To Be of Service

Although I'm not a regular watcher of documentaries, I do have friends and family who are combat veterans. I've observed them, listened to their stories, hugged them and cried with them and experienced a fuller understanding of how they literally put their lives on the line. And our military services are all volunteer. Then they come home from war, and our government says, "Thanks for that. Good luck." And we and they know better. PTSD is not a new thing. The healing power of the relationship between dogs--who love unconditionally and heal through that love--and our veterans is amazing, emotional, and critical. We send them to war and they come back broken; dogs can and do assist them in becoming "Un-broken." As Hemingway said, "The broken parts are where the light gets in." Service dogs are the glue that puts them back together so that light can shine within. I have some issues artistically and editorial with some aspects of the documentary, but the overriding trope of how important these dog/veteran relationships are is clearly delineated. I spent large portions of the documentary with my mouth open wondering, "WHY?" Why isn't this a covered benefit by the VA?? Regardless, watch the film, step up your compassion and appreciation for our warriors. I did.

That is just not right. That child that was there when the servicemen said that she had stopped his suicide should never ever be put in a place where she is responsible for whether or not her father lives or dies. That is blatant child abuse. And will cause her psychological damage in the future. That's not being a responsible parent. I have Sympathy for what the service people have experienced but there should be intervention with this particular service man so that he does not affect his children in a negative way. It was truly disgusting to watch that man brag about how his daughter who looks to be about seven stopped him from Taking his life.

Don't love the documentary- I think it should have focused more on the dogs & their training & how they help our vets. Service animals can get online accreditation for a cost - I wish this doc showed more of the training required, laws & handler training.

This is an impactful, thought-provoking documentary that touches on service animals saving the lives of service members.

It is well worth watching and discussing the many topics on which it touched.

The criticism here is that it was too ambitious for a less than 1.5 hr documentary. This topic is deep and wide enough to easily make a multi-episode documentary that provides more depth on specific aspects of service, shortcomings of our systems that are supposed to take care of service members, and the benefits and process of service animals.

Still well worth watching and reflecting on it.

A very important film. This is most honest depiction of the impact of war on veterans with PTSD that I have ever seen. But it's also one of the most uplifting, because the service dogs that help the vets come back to their lives are miraculous. They make the audience feel as healed as the vets.