Stop Me if You've Heard This One Before

I feel like I have my mind on repeat. I've seen this war before, its happening right now. I've seen countless movies about the first Gulf War, from dramatic representations to documentaries. It is very rare that you hear about heroism in modern wars; I am more used to hearing about the faults and mistakes. I remember vividly in 1999, my parents had heard a favorite of movie of theirs was going to be showed on what is the now defunct WB 11. I knew nothing of the film, only that Matt Damon and Denzel Washington were the two major stars. I was unimpressed by the amount of talking in the film and dialogue, but that was probably because I was 11 years old. I saw the movie again 2 years ago, it turns out it was the well crafted Courage Under Fire. How naive I was. This was a complete showcase of the mistakes that took place in a modern war. Denzel Washington plays a now former leader of a Tank platoon in the first Gulf War. He mistakenly hits another American tank, killing the crew and more importantly a friend of his. After the Gulf War had ended, the friendly fire was covered up or not reported. His portion of the movie involves him confronting his friend's parents to tell them the truth. The other portion involves flash-backs with Meg Ryan and her squad on a helicopter mission in Iraq. They're shot down and have to defend themselves against the Iraqi Army. Meg Ryan is eventually shot, but whats in question is was she shot by the Iraqis or by intentional friendly fire. This culminates into issues of sexism on the part of marine who shoots her (accidentally or not) and if a woman deserves he medal of honor, the most prestigious medal.

This is a direct comparison to Pat Tillman being killed by friendly fire. The US tried to cover up that he had been killed by friendly fire. Friendly fire has become a real problem in Iraq and Afghanistan, because of the general soldier mentality, which is clearly on display in Jarhead; the overly macho, trigger happy, meatheads.