The Hurt Locker...it makes me hurt
Posted: Mon Sep 20, 2010 3:56 pm
AustinRealtor this is per your request...
In another thread I mentioned that the move "The Hurt Locker" was highly entertaining if you were able to detach yourself from reality. I mentioned that it had a lot of action, but in a nutshell demonstrated a tendency to violate one of the biggest issues addressing anyone that got to go over to Iraq or Afghanistan and enjoy their hospitality: Security.
AustinRealtor asked me to go into detail. I will start the ball rolling, and anyone else that has been over there and ever had to roll outside the wire on a regular-basis (or even those that encountered bad stuff in the wire) are cordially invited to contribute.
Annoying issue #1: When something blows up, you don't get out and start looking at the mess.
Reality: It is pounded into your head over and over, when things go south in any way, shape or form, you either continue to move or you immediately stop and form a security perimeter.
Some of the training videos that we as Soldiers were shown before and during our tours was that of a bunch of jihadists filming a convoy that was hit by an IED. These guys were filming the Soldiers running around like chickens with their heads-cut-off, pointing at things, looking for more bombs and generally milling-around. A couple of snipers or grenades would have made an even more effective attack than the original bomb in the road.
Finding: Security is paramount (awareness).
Annoying issue #2: When the locals move away suddenly and quietly, they have a really good reason for doing it.
Reality: The people in Afghanistan love to hang around. They have no concept of personal space, and that includes your pockets, pouches, backpacks and ammo bags. I always kept my M9 on a lanyard for that reason, and my M4 on a combat sling around my torso. It is hard to scare them by yelling at them to get away. They simply won't do it.
If they suddenly move, they know something is going to happen. So start looking around.
Finding: Security is paramount (awareness).
Annoying issue #3: When outside the wire you do not drive around in a lone vehicle. I couldn't believe it when I saw these guys in the movie driving around in their HUMVEE with no accompanying vehicles. They drove around empty desert. They drove around cities. They drove up to bomb-scenes. They drove up to unfamiliar neighborhoods. If their vehicle had broke down and comms went bad, they would have been in bad shape.
Reality: I don't know what happened in Iraq or outside Paktika province in Afghanistan. But you don't operate alone. You have security with you (minimum of 5 vehicles) and you always carry extra-ammo, food and water for that unexpected overnight trip that you didn't put on the itinerary. You always have a backup on hand.
Finding: Travel with buddies. Always.
Annoying issue #4: I was never sure if Bomb-disposal guys and Sappers cross-trained, and I operated with both. But I do know that I never came across Bomb-disposal guys (2 of them in this flick) that were Sniper qualified. But then again, they obviously weren't because they ignored a cardinal-rule when sniping. Move after you fire! These guys traded shots for what seemed like hours with some clowns in a pseudo-bunker. This all after they miraculously came across a band of "operators" in the desert that got wasted by the jihadist-snipers. (I don't recall how many vehicles these guys had either).
Reality: I already mentioned, you move after you fire. But I couldn't figure out how these guys were supposed to know how to handle a Barrett .50 (it is what it looked like to me) but didn't wear Sniper tabs.
This is all I have to contribute for now. I would have to rewatch the movie to come up with more, and I am sure that my Son and his Mother do not want me arm-chair Quarterbacking it again like I did in the theater.
I look forward to additional reality checks you folks may have noted in the movie.
In another thread I mentioned that the move "The Hurt Locker" was highly entertaining if you were able to detach yourself from reality. I mentioned that it had a lot of action, but in a nutshell demonstrated a tendency to violate one of the biggest issues addressing anyone that got to go over to Iraq or Afghanistan and enjoy their hospitality: Security.
AustinRealtor asked me to go into detail. I will start the ball rolling, and anyone else that has been over there and ever had to roll outside the wire on a regular-basis (or even those that encountered bad stuff in the wire) are cordially invited to contribute.
Annoying issue #1: When something blows up, you don't get out and start looking at the mess.
Reality: It is pounded into your head over and over, when things go south in any way, shape or form, you either continue to move or you immediately stop and form a security perimeter.
Some of the training videos that we as Soldiers were shown before and during our tours was that of a bunch of jihadists filming a convoy that was hit by an IED. These guys were filming the Soldiers running around like chickens with their heads-cut-off, pointing at things, looking for more bombs and generally milling-around. A couple of snipers or grenades would have made an even more effective attack than the original bomb in the road.
Finding: Security is paramount (awareness).
Annoying issue #2: When the locals move away suddenly and quietly, they have a really good reason for doing it.
Reality: The people in Afghanistan love to hang around. They have no concept of personal space, and that includes your pockets, pouches, backpacks and ammo bags. I always kept my M9 on a lanyard for that reason, and my M4 on a combat sling around my torso. It is hard to scare them by yelling at them to get away. They simply won't do it.
If they suddenly move, they know something is going to happen. So start looking around.
Finding: Security is paramount (awareness).
Annoying issue #3: When outside the wire you do not drive around in a lone vehicle. I couldn't believe it when I saw these guys in the movie driving around in their HUMVEE with no accompanying vehicles. They drove around empty desert. They drove around cities. They drove up to bomb-scenes. They drove up to unfamiliar neighborhoods. If their vehicle had broke down and comms went bad, they would have been in bad shape.
Reality: I don't know what happened in Iraq or outside Paktika province in Afghanistan. But you don't operate alone. You have security with you (minimum of 5 vehicles) and you always carry extra-ammo, food and water for that unexpected overnight trip that you didn't put on the itinerary. You always have a backup on hand.
Finding: Travel with buddies. Always.
Annoying issue #4: I was never sure if Bomb-disposal guys and Sappers cross-trained, and I operated with both. But I do know that I never came across Bomb-disposal guys (2 of them in this flick) that were Sniper qualified. But then again, they obviously weren't because they ignored a cardinal-rule when sniping. Move after you fire! These guys traded shots for what seemed like hours with some clowns in a pseudo-bunker. This all after they miraculously came across a band of "operators" in the desert that got wasted by the jihadist-snipers. (I don't recall how many vehicles these guys had either).
Reality: I already mentioned, you move after you fire. But I couldn't figure out how these guys were supposed to know how to handle a Barrett .50 (it is what it looked like to me) but didn't wear Sniper tabs.
This is all I have to contribute for now. I would have to rewatch the movie to come up with more, and I am sure that my Son and his Mother do not want me arm-chair Quarterbacking it again like I did in the theater.
I look forward to additional reality checks you folks may have noted in the movie.
