How Accurate Is Jarhead?
” by Nathaniel Fick (Fick left the Marines as a captain after leading platoons in Afghanistan and Iraq. He is the author of Error! Hyperlink reference not valid..) “Welcome to the Suck.” That was the tagline of Anthony Swofford’s best-selling Gulf War memoir, Jarhead, but it also neatly summed up my opinion of the book… I never see movies made from books I like. But, I thought, why not try Hollywood’s spin on Jarhead, a book I (and nearly every Marine I know) despised? It could only be better. And it was. To be sure, those who know the Corps will doubt many of the movie’s details… Already, an official memo from Marine Corps Public Affairs warns that “the movie’s script is an inaccurate portrayal of Marines in general and does not provide a reasonable interpretation of military life.” This is a bit much. The American Bar Association, the CIA, and police departments across the country don’t protest when Hollywood takes license with their professions, and neither should the Marines. B
