Jarhead.

Oooh i really do feel alittle giddy from an overdose of popcorn.

I'd just returned from a friday nite shabbat movie outing, the time when i truly get to relax and let everything off my shoulder. Watched the new show "Jarhead", which is basically about this guy named Anthony Swoffer, a 20 year old who signed on with the United States Marine Corp. The show began from his first day in the USMC and into the high point of the Gulf War back in 1991.

The show barely had any fighting, and you don't even get to see much Iraqi soldiers; only dead ones. And my warning to all - the show does contain certain scenes that may be alittle offensive, it's the kind of scenes where you really should close your eyes. But the beauty of the show was in it's surreal feeling, it's intensity.

There were many scenes that i loved.

Firstly, Swoffer, who happened to be a Scout Sniper, had a buddy paired up with him as an observer. In the early part of the war Swoffer discovered that his partner (Troy) was to be discharged out of the Corps becoz he had not revealed his earlier criminal convictions. You could literally feel the hopelessness Troy felt as he dug his foxhole. And the amazing thing was how the entire section bonded with him; no it was talking or comforting, but it was a big stackup and a branding of the words "USMC" upon his leg by fire. Sure it hurt, but it was their way of saying that Troy was accepted into the USMC family while no one wanted him at all in the outside world. And when Swoffer was hugging him after the whole ordeal, you could see the tears well up in Troy's eyes. And the narrator con't this statement which really touched me....

"Yeah, inside was a circus, we were all insane in the circus. But in this circus we cannot be touched...."

Secondly, the next scene that made me thought about stuf was when Swoffer and Troy were sent out to assasinate a senior Iraqi General that was still holding up in a certain airstripe with 750 Republican Guards. Till then, they have not fired a single shot, nor did they kill a single enemy. And they were about to make their first kill. They found the target, he was in their scope, everything was planned and preapred, and Swoffer was about to take that first shot when suddenly one of his commander barged him and told him to hold fire - the commander was about to call in a massive air strike. Swoffer and Troy begged the commdr that they had to take the shot, and it was only one shot, so it didn't matter. Why not let them kill that Iraqi General? The commdr insisted that they could not, and this was when Troy went berserk, snatching the fieldphone away from the commdr, and going into a rage.

"Why can't you lt us take that shot? Why can't you let us kill him?! Why do you have to come and ruin everything?!"

And Troy broke down and started sobbing uncontrollably.

Strange feeling. But it touched me. Troy wanted to do something worthwhile before he gets discharged. He had trained very hard since day 1 to kill, and now when he was about to take another person's life, he couldn't. What he had always wanted to do, he couldn't do it, even when the enemy was already in the scope. It seems that only killing could define his purpose of existence.

Third scene was the part when Swoffer's section was trekking thru the Kuwaiti desert, and they encountered the burning wells, all part of Iraq's Scorched Earth Policy. And as Swoffer sat there in his foxhole, watching upclose as the Kuwaiti wells burnt, heir fiery flames reaching to the heavens, (it was really a surreal scene) Swoffer's Staff Sergeant sat with him, and they started talking.

(Not the exact words, but it's with the best of efforts as i try to recall.)

"You know, my brother owns a shop, and if i was back home, i would be helping out in the shop. I would be seeing my wife every night, i would be kissing my kids goodnight, sending them off to school in the morning. But do you know why i'm here and not back home? Cause i love my job."

A mad man many would suppose, who in the world would love the military? =) Now you understand how i feel. I loved my BMT life, i love the feeling of carrrying a rifle and charging the enemy. I love all things military. And i really understand how that staff sergeant must have felt. It's really a blessing to do what you really love to do, sadly i had been denied that pleasure.

Lastly, there was the scene when the soldiers were returning home from the front, and this man in tattered clothings boarded the bus shouting "Good job guys! Semper fi! You guys did a great job!" Apparently he served in Vietnam as a Marine too, and you could see the longing for the good old days in his eyes. Then suddenly he became very tired, and asked whether he could sit down. There were tears in his eyes as he continue to utter "Semper fi" in a softer, gentler tone. This part the narrator said something very cool...

"All wars are different. All wars are the same."

When you join the army, when you first hold your rifle, you'll never forget that feeling. You can go about many things, do many things with your hands. But it will never ever forget the rifle.

So much for tonite, it's really late.