Marines

Watched the first 10 minutes of two guys talking about fighting a war, theyve never been in and probably never will be in.

A load of s*&^e and damn offensive to those who have been out and done it.

How can a young buck sit there and talk aboit a life of violence when hes in a documentary about training exercises.

Abaolutaly rediculous.

What struck me was the realism of this series.

The actors done a superb job of portraying real life Marines from the upper echelons to the enlisted men. No stone was left uncovered and it really hit home.

What it was lacking was a few songs like in Top Gun part 1 and perhaps a disillusioned Major who had given his notice but then crash lands in a hostile central Asian country.

Expanding on the 'lacking' part , there no real villain in the show. A dictator or like that needs toppling would of added some focus.

Instead there were numerous scenes of marines doing very little.

First, I'd like to say that I find some of these other reviews funny. We all know this has a large push behind it - if not fully - from Marine Corps marketing. It's not a joke that they have the #1 marketing department in the DoD for a reason... and it is the Marine Corps' 250th birthday, after all. That being said, when watching this, you have to understand that these aren't actors or professionals. These are mostly young Marines (and a few Sailors) who were probably told they were going to be in a documentary about the real life of Marines during a pre-deployment workup for a MEU - and "don't do or say anything stupid."

Oddly enough, the documentary captures a lot of what life is actually like while you're in. Yes, they show snipers, pilots, command, and a few junior Marines, and trust me, there are plenty more places they could have gone to get interviews. But they did a good job capturing the core of what a MEU is in a short series. Most documentaries are overly hyped, dramatized, and focused only on the "cool guy stuff" with Recon or MARSOC. Even in the relatively short time I've been out, things have changed - infantry didn't use Zodiacs (or "CRRCs," I guess they're called now). It was nice to see updates on how things are evolving. The infantry also didn't have the nicer gear that seems to be more commonly issued now.

I would say that while it's obviously propaganda and a recruiting piece, I don't see any reason why that's a bad thing. Kids and adults who are considering joining actually get a realistic look into life in the Corps - not just a kid climbing a mountain and slaying a dragon before magically becoming a Marine (those that know, know), and not just people jumping out of planes or dramatized combat scenes. Ninety percent of what you do in the Marine Corps is train and get ready - and I'm glad they showed the real-world training, qualifications, and everything that goes into preparing for a MEU.

Regarding the other reviews: One person mentioned a "lack of diversity." The fact that they show one of the only female sniper platoon commanders is literally diversity in the military. If people want representation of every race, well... the Marine Corps has them all. But in the Marines, you truly don't experience the same race-related dynamics that you do in the civilian world. It's not a talking point; it's just reality. Trying to artificially check boxes would have felt forced. This is real - let it be real.

Another review mentioned the two machine gunners in the beginning. They're barely in the documentary, and they talk the same way all of us did when we first joined - hyped up, motivated, and conditioned by the Marine Corps to have a warrior mindset. During peacetime, would you want Marines to be any other way? No. The GWOT-era crowd needs to get off the high horse. We've all been there. War, deployments, and combat are time-and-place dependent. This just isn't that time - but they are in that place. Also, they never claimed to be combat veterans. They said they were ready and that they didn't know how anyone else could be more ready. Again... get off your high horse.

I definitely recommend watching this. It's not a build-up to a combat deployment. It's not preparing to "go to war" (though that's always possible). A MEU is basically a 911 force for the United States. If something happens, they're the closest, fastest option and must be ready for anything - humanitarian relief, floating off a coast as a show of force, shadowing hostile vessels, pulling security for a canal or strait, or being the first ones in because they happen to be closest to the AO.

This is a realistic documentary. Yes, it's propaganda and recruitment. But it's also real Marines and Sailors, on a real deployment, doing real life. Whether war is happening or not, Marines go on MEUs - and when other branches aren't doing anything, Marines are still deploying and staying ready (with that same warrior mindset, ego, and attitude).

This series was very good, but understand this is a microcosm of the Marine Corps and not definitive of every morning. This is a microcosm of non-combat Marines. I read people knocking these guys for wanting a war. Well, it is true they may live to regret that someday, but I certainly understand the need to actually go to the dance instead of just training for it all the time. As I said, war is an entirely different, heart, wrenching, ugly experience, in a no doubt, godforsaken place on the planet. But I do understand their naïve desire to walk the walk.

They did a good job at showing different types of people that are in the Marine Corps. Let's face it, the military is one of the most blended demographics you've ever seen from the entire spectrum of the socioeconomic scale. And as an any organization, there's a few people you would rather not be around, and those many that you would give your life for in combat.

Take it for what it is, it's not the be-all end-all, but it is trying to humanize military personnel, and Marines in particular. Carry out the mission of watching the series, conduct an after action, brief, and then move on.

Can't even get through the first episode but already cut through 3x different roles "you can join in the Marines" Infantry, Sniper, Pilot.

They're not even trying to hide it, this is 100% pure recruitment series but without any substance. Just interviews spruiking how good their "healthcare plan" is now oh and a women who is a Platoon Commander...