Pretty gritty. Shows the insanity of that war
587000
Pretty gritty.  Shows the insanity of that war, and the incompetence of those in command.  But renews pride in the military personnel on the ground.
3197513
Intense reading. Would recommend. It really shows what happens to servicemen who are captured by the enemy.
3542566
Depicts the lives of the war fighters as they saw it in their prespective (not historians).
4840729
Very powerful movie of war. The confusion, fear, anger and disbelief plus many more emotions was felt by me. War is a bloody, scary, foul yourself pants without realizing so because you are too busy trying to save yourself, your buddy, all the while there are very angry men who are doing their level best to keep you from seeing another sunrise. As that one officer showed there  is only so much the human mind can take in and process before your mind say's enough is enough then you are a danger to all. Not every man  is made to fight in a dirty, no holds bar battle, as your men and the men of other companies are being chewed up and spit out in many pieces . Very good HBO movie from 1998, Another decision made by what you hear or are forced to say "Yes Sir" and keep moving slowly.
453345
It makes the chaos and hell of war as well as the humanity of those fighting it, as vivid as any film can possibly portray.
4042287
Reminiscent of Heinlein's " Starship Troopers " but a lot messier and realistic. Maybe a true vision of the wars to come.
3434644
The cadence of war movies can be chaotic or boringly lame. This had a little of both. All-in-all a pretty good movie though.
1315886
Brings out personality of participants in thee war.  The author seems to be historically accurate.
In parts of the book there is much us of vulgar, barracks type language.
4120886
An accurate description of the useless and criminal results of those that resort to war.  The horror what the soldiers endured is well described.
1484126
Tough reading about a short, horrible war in Nigeria.
1437568
Freaking crazy- that about sums up this comic about a terrorist group out to destroy the news media.  In between acts of violence and mayhem it also provides fascinating stats of the nature of the people that bring us our news that reminded me of the credits to&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-Other-Guys/dp/B004DO2MWI/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The Other Guys</a>.  It'll fill you with ire, but not in a way that calls for you to mimic it's ... well, protagonists is not the right word, so I'll just say leads.  Quite a read.
1043593
this was a very emotional war; this series portrays the confusion and futility surrounding a lot of the action known only from history books. manifests the best and he worst in human behavior.
2070449
Here is a film that will rile your senses. You will feel anger, helplessness, and frustration as injustice during war is shown on the screen.

During WWI, French troops are ordered to take "the anthill," a superior vantage point than the trenches which is heavily fortified by the Germans. Running into the guns, man after man is slaughtered and the troops naturally begin to retreat, with some never leaving the trenches. Three men are chosen as examples of cowardice and are court-martialed. Colonel Dax (Kirk Douglas) is an attorney who requests to represent the defense. He sees that the men are innocent and that the army is using their lives to take more on the battlefield. However, there is no justice for these men.

This film has a definitely modern feel and Kubrick's in-your-face photography makes the uncompromising situation of war all the more personal and uncomfortable. There is nothing old-fashioned or quaint about this war film. It paints the war with blood, not idealizations or illusions about honor and glory. Here glory is fiction, and the real story is gritty and repulsive.
669565
The actiong was pretty good except for Dwight Yoakum, who was adequate but not outstanding.  It did a good job of portraying the desperation of the soldiers on the ground when the war started to grind you down and replacements were coming in, and how NCOs didn't want to get to know them well due to casualty rates.
789258
Bing West paints a three-dimensional picture of the the 3/5  battalion fighting a war of attrition with the Taliban in south-central Afghanistan.  The  British had occupied this sector for nearly 2 years, before being relieved  the 3/5.  The British mind-set was basically to keep the market free of Taliban terror and to keep highway 611 road open.
With the Marines now in, they took the fight to the enemy.  The British had cocooned themselves into fortified forts and kept pretty much to themselves. .. tired of have IEDs kill and maim their soldiers.
Well, Marines being Marines wanted no part of that kind of static warfare.  They went and patrolled everyday.  West tells in graphic detail what is was like.  He writes in a very condensed form, with no wasted words.  Just like a Marine.  It is gut-wrenching to read the KIA's and WIA s and how it affected the moral.
It takes time for the 3/5 to adapt how to fight the enemy, the IEDs and the R.O.E.  (a story in itself).  But they learn and kick ass!
At the end of the book, West interviews some of the soldiers after they're deployment is over.  Was it worth it?  Would the do it again?  You have to read to find out.
One of the chapters I enjoyed the most is at the end.  Chapter 13. Who Will Fight For Us?  A very insightful glimpse into Obama and the generals in fighting another losing war... very similar to Viet Nam.  Let me quote;

After Vietnam, our military vowed never again to fight a war while granting a sanctuary (Pakistan) to the enemy. In thirteen years, fifteen different generals served as the top coalition commander in Afghanistan.  Several dozen other generals served under their commands.  Yet not one general resigned or spoke out.  We beat on against the tide, set on automatic by a refusal to review  basic assumptions.  Vietnam anyone?

Thanks Bing for a great read, and better understanding of the time, effort and sacrifice these young men make - with  no ticker tape-parades, no bands playing.  Just Marines taking care of each other  . . .
4147177
This movie put you in the front seat of how hard the military soldier's job is in a hostile country's environment.
2496895
This series is a good depiction of World War II, its violence and the affect on those fighting men asked to go into battle against a vicious enemy.