TVSquad

(Part 5 of 7) "You think givin' them some rice and a chocolate bar is gonna fix things?" - Espera

This was by far the best installment Of Generation Kill we've seen yet. Burns and Simon stayed 100% true to Wright's account. I remember reading about the battle on the bridge at Muwafaqiyah and wondering what all that insanity must have looked like. To be so scared that, as Trombley put it, the adrenaline rush is so intense that it messes up your blood flow and some Marines achieve happenstance erections.

It wasn't just the bridge battle that made this one such a memorable episode though. Along with the continuing escalation of stupidity by all those with higher rank, there were some great scenes where we saw Colbert, Fick, Hasser, and even Encino Man evolve. Clichéd as it may sound, war changes people and we're bearing witness to some pretty screwed up transformations.

Gallery: Generation Kill

From the beginning, Colbert has always been the rank and file guy, willing to do what he's told and then in turn, justify it to his own men. It's not so easy anymore. How can it be? He watches and stakes out a small village with no men - just women and children. He makes this case to command and simply because a random mortar team can't be located, Godfather ignores Colbert's intel and bombs the village. Who's to say that mortar team was even in there? Are the casualties worth it? Brad had definitely begun to lean towards "no."

There was even a time when Brad could bounce ideas off Fick, but that era has also ended - although he did get some leeway with the smoke grenades at the end. Fick has changed his tune though. Despite the brilliance he displayed when he put Casey Casem in his place for calling him a coward behind his back, it still got to Fick. So now he's adopted a mentality of no longer questioning anything and it certainly doesn't leave room for Brad's constant queries. Fick wants aggressiveness now; not questions.

The ironic thing is that even the people above Fick, the ones he's now making a half-assed attempt to appease, don't have the mentality he's adopted. Encino Man essentially sat on a radio complaining about a road-block instead of doing anything about it. It took Eckloff coming over to him and essentially saying, in far politer terms, "move the hum-vee you dumb ass." So Encino Man and a few others did just that. They picked up the truck and the problem was solved. The lack of common sense is just astounding.

And while I'm preaching to the choir, let's touch on Captain America again. Despite Kocher's warnings, America is still taking enemy AKs for his own use and he's now taken a liking to raiding the pockets of the deceased Iraqis. Because taking poor Abu's Indiglo watch and smashing it into the ground is really going to make the difference between winning and losing. The hilarious point to be made is that the whole time, Captain America looks as if he truly believes he's making an impact on the greater good.

More thoughts...

• I can't stand Godfather anymore. What a putz. Also, the whole talking in the third-person thing is old.
• Once it became clear that Hasser wasn't going to get any sleep, it was just a matter of time before he screwed up. But did he really? I don't think so. That car wasn't stopping for Colbert's smoke grenade. So he got trigger happy. This is just further proof of what Colbert said about First Recon, calling them "perfectly tuned Ferraris in a demolition derby." Hasser was working on no sleep and on one accidental squeeze, he put four shots right through the windshield of the oncoming car and hit the driver in the left eye. These guys are crazy good.
• Let's talk about Person's M.R.E. cookie recipe... non-dairy powdered creamer, sugar, and peanut butter. Cooked in an aluminum cup with a cigarette lighter. Mmmm.
• I loved when Kocher jammed the radio so Cpt. America didn't get any Marines killed.
• I've actually heard the phrase November Juliet used before, but I don't recall it being in the book?
• John Wayne Bobbit made a porn where he screwed a midget? Why did I not know this?
• Blow up a bunch of mines and explosives in the middle of a field or blow up a bunch of mines and explosives stored in a town's only school. Apparently, the choice isn't as obvious as it should be.

Now I'm trying to remember what came next in the book, and as I recall, the onslaught as the Marines move through Al Kut, Baqubah, and into Baghdad were hands down the best chapters. So I'm expecting this to keep getting better.