This weekend I had the pleasure of viewing a great documentary that was submitted to the Sundance Film Festival and did wonderfully. The film follows a platoon for a year in the deadliest valley in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley. This amazing film is brought to you by Sebastian Junger & Tim Hetherington as they show these soldiers going through physical and emotional pain as they endure the hard labor of building an outpost in enemy territory while getting shot at by the local Taliban.
One of the soldiers from the flight at the beginning of the film named Juan Restrepo (Field Medic) was helping with some patrolling in an area of the valley when the platoon is suddenly attacked! Restrepo was unforunately killed on the scene so early in the deployment to the Korengal Outpost (or The KOP as the soldiers called it). The fellow soldiers return to the area of the attack to build the new outpost as they are ordered to do and name it Outpost Restrepo in dedication to the fallen comrade.
You are literally seeing the soldiers in real life, day-to-day situations as they build the Outpost, patrol the area, meet with local elders and take fire from Taliban. These soldiers are put through hell on Earth as they take fire literally almost EVERY DAY!!! From 360 degrees around there post they defend what is so important in our mission in the valley. The reason they are protecting this highly violent area is to protect a road that cut through the valley for local and military to cut through the mountain filled valley.
It was a great documentary and was so real you completely rethink your angle on the war and see first hand of what these kids have to go through. Hell one kid had never even touched a gun nor used water guns as a kid before and was posted at The KOP! Its unbelieveable what kids in that military that are so young have to experience so early in life or at all! It made me appreciate what I have and to not take it for granted. I thank the platoon for agreeing to share what they experienced and I am thankful to have the oppurtunity to have seen this film!
This film is a life changing view of the life of a soldier in our most dangerous times and locations! I give it a PERFECT rating and wish these men the best of luck with their return to "normal life"
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