Story filed 7-31-05

By Edward Lee Pitts
Military Affairs

Soldiers in Iraq with the 278th Regimental Combat Team and their family members said they have mixed emotions over a new cable television drama about the Iraq war.

In e-mails to the Chattanooga Times Free Press, many 278th soldiers, now into their eighth month in Iraq, said the hourlong FX show "Over There," which premiered last week, could educate Americans on what life is like for the modern combat soldier.

"Yes, yes, yes, I would indeed watch it if it was available here," wrote Cpl. Mike Hoback, a 278th soldier from Chattanooga, in an e-mail. "I think a show of that sort would boost morale and let people back home know what we deal with on a day-to-day basis."

Others cautioned the program could be harmful if it pushes a political agenda or depicts a unrealistic version of the conflict, and Sgt. Robert Bonnett, a 278th soldier and Cleveland, Tenn., police officer, called the program pathetic.

"It seems like everyone is wanting some sort of attention from this war," said Sgt. Bonnett, 32, who spent time in Somalia as an Army Ranger during the incident that became the book and movie "Black Hawk Down."

"They don't want to put their lives on the line and come over here and fight, but they would love to make a bunch of money off the backs of the soldiers working over here," he said. "Stop riding the coattails of the American soldier."

The new program from Steven Bochco, producer of "NYPD Blue," has been promoted as the first war drama to air while the U.S. military is deployed in Iraq. The story follows a diverse Army unit's first experiences in a combat zone.

Sgt. Robb Kidwill, 32, of Rome, Ga., said his support for the show would depend on its portrayal of the typical soldier.

"A show done in the wrong light could easily portray us as aloof idiots stumbling around, dodging roadside bombs and making no headway whatsoever," Sgt. Kidwill said. "That would be detrimental to our morale, our mission and our success."

JoAnn Bullman, the wife of 278th Staff Sgt. Jerry Bullman, of Jacksboro, Tenn., said she missed the program's premiere despite wanting to watch it. But she said her 10-year-old son viewed it.

"He said that it told the story of what is really going on over there and the good that our guys are doing," she said. "As long as it does that and does not focus on all the negative as some of the news media like to, I am all for it."

Other 278th family members said they would be in favor of "Over There," as long as it focuses on the positive, such as humanitarian missions, as well as the carnage of war.

"The good I would want to come out of (the program) is to show the world that America is not just about fighting but also about rebuilding and protecting the innocent people of the world," said Jane Stanton, of Knoxville, the mother of 278th Sgt. 1st Class Doug Reynolds.

Capt. Reid "Rocky" Brock, of Athens. Tenn., wrote he is concerned about the program's graphic violence, which featured an insurgent getting his torso blown off from a rocket-propelled grenade during the first episode.

"I fear that it will be just another shock show to see how much can be gotten away with or who can out-gross who this week in the ratings," Capt. Brock wrote.

But other soldiers said the bloody images of the program can take viewers to an Iraq that is hard to depict in newspapers.

"It's not all glory and games," Cpl. Hoback wrote. "Lives are ruined on the battlefield."

Spc. Michael Light, 50, wrote he would watch the show until he sensed it was slanted toward a particular viewpoint or trying to send a message.

"The first time it made light of the military in general I would turn against it," wrote Spc. Light, of Knoxville. "I remember watching the Vietnam War on television with Walter Cronkite and saw firsthand how the public's view changed from bad to worse toward the military and later individual soldiers."

In interviews, Mr. Bochco, the show's producer, has said the show will take no stances or get bogged down in the reasons why the soldiers are in Iraq.

June Dixon, the wife of the regiment's Cpl. Greg Dixon, said the program also should not center too much attention on "the dramas of the few who make the news for their dishonorable, often criminal behavior" such as the Abu Ghraib prison scandal.

Mrs. Dixon, of Dayton, Tenn., added the program should illustrate what's at stake in Iraq by devoting episodes to the local Iraqi villagers as they struggle with birthing a new government.

Soldiers with the 278th wrote the program should include the poverty in Iraq as well as the hordes of smiling Iraqi children who follow around any American soldiers as though they are rock stars.

But Sgt. Kidwill said it still may be too early for a drama about the war.

"I think to truly evaluate any major event we need two things: one is time and the other is the ability to see the consequences," Sgt. Kidwill wrote. "I think it is very hard to have such a program and keep it in perspective when it unfolds in real time."

E-mail Lee Pitts at lpitts@timesfreepress.com

On the Web: Photos by U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika of the 278th Regimental Combat Team are available on the Times Free Press Web site. Visit http://www.timesfreepress.com/kp.

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