docu-series outline

This episode introduces the reservists, both from Michigan & Tennessee. We conduct personal interviews, and establish backgrounds. We incorporate footage of them in their home towns and schools. We see family life, and ask why did they decide to become Marines? We establish their different personalities, their past jobs, the range of both rural and urban communities, and their day-to-day life.

We explore their likes and dislikes, pop culture at the time, and establish the public’s common held views on reserve units in modern warfare.

This episode starts with examples of great leadership in the Marine Corps. We discuss Chesty Puller, all the way to the Commandant, and through to today.

We explain, in the Marine’s own words, why leadership is so important on the battlefield. We begin to establish different personalities amongst some of our key Marines, and explain the beloved, and feared, terms of “Mom & Dad”. Marines tell about how they looked up to, or sometimes even confronted, their superiors. We talk about the need for a hierarchy, decision making under fire, stepping-up during combat, and competition — even amongst brothers.

This episode ends with Major, now Colonel, Dan Whisnant, making the deals, but never getting the credit truly due to him. Kopera, Gillitzer and Greco give firsthand accounts of the difficulties, and rewards, of leading during battle. Then we can start to get into their vast knowledge and personal experience on the field, dealing with the commanding of multiple personalities, troop morale, leading by example, and hardships in the midst of combat.

The all Dark Episode. This is perhaps a good episode to start of with a bang! We go into extensive details about killing the wrong good bad guy, and the chaos of that day. We tell of the “Mr., No more mistakes!” ultimatum from Dark, from all sides of the event.

We run the scenario of how it could have wrongly gone down, and what was actually at stake. We highlight the brilliant decision to send Dark’s guy to the hospital, even though he was, clearly, already dead.

Who was this guy, Dark? Why was he so empowered, and where did he get his “Balls of Steel”? “We trusted Dark and he trusted us”; but why?

Then we talk about the decision to support Dark in the heat of battle, while establishing the “blood debt”. We discuss the subsequent meetings to establish overall power and command, in order to define who were real bad guys, and the unparalleled decision to arm certain Iraqis, previously perceived as the enemy. Marine “government trained killers” now had do go against their training, and their own better judgment, and trust the system, and their leadership, on the field. Perhaps Whisnant tells us what the Higher-ups were thinking at the time.

We end this episode explaining what the U.S. government had hoped to accomplish by being in bed with a potential enemy, and maybe how that had dangerously backfired in the past.

This episode discusses the overall game plan and reasoning of counter-insurgency.

We discuss it from the C.O., and higher-up, points of view, but also illustrate Grunts being police officers and welfare workers. We talk about Marine’s interactions with Iraqis, showing examples like giving candy to kids, helping the woman out with the school supplies, and going door to door. We explain the Marine’s willingness to learn about the customs, language, food and culture of the locals.

We speak of the historical significance, and first hand accounts, of keeping track of all the newly disseminated information.

We underline the establishing of a database, checking IDs, training Iraqis, and protecting their people. We once again touch on the inner conflict of arming the enemy, and the difficulty of sometimes not knowing how to differentiate who is good or bad.

We use this as a good opportunity to talk about how the death of their team members, lead to a betrayal Marines often felt, and caused some of their trust to dissolve. We also can get into how they sometimes stopped caring, and became numbed to the cause, after experiencing the significant trauma of combat.

We will have CJ or Dark’s relatives discuss counter-insurgency from the Iraqi point of view.

This episode, will be a mostly positive one, about what the overall goals and objectives were. How did both Dark and the U.S. wish to empower the Iraqi people?

Depending on how interviews with Dark’s relatives go, was Dark’s plan successful? We’ll talk about his death. Was he a hero, a martyr, or just a brash young up-and-comer? We will also talk about his dark side, here. We will give examples of him talking to the skull of the bomber and using revenge as his motivation. We will discuss the Arab mindset, and the Language of fear and violence. We will mention attempts on Dark’s family members and his ultimate assassination.

This is another opportunity to get into tribal politics. It is also an opportunity to discuss potential ulterior motives of the U.S.? What were the reasons we were fighting in a foreign land, half a world away, other than “Speak softly and carry a big stick”?

We’ll engage the historical significance these events had, in changing the idea of warfare forever. How did a group of reservists, some of whom without previous combat experience, change the entire U.S. Government’s attitude towards integration with the enemy?

This will be a poignant and final episode to discuss the loss, but also the Legacy.

We’ll bluntly discuss the ravages of war, including the loss to Iraqi families and property that was destroyed.We will briefly discuss, again, the fatal events. Gilbert and Thornsberry. Bueno’s near miss, Kopera being shot in the head, Webster’s leg, Auton’s suicide. We’ll talk about PTSD, suicide rates among combat veterans, and “War junkies”

We will learn about the hardship of being a CACO, and will conduct interviews with the Gold Star families. We will feel their pain, but end on a positive note about their family’s sacrifices.

Finally, we’ll integrate legit charities here that can help Marines, Vets, as well as their families. We can do the same for the Arab community.

We will end on the Legacy of the Marine Corps as True Hero’s, and come right back to our original pride and allegiance for The Corps. Semper Fi!