Ok, I am commenting on this from a purely military perspective Coot, I know your intentions were good but I am having a hard time seperating the filmmaker from the responsible United States Air Force Staff Sergeant in listening to some of the things Carlos had to say.
If I was Carlos' supervisor and I saw this he would be in HOT water for numerous things he has said. I don't believe in sugar coating anything but as militay members we are held to a high standard and know there are things we can say and things we can't. We know who we are allowed to talk to and who we are not. We know when we are allowed to talk and when we are not.
I am pretty sure Carlos did not have permission from his public affairs office to be interviewed for this. If he did, about 1/3 of his comments would not have been allowed. No military member in his right mind would tell anyone their unit is streched thin, they're working the shifts of two, three people. This is a major operational indicator to anyone, including the enemy. This is a small piece of information which if used correctly could get people killed! He would never be allowed to publicly criticize military leaders, this shows lack of cohesion amongst a team (a team that counts on each other to stay alive) and poor discipline on his part. If he were seperated from the military I could overlook it but he was only on 15 day R&R. Also, he never would be allowed to comment on the state of morale no matter how low he feels it is. Stating this does nothing to help improve it.
While I agree with some of what Carlos says, he was very irresponsible in some of the things he said. He made some valid points, but he also made comments that could bring him serious trouble as a military member. He is there for the right reason, and that should speak volumes but became dilluted when he choose to give you an interview.
I apologize for these comments, but Carlos is in a situation where the person to his left and the person to his right, depend on Carlos for survival, for their lives. If I was one of those people I would want to know he could handle it responsibly. I work in a training environment where I preach this! You go as a team, you return as a team, and if need be you die as a team. What happens as a team stays within the team and not on a camera half way across the world.
Coot, once again I apologize for being blunt about this piece, but as a member of the military, reading daily about people dying in Iraq and putting myself as a member of Carlos' unit watching this I couldn't be quiet. I blame Carlos for using poor judgement in the things he has said.
I think you did a great job putting the photo's together and this is an impressive piece from what you started with. The photos you choose tell a story all to themselves. Please do not view my words as an attack on you or your work, both of which I respect. As one of the few military members part of Indie Talk I wanted you to know my viewpoint as a member of the military. I have had my say, will get off my soapbox, and not post in this manner again.
