Off to War

I remember smoking weed watching this on the lazy boy in 2006, I was juggling joining the Army or staying in college, this documentary solidified it. I was deployed March 2007 to Iraq. Best decision I ever made, wouldn't change it.

Calling Off to War biased when it is actually capturing the true gripes on the ground only goes to show a bias in the other direction! The bias where any depiction of Iraq that is less than rosy must have some evil liberal slant. Grow up. The soldiers in Off to War are expressing REAL complaints - lack of preparedness, hostility on the ground, lack of progress, etc. These are important gripes to hear and respond to. Dismissing them helps nobody! And by the way, Iraq can't be compared to Gettysburg. The reasons for getting into a war are very important. An unnecessary war can kill as many young men as a necessary one. We should save these lives for only the necessary ones.

Off to War is supposed to be a documentary looking at an Arkansas National Guard unit with the issues they face in Iraq and their loved ones left behind. For the most part, the people are interesting and they have some interesting stories to tell. What is troubling is the fact that the filmmakers clear anti-Iraq war view is evident throughout the movie. Having been a veteran of a modern peacekeeping operation, I can understand soldiers' frustrations. Soldiers always complain. It is the natural order of things. There is not enough context explaining the overall mission, what they are accomplishing, and that many times they are venting frustrations.

The filmmakers message is constant: The Iraq war is pointless. These poor people have to fight. Bush is to blame. We need to leave. They go out of their way to solicit negative opinions about the war at home and there. It is a shame the officers of the unit were not more careful about letting this crew film soldiers' venting. I can tell you that if we had a documentary at D-Day or Gettysburg, the men would be fairly critical of just about everything. These are not views that people at home understand. Soldiers complain, but it NEVER gets in the way of accomplishing the mission, or finishing the job. End of story.

It is not fair catching soldiers at their most frustrated and acting like that is their feelings the whole time, rather than getting when they feel they are making a difference. I feel bad for these soldiers getting exploited by the filmmakers and wish their officers had put more control over this clearly negative propaganda. This is not "The Real World" This is war and people fighting for our country. It would be nice to give them support and respect without exploiting them.

Love this series, I watch it at least once a year.

I want to extend my sincere condolences to Craig Renaud & all of Brent's family, friends and colleagues.

What a devastating blow, and to the community of truly great documentations of our time.

So sad.

"Off to War" is a great documentary following a National Guard Unit through their tour in Iraq. They went into the war not knowing what to expect, and they are coming out of it experiencing the unexpected.

What sets "Off to War" different from other Iraq war documentaries is the self told thoughts and stories of these men. Instead of the narrator explaining to the viewer what's happening, they allow the soldiers to do it themselves. Which allows a non-biased, first person account, of what's happening to these men. And an earlier comment thought this show was "biased and exploited" the men who are fighting. Well that's simply not true. This show covers men who are both against the war, and for the war. And speaking of which, it's interesting to see people's perspective on the war change throughout their tour of duty.

Another plus for "Off to War" is the addition of the home front. And how the wives, children, parents, and siblings have to deal with their loved ones being over seas.

So, in my humble opinion; "Off to War" is the closest you're going to get to experiencing a tour of duty in Iraq without actually serving. In fact, "Gunner's Palace" couldn't hold a candle to "Off to War". I have several family members in Iraq and they hold this show in high regards.