Citizen Soldier

This docu drama is the genuine article. At times chaotic and farcical it shows what random engagements can be like and their effect on the troops. There is some real emotion here from soldiers woefully under appreciated for the dangerous work they do. Afghanistan as a war might lack the glamour, pull for your average joe, and some serious questions can and should be asked about being over there, but these guys are putting it out there and deserve as many plaudits as we can bestow upon them..

Citizen Soldier is set in post-9/11 and is about a group of Oklahoma men and women in the National Guard who get deployed to fight in the most menacing areas of Afghanistan. Go-pro helmet cameras were used incredibly in the making of this documentary because it gave a more personal look in to the soldier's tour of duty. This film included honest and genuine interviews from the National Guard members, which added a more inclusive and emotional element to the film. It stands out amongst all other military films because it is not simply a documentary about violent warfare or pro-war propaganda, but instead it shows the dramatic transformation of average civilians to National Guard soldiers fighting tirelessly in Afghanistan. It is focuses on the brotherhood and bond shared between these brave soldiers and defines what it truly means to have a fellow soldier's back while on the battlefield. The leadership and bravery that the armed troops of our country possess truly amazed me. I thought it was a heartfelt film.

Current war narrative focuses almost exclusively on the plight of the armed forces juxtaposed with the plight of the civilians trapped in the war zones we in the West vote for.

As far as I know, this is the only film that focuses on the ever growing Civil defense force, those people who used to be "Weekend Warriors", but who are now thrown into the hell holes of the world for months at a time.

These are people who used to spend their Saturday nights doing pointless drills and occasional firing range sessions, now suddenly finding themselves sent to the far end of a horrifying firefights for half a year at a time.

This film had me in tears so many times I cant count. It's the single most powerful and moving documentary I have ever watched. These are real civilians, driven by selfless need to provide service, suddenly thrown into the meat grinder for months at a time with a 10th of the training professional soldiers receive, yet thrown into the same grinder as our professional soldiers.

If every Trump Tastic war mongering armchair General around the world was shown this, we'd have world peace by the weekend.

These are "normal" relateable people like you and I, facing a hell we should pray each night we never have to see, and facing it with the kind of courage we should be thankful we don't have to find.

This is the only film I will ever give 10/10 and I do that with the utmost respect to the people I have watched die tonight. Don't watch this film - BUY this film as many times as you can afford and donate to the charities supporting veterans with PTSD.

Review written by a UK Pacifist who hopes for the day Afghan and Western can join together and stop being killed for the benefit of Wall Street. I'm not some jingoistic Trump wallah, this film is important and should be required viewing.

It was a very intimate view into the guard in a war.

It is a scary land. I know IEDs were a major killing thorn to soldiers in Afghanistan.

One comment that stuck a nerve was about how the local villagers are self serving as you can't trust them.

Imagine this scenario flipped. Would you not be self serving, especially as a 14 year old.

In reality, we're over over there for self serving reasons, along with some aid, etc etc.

They are just trying to defend their close knit families. Who are prob under threat by the Taliban or insurgents to aid them in their mission.

We have never have an armored tank and soldiers meandering in our backyard at 3am demanding ID while living in the US. While I know it's necessary for safety, expects the other side to just continue to allow this to their homes is hard to imagine.

A revealing insight into the experience of this undoubtedly brave group of men. What I found to be the most surprising insight was that of the level of experience and competency of these part time soldiers. No one can doubt their dedication or committment. However, to be put in these situations without the necessary skill sets is desperately worrying. I don't know if this is the norm on terms of standard and I absolutely mean no disrespect to them or their fallen comrades. The way they operate, the speed they do it, their drills & tactical awareness, their comms and cohesiveness are below a standard required to execute what is being asked of them...I enjoyed this documentary but my heart goes out to them.