above Keating---it doesn't come out well in this movie but that base's purpose (OP Fritsche) was to provide fire support to FOB Keating if Keating came under attack. That there were problems providing that fire support during this big fight (portrayed in the movie) speaks to a lack of preparation and coordination at the small unit level by the leaders involved (captains, fire support lieutenants, etc).
Way way back then I'd just retired from the Army and was working as a contractor guy for the USG on a job that had me stationed down in Kabul at a place called NKC (New Kabul Compound). One trip I'd made down to Qatar to meet some people and I'd flown back into Afghan and landed at BAF (Bagram Airfield). I was looking to hitch a helo ride down to Kabul back to my place of work. After two fruitless days I finally struck pay dirt talking to a crew chief of a National Guard CH-47. He told me they were going on a resupply run along the AF-PAK border with a team of two CH-47s. If I would come along and help them with cargo shit---at the end of the day---if the weather and combat situation allowed--they would drop me off at NKC on their way back to BAF. So I spent an entire day in the back of a CH-47 landing at every little shitty FOB along the AF/PAK border helping throw out: food, mail, ammo, water, etc. We didn't land at Keating--we were the CH-47 circling above while our partner Chinook went down there to that little shit hole. At the end of the day--they dropped me off in Kabul at NKC.
'It doesn't get better'
Steve
So, "The Outpost." Available on Amazon Prime. At face value it's about the Battle of Kamdesh. Directed by Rod Lurie (who was my brother's company mate in B-3 at West Point). It's got Orlando Bloom (who forgoes any shield surfing antics); Milo Gibson; Scott Eastwood and some other new generation talent. Also within the movie are several Soldiers who play themselves---to much better effect than the SEALs in "Act of Valor" IMO. No nudity, some cursing, lots of very realistic depiction of violence.
The first part of the movie is some slow going. As one critic I read put it---tedium and monotony. Wellllllll. If you want to know what it's like to be in combat in Afghan (or Iraq). There you go. Shit tons of tedium and monotony and 'bro talk.' And a few moments of terror.
This story is not about steely eyed elite killers like the guys i currently work with. This is a story about a bunch of regular Soldiers (Cavalry scouts by training) who were put in a impossible situation and--when push came to shove--responded heroically. The movie is based off a CNN reporter's story but really the better book to read on this if you're so inclined is Clinton Romesha's "RED PLATOON" Romesha was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during this engagement--one of two MOHs to living recipients from one action. Pretty unheard of. So I'll give you just a few of his own words....
"If we qualified as heroes, then the heroism we displayed that day in the autumn of 2009 was cut from a more ragged grade of cloth--a fabric whose fold concealed the shortcomings and failings of exceptionally ordinary men who were put to an extraordinary test."
It does a good enough job of portraying actual combat that it made me cringe and I don't like going to sleep these past few days for the dreams i've had---again. Drinking helps.
Why was FOB Keating placed in such a shitty position in such a shitty place? Well Nuristan is a pustule on the eastern ass end of Afghanistan. But it is a known resupply route for the Talib's. If you want to interact with the people, search vehicles, donkey trains, etc then you've got to be down there in that valley where the road runs thru. You can build your FOB way way up there on the mountain top but you're not going to do much from up there. In fact, there was a auxiliary base up on the mountain top above Keating---it doesn't come out well in this movie but that base's purpose (OP Fritsche) was to provide fire support to FOB Keating if Keating came under attack. That there were problems providing that fire support during this big fight (portrayed in the movie) speaks to a lack of preparation and coordination at the small unit level by the leaders involved (captains, fire support lieutenants, etc).
Way way back then I'd just retired from the Army and was working as a contractor guy for the USG on a job that had me stationed down in Kabul at a place called NKC (New Kabul Compound). One trip I'd made down to Qatar to meet some people and I'd flown back into Afghan and landed at BAF (Bagram Airfield). I was looking to hitch a helo ride down to Kabul back to my place of work. After two fruitless days I finally struck pay dirt talking to a crew chief of a National Guard CH-47. He told me they were going on a resupply run along the AF-PAK border with a team of two CH-47s. If I would come along and help them with cargo shit---at the end of the day---if the weather and combat situation allowed--they would drop me off at NKC on their way back to BAF. So I spent an entire day in the back of a CH-47 landing at every little shitty FOB along the AF/PAK border helping throw out: food, mail, ammo, water, etc. We didn't land at Keating--we were the CH-47 circling above while our partner Chinook went down there to that little shit hole. At the end of the day--they dropped me off in Kabul at NKC.
'It doesn't get better'
Steve