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“I had never been on the business end of an Abrams before that close,” he recalled in an interview with Military Times. “We worked with tanks for weeks and weeks after that and came to be kind of numb to it. Just being a few feet behind the barrel is much different than being a few feet in front of it as far as the overpressure and blast go.”

That’s the kind of gritty realism on display in the documentary “The Last 600 Meters: The Battles of Najaf and Fallujah,” airing on PBS on Monday, the day before Veterans Day and the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Marine Corps. The film by Michael Pack tells the story of these deadly engagements through the words and emotions of the U.S. troops who survived them.

The film gets its name from a comment made by Master Sgt. Karl R. Erickson, a U.S. Army Special Forces sniper who equates his mission with looking through his scope at a target: “Foreign policy? I don’t make it. I just deliver the last 600 meters of it.”

The rest of the documentary details what that means for the troops on the ground and in the air over these deadly battlefields, chronicling their courage, commitment and camaraderie through a bloody ordeal.

“We conducted the interviews three years after the battles when memories were fresh,” Pack said in an interview. “But it was hard time to get it on the air then. Everyone had their opinions about the war and it was clouded in politics. We strove to tell these stories without politics from the point of view of the people who were there. Maybe now is a good time to look back and remember what happened.”
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PBS initially rejected the documentary in 2008 because of its perceived pro-military bias and lack of political commentary, even though the Corporation for Public Broadcasting was the project’s principal funder at the start. The network then began to dictate the direction of the final cut, but Pack wasn’t willing to compromise on his vision.

It was only recently that PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger decided to broadcast it upon reexamination. Pack credited her courage in reversing the company’s past decisions.

“We owe her a great debt. It’s not easy to do that, and I really appreciate her doing it,” he said. “She simply saw the film, looked at it with fresh eyes, and said, ‘We should have this on the air,’ and that was a great decision.”
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Originally posted by konata88:
I only see it available through PBS subscription on prime. Is it available directly on prime somehow (ie = free)? Or only through PBS subscription (don't want to pay for that). Any other streaming service?

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Originally posted by corsair:
try the free 7-day period and remember to cancel it before your card gets charged.

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Originally posted by architect:
Within the first minute of the film a narrator states: "One year after the US invaded Iraq" with no explanation of the events that led up to that "invasion." So you already know who the bad guys are going to be. Disappointed is not the word for it.

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Originally posted by P220 Smudge:

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Originally posted by architect:
Within the first minute of the film a narrator states: "One year after the US invaded Iraq" with no explanation of the events that led up to that "invasion." So you already know who the bad guys are going to be. Disappointed is not the word for it.

Objectively speaking, that statement is true. We invaded Iraq. Right?

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Originally posted by P220 Smudge:
Objectively speaking, that statement is true. We invaded Iraq. Right?

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Objectively speaking, that statement is true. We invaded Iraq. Right?

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Originally posted by architect:
Within the first minute of the film a narrator states: "One year after the US invaded Iraq" with no explanation of the events that led up to that "invasion." So you already know who the bad guys are going to be. Disappointed is not the word for it.

I have not watched the entire piece, just he first ten minutes or so, maybe I will change my mind.

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Originally posted by fischtown7:
Watched last night, just confirmed and reminded me how our politicians and brass keep screwing the troops over. The dog carrying the human leg over the rubble sums up that whole mess.